After JJ Schwarz hit his fourth home run of the game, the freshman trotted around the infield and ducked into the dugout.
His teammates were in awe.
"I saw Josh Hamilton do that once on TV," junior Harrison Bader told Schwarz. "I guess anytime you’re in the same sentence as Josh Hamilton, you must be doing something right."
Florida’s win against Stetson on Tuesday was more akin to a home run derby than a midweek clash against a team that had nearly beaten them a few weeks ago.
UF scored 22 runs. Twelve of them came off homers.
In the wake of its best offensive performance of the season, No. 10 Florida (25-9, 6-6 Southeastern Conference) will host South Carolina (23-11, 6-6 SEC) tonight at 7, and the matchup comes at a pivotal point in both team’s schedules.
A live stream of tonight’s game will air on SECNetwork+ while Saturday and Sunday’s games will be televised on the SEC Network.
The Gamecocks have won five of their last seven, and despite trailing UF by just two wins, South Carolina was bumped out of Baseball America’s top-25 poll on Monday.
Florida is fresh off its second SEC series loss on Sunday and could use a win this weekend to separate itself from the other teams in its conference, five of which are within one game of UF.
Both teams need this series, but the timing may be in Florida’s favor.
Its players are expecting their record offensive showing against Stetson to bleed into this weekend.
"There will definitely be a carry over," right fielder Ryan Larson said. "When you score 22 runs, your confidence level is up. You wake up in the morning and you’re walking around a little bit taller and sticking your chest out."
Along with its offense, UF’s starting pitchers have grown more consistent.
Logan Shore has looked sharp since throwing a complete game against Alabama on March 27.
In his last start, the sophomore allowed just one run in eight innings.
"My confidence is at an all-time high," said Shore, who will start tonight for Florida.
"This weekend is the weekend for us to kind of get back on the winning side of things and try and make a run."
And now that its lineup is fully healthy, UF is looking for its depth of hitters to ease the burden on its bullpen.
The Gators are 23-0 this season when they out-hit their opponent.
"When everything is firing, this is a deadly lineup," Larson said. "I think we’re starting to really hit our stride, starting to come together….We still need to win a big series and I think this is the weekend."
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Ryan Larson bats during Florida's 14-8 win against Florida State at McKethan Stadium.
