Say hello to the future of UF baseball.
A pair of freshmen, pitcher Tommy Toledo and outfielder Josh Adams, stole the show in the Gators' 13-6 drubbing of Siena on Sunday.
The win completed UF's three-game sweep of the Saints following Friday's 10-7 win and a 4-0 shutout Saturday.
Toledo got off to a shaky start, allowing a single and a walk in the first, but settled down as the game went on. He finished with five strikeouts, two walks and two earned runs in five innings.
The freshman phenom admitted to being jittery at the start but expects to use the game as a learning experience.
"I was a little nervous," Toledo said. "(Coach Kevin O'Sullivan) said I needed to keep the ball down and that I only made a couple of mistakes. I'm just going to work on my mistakes right now and get ready for next week."
The Gators wasted little time getting on the board. Shortstop Cole Figueroa blasted a 1-0 pitch into center field, driving in second baseman Clayton Pisani to give the Gators the lead in the first inning.
It was a very eventful opening weekend for Figueroa, who finished the series 3 for 7 with three RBIs and three stolen bases.
Adams broke the game open for UF in the bottom of the third. The Jacksonville native blasted a grand slam to left-center field to give the Gators a 6-0 lead. Toledo would give a couple of runs back in the fourth when Siena right fielder Eric Mruczek smashed a two-run homer to cut the lead to 6-2.
But Adams would answer in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to extend UF's lead to 8-2.
Adams started at center field in place of Matt den Dekker, who was suspended for the series along with Dustin Bamberg and Brett Smith because of a violation of team rules, and is making a case to receive more playing time.
"Josh did a great job this weekend, but Matt will be our center fielder," O'Sullivan said. "He has put himself in a position where we're going to have to play somebody somewhere. It's a good problem to have. It's better to have a couple more players than you need than have a couple less."
The Gators had a scare after O'Sullivan inserted right-hander Cody Barnes in place of Toledo. The Saints used four wild pitches and a walk to bring the UF lead down to 8-6. Senior Josh Edmondson entered the game to stop a possible comeback.
Barnes will be given an opportunity to redeem himself.
"We're going to trot him right back out there again on Tuesday and Wednesday," O'Sullivan said of Barnes.
The Gators entered the season saying they'd be aggressive on the base paths to compensate for the loss of Matt LaPorta's power. UF finished the weekend 12 of 13 on steal attempts and scored 27 runs.
"We don't have a lot of power, so we're going to play a little more small-ball and be aggressive on the base paths," said Pisani, who was 3 for 3 and scored two runs on Sunday. "The new coaching style is very exciting; it's a lot of fun."
First baseman Brandon McArthur had a very solid weekend in his return from an ulnar collateral ligament tear that limited him to just one game last season. The senior was 5 for 11 with six RBIs.
He also got the key hit in UF's comeback victory on Friday night. His two-RBI triple broke a 6-6 tie and gave the Gators a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
