Harrison Bader walked up to the plate, kicked the dirt off his bat and squared his shoulders towards the mound.
His next hit was a line-drive single that dropped in shallow right field, a sight that was mostly absent in Florida’s last two outings against Kentucky.
Bader’s hit scored Buddy Reed from third base and gave UF a 9-1 lead in the sixth inning, which already surpassed the total runs UF had scored over its last three games.
On Sunday, No. 6 Florida (33-12, 13-8 Southeastern Conference) used a strong offensive outing to defeat Kentucky (25-17, 10-10 SEC) 10-1 to avoid its first series sweep of the season.
“I told the players we’ve got one of two ways to look at it: (Either) we lost two out of three (games) at home to Kentucky or we won seven of our last nine,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I’m gonna choose to look at it that we won seven of our last nine.”
Unlike the series’ first two games, Florida’s offense got into a rhythm early and sustained its lead. All nine UF starters recorded a hit and reached base at least once.
Right-hander Alex Faedo (4-1) gave the Gators a much-needed outing from their pitching staff. The freshman struck out four batters and allowed just one run in 5.1 innings.
“I felt great,” Faedo said. “We needed a big win, so I knew I had to give us a good start just to keep us in contention.”
Florida scored its first run in the second inning after Peter Alonso doubled to right-center field. JJ Schwarz and Mike Rivera hit back-to-back sacrifice flies in the same inning to give UF a 3-1 lead.
Next, freshman Dalton Guthrie hit his first career triple in the fourth inning, scoring Schwarz and Alonso.
After Bader and Alonso recorded two more RBIs in the fifth and Guthrie scored on a wild pitch the next inning, Florida capped its nine-run victory with a sacrifice fly from Guthrie in the seventh inning.
The second-baseman led UF with three hits and three RBIs.
“That was like a must win right there, especially to even stay in the race in the SEC,” Guthrie said. “We definitely needed that.”
The biggest positive from Florida’s win was the play of Faedo, who now ranks fourth on the team with a 2.52 ERA. After the game, O’Sullivan said Faedo “might earn the Saturday starter” spot when Florida faces Georgia on the road next weekend.
“He’s been really good. We just need someone that will pound the zone, be confident and compete, and that’s what he’s done in his last three starts,” Guthrie said of Faedo. “He’s a good pitcher, and that’s what good pitchers do.”
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @icohenb
Dalton Guthrie swings at a pitch during Florida's 8-7 win against Fairfield on March 10 at McKethan Stadium. Guthrie scored the go-ahead run for Florida in its 9-7 win against Vanderbilt on Saturday.
