Florida’s offense on Saturday was a lot like the Knoxville sky on Friday night: explosive and dangerous.
UF’s bats erupted in the first game of a three-game series against Tennessee (18-13, 4-6 SEC) after Friday’s opener was postponed due to rain. The No. 1 Gators (27-5, 8-2 SEC) picked up the 22-6 win, their eighth win in a row.
The offensive leader in terms of production was center fielder Nick Horvath, although plenty of players contributed. Horvath got the fireworks started in the top of the second with a three-run blast.
Second baseman Deacon Liput followed his lead in the same inning with a two-run homer of his own to put the Gators up 5-0 early. Starter Brady Singer, even though he wasn’t his usual sharp self, didn’t need much more than that.
But just to be safe, Florida pummeled the Volunteers for seven runs in both the fifth and sixth innings, starting with third baseman Jonathan India.
India has led the Gators’ offense all season, and with his pair of hit on Saturday, his average climbed back up to .433. He opened the fifth-inning scoring with his team-leading 12th home run of the year.
A JJ Schwarz double, a Blake Reese single, a Keenan Bell double and a pair of UT errors continued the festival of scoring for the Gators and ended Tennessee starter Garrett Crochet’s night at eight earned runs in 4.1 innings.
Will Heflin started the sixth for the Volunteers and fared even worse than his predecessor. He opened by allowing three consecutive singles to left fielder Austin Langworthy, Horvath and Reese. Then, after getting behind in the count 0-2, Bell forced a walk to drive in the inning’s first run.
A Nelson Maldonado grounder, a single from India and another from right fielder Andrew Baker plus a walk from Schwarz added three more runs. A Langworthy single tacked on two more and ended Heflin’s night.
His final line: 0.2 innings pitched, seven earned runs.
Connor Darling was the next victim of UF’s fury. A Nick Horvath single added one more run in the sixth before the frame finally ended.
The massacre allowed coach Kevin O’Sullivan to get some less experienced players into the game, which he did in the eighth inning. Freshman utility player Shane Shifflett didn’t waste his opportunity.
He’d already had one at-bat, but it resulted in a line out. This time, he doubled into the gap with two outs and the bases loaded, plating three more runs for the Gators.
Singer’s night on the mound wasn’t as crisp as last week, when he lasted seven innings and allowed one earned run against Vanderbilt. He went five innings with three earned and seven strikeouts.
Reliever Connor Churchill was one of the few blemishes for the Gators. He allowed two earned runs in a third of an inning.
Kirby McMullen and Austin Langworthy finished off the Volunteers.
Games two and three of the series will be played Sunday, with first pitch of game one at noon.
Follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri and contact him at ebauer@alligator.org.
Third baseman Jonathan India blasted his team-leading 12th home run of the season in Saturday's 22-6 win over Tennessee.
