In the midst of a three-game stretch filled with high-powered offense, it was a defensive play that stood out for Florida on Saturday.
Falling backwards, shortstop Richie Martin scooped up a ground ball heading for left-center field and flipped it back to his second baseman, who then whipped it to first for a double play.
Behind a .361 batting average and a strong defensive outing, No. 10 Florida (27-9, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) clinched its series against South Carolina (23-13, 6-8 SEC) with a 12-5 victory.
Since their game against Stetson last Tuesday, the Gators have tallied 52 hits and 48 runs while holding opponents to just 28 and 10, respectively.
“Defensively, we’ve been really good all year,” said coach Kevin O’Sullivan, whose team ranks first in the nation in fielding percentage (.984). “And our offense, you know, it was just one of those weekends. We’re swinging the bats good and it’s kind of a streaky sport. A couple guys get hot, next thing you know three or four guys get hot.”
While seven different UF starters recorded at least one run, Martin did it all on Saturday. The junior set a career high with six RBIs, hit a three-run homer and was the anchor in the infield for most of the night.
“We’ve just been working hard. I think we’ve come together and just clicked as an offense,” Martin said. “If we want to stay in the race in the SEC, we needed this game.”
South Carolina put up the game’s first two runs in the first inning after Kyle Martin homered to center field. But that was the only time the Gamecocks would lead.
UF scored four runs in the second, two coming off singles from Buddy Reed and Ryan Larson and the remainder off a single from Martin.
The game went into a 39-minute weather delay after the Gators took their 4-2 lead, but Florida picked up right where it left off once play resumed.
Marin hit a three-run homer in the fourth to take a 7-2 lead, and then added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI double.
Another double for Martin in the eighth increased UF’s lead to nine, and a Harrison Bader solo homer sealed the game two outs later.
Six different players hit above .300 as the Gators rode 13 hits to their third straight win.
UF will try to sweep its first SEC series of the year when it wraps up play against USC at noon on Sunday.
“We’ve been in a pretty good groove,” senior Josh Tobias said. “I think we’re all just kind of buying into the team and having good, quality at-bats.”
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UF's Richie Martin follows through on his swing during Florida's 12-5 win against the South Carolina Gamecocks on April 11, 2015 at McKethan Stadium.
