Coming off a three-hit performance, Florida’s offense needed an early spark.
In the first inning against Vanderbilt on Sunday, Deacon Liput provided it.
The freshman cranked a Patrick Raby letter-high changeup to right field for a three-run home run, setting the tone in the No. 1 Gators (43-9, 18-8 Southeastern Conference) 10-6 series-capturing win over the No. 12 Commodores in Gainesville.
“I know my coaches probably weren’t happy when I started the swing because the pitch was a little up,” said Liput, who finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. “I was fortunate enough to hit it and make good contact.”
The back-and-forth slugfest was just getting started.
Up 3-0, UF starting pitcher Alex Faedo cruised until he ran into third-inning trouble.
The Commodores pounded four-straight one-out hits in a rally capped by Bryan Reynolds’ three-run opposite field homer, his 11th of the season, that gave Vanderbilt the 4-3 advantage.
VU’s hitters mustered just one hit the first time through the lineup against Faedo but pounded out six hits the second time through.
“They were aggressive the whole time,” Faedo said. “I guess I left a couple pitches right down the middle and they took advantage of it.”
Florida’s offense responded in the bottom half of the third.
Sophomore JJ Schwarz tied the game with an RBI single before circling the bases and scoring on Buddy Reed’s double. Nelson Maldonado then boosted the Gators’ lead to 6-4 with a run-scoring groundout.
In the fourth, Vanderbilt knotted the game at six.
Jason Delay and Ethan Paul reached on a pair of doubles to start the inning before both scored on Connor Kaiser’s single up the middle.
The Gators provided Faedo with yet another lead in the fifth.
VU relief pitcher Matt Ruppenthal drilled Jeremy Vasquez with the bases loaded, and Ryan Larson lifted a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Maldonado and give Florida an 8-6 cushion.
Meanwhile, Faedo stayed in the game despite allowing six runs.
The sophomore finished strong, striking out eight over six innings of work en route to his 10th win. Faedo said he wanted to extend the game and put it in the hands of Florida’s bullpen.
“After they scored all those runs I was like, ‘I just gotta put up some more zeros for them and give them limited time out there,’” he said.
Faedo’s plan worked.
Dane Dunning tossed two scoreless relief innings before UF added a couple more insurance runs in the eighth.
Guthrie slashed a single to left to bring home Blake Reese before Jonathan India slapped an RBI single of his own, making it 10-6 in favor of Florida.
Closer Shaun Anderson captured the victory with a clean inning, sealing the series win.
In a game that featured four lead changes, Florida shortstop Dalton Guthrie said Dunning and Anderson’s performances were key.
“They were lights-out,” he said. “That’s honestly probably the best I’ve seen Dane throw the ball, and Shaun’s been throwing the ball like that all season.”
The Gators finish up the regular season with a road series against LSU next weekend, starting Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Pinakk12.
Deacon Liput swings during Florida's 10-4 loss to Mississippi State on April 9, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
