On a beautiful, sweltering Friday afternoon at McKethan Stadium, Florida's top-ranked baseball team rained all over Manhattan's parade.
In just the Jaspers' second ever NCAA Tournament appearance, the Gators steamrolled the MAAC conference champs 17-3 on the first day of the Gainesville Regional.
Florida (46-15) rocked Manhattan's (34-18) ace John Soldinger for an astounding 16 runs -15 earned - and 16 hits in just two innings.
Soldinger, who was 10-2 with six complete games before Friday, essentially tossed extended batting practice for the Gators.
"It was like a flood, and we didn't have enough sandbags to stop it," Jaspers coach Kevin Leighton said.
Manhattan's slow-throwing right-hander labored with his command, but when the sophomore was around the plate, Florida smashed it.
"He [Soldinger] struggled throwing his off-speed for strikes, so we knew we were going to get fastballs that were right around the mid-80s," UF junior Preston Tucker said.
The Gators sent at least nine men to the plate in each of the first three innings, operating a merry-go-round on the basepaths.
Florida plated five runs in the first, four in the second and seven in the third.
Eight of UF's nine starters recorded at least two hits as Florida set a school record for knocks (23) in a NCAA Tournament contest.
"We got off to a great start offensively," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I really wasn't expecting that type of run support early on."
Soldinger was mercifully relieved in the third inning, ending his afternoon with one of the ugliest stat-lines in recent history. The righty's ERA jumped from 2.34 to 4.75 in one day's work.
"It seemed like every time they swung, they got a hit," Leighton said.
Tucker, who was just 2 for 17 during the Gators' run for the Southeastern Conference Tournament title, quickly broke out of his five-game slump with a RBI single in the first.
The junior right fielder also corked a pair of two-run homers, including a bomb deep into right as the Gators went back-to-back for just the second time all season in the second inning. SEC Player of the Year Mike Zunino followed Tucker's shot with an opposite field homer that just cleared the fence in right center.
"When you see other guys succeeding in front of you it gives you a lot of confidence," Tucker said.
Conference tourney MVP Daniel Pigott continued his recent tear, tallying four hits including three run-scoring singles.
"He's been on fire," O'Sullivan said.
Left fielder Tyler Thompson, last year's hero in UF's Super Regional, started for only the second time in 21 games, but the junior again went off in tournament play, collecting four hits and three runs.
On the hill, three freshmen and a senior combined to limit the Jaspers to seven hits and three unearned runs.
Karsten Whitson (8-0, 2.33 ERA) tossed 3.1 shutout innings, but O'Sullivan pulled the righty early in case he's needed later in the weekend. Whitson looked strong in his short outing, using his overpowering fastball and hard-breaking slider for three strikeouts.
Freshman Keenan Kish threw a career-high 3.2 innings in relief, pitching out of trouble in the sixth after Florida's defense let down the righty in the fifth en route to the Jaspers only three runs.
"He saved our pen," O'Sullivan said. "Hopefully this is an outing for him he can build upon going into his sophomore year. It was important for him to get out there and throw some extended innings."
Senior Matt Campbell and freshman lefty Daniel Gibson tossed perfect eighth and ninth innings.
Florida will play Miami at 4 p.m. on Saturday, the third straight season the teams have met in the postseason.
"It's a huge rivalry," Tucker said. "It's going to be a whole lot of fun."
Etc. Austin Maddox was taken out of the ballgame in the third after the sophomore first baseman sprained his foot chasing a foul ball. ... Starter/designated hitter Brian Johnson is still day-to-day according to O'Sullivan. Hudson Randall (9-3, 2.25 ERA) will start for UF on Saturday, while Eric Whaley (7-5, 2.55 ERA) gets the nod for UM.
