Florida’s offense put together yet another dominant showing against Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday night.
The No. 5 Gators defeated the Eagles 15-0 in their first shutout of the season. UF (10-4) has now won four straight games and is averaging 16 runs per game during its current win streak. FGCU (8-4) was holding opponents to a .155 batting average heading into the game, but the Gators totaled 14 hits in the Eagles’ first road game of the season.
UF hosts the Eagles again Wednesday night to close out the two-game series.
Tuesday’s contest was the most dominant showing of the season by the Gators pitching staff. The Eagles managed just four hits and struck out eight times despite coming into the game hitting .344 on the season.
Nick Blasucci made his debut on the mound for UF and allowed just one hit in two innings. Blasucci began his career at FGCU in 2016 before transferring to Tallahassee Community College and eventually coming to Florida, where he missed his junior season due to injury. He had three strikeouts against his former team.
“He was excited, the dugout was excited, the players were excited to see him back out there because of all the hard work he’s put in as well,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in a release.
Christian Scott (2-1) relieved Blasucci and threw three innings, allowing two hits and finishing with two strikeouts. Scott earned his second win of the season, the second-most behind Jack Leftwich and Tommy Mace (3).
Justin Alintoff also went three innings, striking out three batters and allowing just one hit. Kirby McMullen finished the game with a hitless ninth inning.
Florida’s four-man pitching effort blanked an FGCU team that was averaging 10 runs per game prior to Tuesday.
Florida used a 10-run fifth inning to sink Florida Gulf Coast. Already leading 2-0 after a pair of home runs from Brady McConnell and Brady Smith, UF capitalized on two errors by FGCU and used six hits to open up a 12-0 lead.
Nelson Maldonado delivered the biggest hit of the game with the bases loaded in the fifth inning. Maldonado cleared the bases with a double down the left-field line. McConnell, Wil Dalton and Kendrick Calilao all scored, which put UF ahead 6-0.
All four of Florida’s freshman starters hit in the fifth inning.
Jacob Young walked in his first at-bat and came around to score. He singled in his second at-bat. Jud Fabian and Cory Acton both hit RBI singles in their only at-bats of the inning.
Calilao walked in his first at-bat of the inning and later scored, and he hit a two-RBI single later in the inning.
Calilao leads the team with 18 RBIs this season. Maldonado is the next closest with 11.
The home run ball has been a key component of Florida’s recent offensive success, and Tuesday was no different.
McConnell hit his first home run of the season in the first inning. Smith, who followed up a nine-game hitless streak with a four-game hitting streak, also homered for the first time in 2019 in the third inning to put Florida ahead 2-0. Austin Langworthy hit the third and final home run of the game in the bottom of the seventh inning. His two-run shot, which scored Dalton, was his second of the season.
Florida now has 13 home runs on the season, 10 of which have come during the current winning streak.
The Gators appear to have remedied the majority of their issues at the plate with just five games remaining before SEC play begins on March 15 at home against No. 7 Mississippi State (11-1).
“We’ve got a long ways to go, and that was our message at the end, we cannot get ahead of ourselves,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve got to stay the course we’ve got to get better. There are a lot of things to improve on.
Follow Kyle Wood on Twitter and @Kkylewood and contact him at kwood@alligator.org.
Senior Nelson Maldonado went 2 for 3 at the plate with one run and three RBIs in Florida's 15-0 win over FGCU on Tuesday.
