The Florida baseball team did not want the ball to stay in the park on Saturday.
The Gators crushed four home runs — with all of them tacking on three runs — as Florida (2-0) defeated Rhode Island 22-3 at McKethan Stadium.
The win marks the first time Florida scored at least 22 runs since its 22-1 win against Florida A&M on May 6, 2013, and the Gators’ early lead allowed Kevin O’Sullivan to give 15 different players an opportunity at the plate.
All but one reached base.
“We were able to get a lot of guys in there and I think some guys are cutting the barrel loose and swinging the bat well right now,” O’Sullivan said.
Junior outfielder Harrison Bader cranked out two of those home runs, launching his first into the left-field bleachers in the third inning and sending the second into left-center field in the sixth inning.
Bader also recorded a double to finish the night with a career-best three hits and six RBIs, becoming the first UF player to record at least since Zack Powers drove in nine
Florida other two home runs came from freshman J.J. Schwarz in the first inning and sophomore Ryan Larson in the third inning.
“It’s not only coming from me,” Bader said. “That’s always the best part. Everyone in the lineup is really hitting.”
The Gators finished the game overall with 17 hits, a .425 batting average and a staggering .875 slugging mark against the Rams (four hits, .129 batting average, .226 slugging).
After taking an early 5-2 lead, Florida put up seven runs in the third inning and nine more in the sixth frame to take the game out of reach.
“It really shows the character of this team,” Schwarz said. “Even though we were up, we didn’t hold back. We kept on throttling and kept doing our thing.”
Dane Dunning — starting the first weekend game of his career — struck out a career-high-tying five batters in 4.1 innings of work. He gave up three hits and two earned runs while striking out a career-high-tying five batters and giving up just one walk.
While O’Sullivan was content with Dunning’s outing, he wants to see improvement from the sophomore right-hander as the season progresses.
“He’s got electric stuff,” O’Sullivan said. “I think probably he just pitched away from contact a little bit more than he has in our intersquads, but for us to get to where we want to get to, he’s going to have to pitch like he’s certainly capable.”
Florida looks to sweep the season opening series on Sunday for the fifth-time in O’Sullivan’s eight-year tenure.
Sophomore left-hander A.J. Puk will start the game on the mound.
First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Harrison Bader (8) celebrates with teammates following his second home run during Florida's 22-3 win against Rhode Island on Feb. 14 at McKethan Stadium.
