As soon as he finished his swing, he knew.
As the ball sailed past the left-field fence, he flung his bat and waltzed down the first baseline and around the bases for a home run.
“I knew that one was gone,” India said in a television interview, “...it’s a big field and put some good swings on the ball and it worked out.”
As emphasized Monday, the Florida Gators needed third baseman Jonathan India to come up big for his team to win.
And he did.
In the top of the sixth inning, with UF up 2-0, he broke the game open with a three-run bomb way past the left-field wall to put the Gators up 5-0.
India finished the game 2 for 5 with four RBIs.
Florida eliminated the Texas Longhorns 6-1 from the College World Series with a 6-1 victory on Tuesday in Omaha, Nebraska.
The third baseman got the scoring started for Florida in the top of the first. After shortstop Deacon Liput walked and designated hitter Nelson Maldonado singled up the middle, India poked a single to left field to score Liput from third.
The Gators blew several opportunities to score between the first and sixth innings.
They loaded the bases in the second with no outs and didn’t score. They got men on first and second with no outs in the third inning. In the fifth, they again got men on first and second and ended the frame empty-handed.
In the sixth though, UF finally blasted the gates down.
Before India uncoiled on a belt-high fastball, second baseman Blake Reese hit a double to lead off. Three batters later, Maldonado singled up the middle to bring him in for a run. India batted next, and he put the game out of reach.
In addition to India’s day at the plate, Maldonado went 2 for 5 with an RBI and left fielder Austin Langworthy went 2 for 3.
However, the offense wasn’t the only storyline of this contest.
Pitcher Jackson Kowar dazzled to the tune of 6.2 innings, five hits, no runs and a career-high 13 strikeouts.
On his 110th pitch, ESPN clocked his fastball at 101mph. He also struck out seven of the last 10 batters he faced.
“Putting up those zeros is big,” Kowar said in a television interview, “then getting ahead in the count because I was falling behind early, and then I have the changeup to put guys away with.”
After Kowar came out in the bottom of the seventh, reliever Jordan Butler entered.
The lefty recorded one out and gave up one earned run, the Longhorns’ lone run of the day.
In the bottom of the eighth, closer Michael Byrne came in. He allowed three hits but threw a shutout in two innings of work.
UF now faces the loser of Wednesday's matchup between Texas Tech and Arkansas on Thursday night at 7.
Chris O’Brien is a sports writer. Follow him on Twitter @THEChrisOB and contact him at cobrien@alligator.org
Third baseman Jonathan India went 2 for 5 with four RBIs in UF's 6-1 victory over Texas at the College World Series Tuesday. He gave the Gators a five-run lead with a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
