The Columbia Lions came out firing on Friday afternoon against the Florida Gators.
Although they didn’t score in the first inning, they had two hard-hit balls that went right to UF defenders.
In the second inning, the team broke through with two runs and then followed it up with a monster shot to left-center field from third baseman Matt Cerfolio in the third.
From there though, it would be all Florida, as it ran the score up to 13-5 by the end of the contest in the Gainesville Regional.
After the Gators stole one back from the Lions in the bottom of the third to make it 3-2 Columbia, the No. 1 seed broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fourth.
UF scored six runs in the inning and chased Columbia reliever Ty Wiest from the game.
In the inning, Florida was led by by shortstop Deacon Liput, third baseman Jonathan India, right fielder Wil Dalton and second baseman Blake Reese, who each doubled in the frame.
Austin Langworthy crushed a two-RBI triple in the inning as well and the route was on.
The real star of the game though was Dalton. The sophomore went 4-for-5 on the day and recorded six RBIs, including one to put the Gators up 1-0 in the first inning. He fell short of hitting for the cycle by a triple and would have had it had he not been thrown out while sliding into third base in the fourth inning.
The Gators were in trouble early as starting pitcher Tommy Mace got peppered by the Columbia lineup. Mace lasted two innings and gave up three earned runs and six hits.
“I think he just had trouble throwing consecutive strikes,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He was behind in counts.”
Florida brought in reliever Jordan Butler and he stopped the bleeding. The freshman didn’t allow another Columbia hit until the top of the seventh inning when Columbia tacked on a run with a double and an RBI single.
Butler went five innings and gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts to earn the win.
UF got that run right back in the bottom of the inning with an absolute rocket from catcher Jonah Girand.
Girand got the start at catcher for the injured JJ Schwarz and made the most of his opportunity. His home run nearly hit the Stephen C. O’Connell Center approximately 200 feet beyond the fence and iced the win for the Gators, making the score 10-4. He went 2 for 3 in the contest.
Liput and designated hitter Nelson Maldonado also starred on the afternoon. Each had two walks and came around to score two runs, and Liput notched a double and an RBI.
Columbia would sneak a run back on an error by Liput in the top of the eighth. The shortstop completely missed a line drive right to him and a run scored. He would recover the very next play and make a nice force out to redeem himself.
The Gators would add on three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Dalton hit a two-run home run to dead center to make it 12-5, and Reese scored after a double and a steal on an error from Columbia’s third baseman.
UF now plays the winner of Jacksonville and FAU Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Gainesville.
O’Sullivan was asked if he was going to stay at McKethan Stadium to scout the Dolphins and the Owls.
“It was so hot out there today. I'm going home and I'll watch it there.”
You can follow Chris O’Brien on Twitter @THEChrisOB and contact him at cobrien@alligator.org
Right fielder Wil Dalton went 4 for 5 on Friday in Florida's 13-5 win over Columbia at the Gainesville Regional. He nearly hit the cycle but was thrown out sliding into third base.
