With JJ Schwarz up to bat in the bottom of the fifth on Sunday, Dartmouth drew its infield in with Buddy Reed at third base and the game tied at three.
Reed had just hit a game-tying two-run triple, knocking starting pitcher Clay Chatham out of the game and forcing the Big Green to bring Chris Burkholder in to face Schwarz. Burkholder got Schwarz to hit a groundball to shortstop Thomas Roulis with the intention of throwing Reed out at home.
However, the ball went under Roulis’ glove, allowing Reed to score and giving the Gators a 4-3 lead. UF added four more runs as No. 1 Florida defeated Dartmouth 8-6, completing the series sweep.
"It was a contact play, so right when he made contact I was running," Reed said. "The infielder missed it so I somewhat hesitated just because I probably would’ve gotten in a rundown. "Obviously it went into the outfield so I’m scoring regardless."
One inning earlier, Schwarz got things going for Florida as well. After Dartmouth (0-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead on starter Alex Faedo, Schwarz crushed his third home run of the season in the bottom half of the fourth to cut the Big Green’s lead to 3-1.
"JJ’s home run, I think that kind of got us going offensively," UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. "I thought you could kind of feel swings were getting slower and slower and bigger and bigger and guys were pressing a little bit. I think that one swing took the pressure off a little bit."
Schwarz’s home run also gave Faedo the reassurance that his team could score. The sophomore pitcher didn’t have his best stuff. After allowing just one earned run in his first two starts, the sophomore right hander allowed three earned runs.
"They jumped out on a really good pitcher (with) three runs," O’Sullivan said. "It’s amazing to me how guys can come out of the gym and put good swings on fastballs that are 92, 93, 94. … I tip my cap. They battled and they were tough to put away today."
While he wasn’t as consistent and as dominant as he was in his first two starts of the season, Faedo settled down and tossed five innings. He struck out four and picked up his third win of the season, tying him with Logan Shore for the team lead.
"Even though he got hit a little bit and he wasn’t locating (his pitches) as good, he still fought and that’s all you can ask for," UF catcher Mike Rivera said. "He never gave up and ate up innings and that’s what we need for him. That shows you a little bit of who he is. He’s a competitor."
Dartmouth had its chance to close the gap against Florida (12-1). The Big Green loaded the bases against Florida reliever Frank Rubio with just one out in the seventh inning. Rubio got Roulis to fly out to right for a potential sacrifice fly, but Justin Fowler wasn’t able to score from third base because right fielder Nelson Maldonado’s throw made him hold up.
Rubio then struck out Rob Emery, ending the threat.
Against a scrappy Ivy League program that gave the Gators all it could handle in the three-game series, Rivera said games like Sunday can bode well for the team knowing that it can handle adversity when it’s thrown its way.
"We came from behind and it’s something we haven’t done much," Rivera said.
"It’s a good thing for us and a good feeling."
Florida begins a two-game series against North Florida on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Jacksonville, before playing the second game in Gainesville on Wednesday night at 7.
Contact Luis Torres at ltorres@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.
JJ Schwarz hits a ball during Florida's 8-4 win over FGCU on Feb. 20, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
