The No. 1 baseball team in the country started four freshmen in its lineup Sunday afternoon. This wasn’t an exhibition or a midweek pushover — it was Florida against Vanderbilt with a sweep in the opening weekend of Southeastern Conference play on the line.
No one missed a beat.
“It’s great that we can all be a part of this team and make an impact,” freshman first baseman Taylor Gushue said. “It’s just humbling that we get to do that.”
Florida’s lineup has become a running list of players who can contribute in a big way on any given day, and that was no different Sunday when the Gators (19-1, 3-0 SEC) overpowered the Commodores 8-2.
If the game was ever in doubt, it was early — very early. Vanderbilt (7-13, 0-3 SEC) had runners on first and third with one out in the top of the first before sophomore starter Jonathon Crawford fed Commodores shortstop Anthony Gomez a full-count, two-seam fastball that Gomez rolled into a 6-4-3 double play.
“[Crawford is] starting to believe that he’s pretty good, and obviously we’re going to need him,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “When we get (Karsten) Whitson back, I feel really good about our pitching staff.”
It was the fifth inning by the time Vanderbilt got another baserunner in scoring position. Florida led 4-0 and Crawford was nearing the end of his scoreless five-inning outing — and still throwing 94 mph.
For offensive support, he needed to look no further than a couple of his young teammates. Freshmen infielders Gushue, Casey Turgeon and Josh Tobias all had hits in the game’s first three innings. Gushue opened the scoring in the second with a solo homer that sailed over the right-field McKethan Stadium video board. After senior Preston Tucker notched his eighth long ball of the year in the third, Turgeon added Florida’s third blast of the game to lead off the fifth.
“I’ll never be a power hitter,” the 5-foot-9, 165-pound second baseman said. “I’ll go up there looking for a good pitch and put the best swing I can on it.”
Florida’s Nos. 1-5 hitters complemented the freshman prowess by all recording an RBI against Vanderbilt. The Commodores started 2011 first-round pick Tyler Beede, who has now begun his college career 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA after being the only first-round pick to turn down the majors last year.
Junior relievers Steven Rodriguez and Austin Maddox weren’t at their best for Florida but finished out the game’s final four innings. Maddox ended a streak of 20 appearances without giving up a run when he allowed an RBI single to second baseman Andrew Harris in the ninth.
Florida did not commit an error all weekend and only walked three batters en route to defeating Vanderbilt by a combined score of 23-5.
“We’re playing really well right now, solid defense,” Gushue said. “I’m proud of everybody that’s been a part of it.”
The lone dark spot came on Friday night when senior center fielder Tyler Thompson injured his right knee while rounding first. O’Sullivan announced Sunday that Thompson has a torn ACL and will meet with doctors on Tuesday to decide the best option for treatment. Immediate plans have freshman Justin Shafer starting in left with senior Daniel Pigott shifting to center.
“I feel terrible,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s worked awfully hard to put himself in a great position, but we’ll get together on Tuesday and see what all of our options are.”
Freshmen Taylor Gushue (17) and Casey Turgeon (2) each hit solo home runs in Florida’s 8-2 win against Vanderbilt on Sunday.
