A check-swing dribbler in front of home plate from Richie Martin ended a hitting performance that saw the Gators without a run for the last eight innings. Tennessee senior right-hander Zack Godley shook off two early runs to earn the complete game 4-2 win and avoid a road sweep from Florida (25-20, 12-9 Southeastern Conference) on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
“There are two things offensively that was a little disappointing today,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We swung at a lot of pitches early in the count and had soft contact. We didn't do much damage early in the count and we didn't make adjustments very well.”
While Florida struggled against the Tennessee ace that starts series finales, Tennessee (18-24, 6-15 SEC) benefited from timely hits against left-hander Bobby Poyner, who matched a career high 5.1 innings in his first career SEC start.
Poyner, a 6-foot left-hander, relies on changing speeds instead of a mid-90s fastball that Jonathon Crawford or Ryan Harris feature. Tennessee catcher Ethan Bennett hit a hanging changeup over the left-field wall for a leadoff solo home run in the second inning.
Florida had jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning on a triple by Justin Shafer and an infield single by Vickash Ramjit in the hole at shortstop. Poyner recovered and had one of his best outing this season. He tossed first-pitch strikes to 14 of his 19 batters. He had faced one more than the minimum through the first five innings.
Tennessee’s No. 8 hitter Zach Luther led off the sixth inning with a double to left-center that fell under the glove of a sliding Harrison Bader, who failed to cut off the ball before it reached the wall. With a runner on second and Tennessee down by one, Florida expected the sacrifice bunt.
Dave Serrano, the second-year coach from Cal State Fullerton, employed small ball all weekend. The Volunteers dinked and dunked the first two games like a football offense throwing screen after screen.
But on Sunday, Tennessee used a different approach. Derek Lance, who had yet to pick up a hit in his college career, sprayed a double past Ramjit along the first-base line. Lance scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice to third baseman Josh Tobias.
"It's tough, but we were playing for the bunt and they outsmarted us,” Poyner said. “The ball was up and the kid put a good swing on it."
A passed ball by Taylor Gushue in the seventh scored the fourth Tennessee run. Gushue hadn’t committed an error since March 26 against Florida State. After clinching the series against the 13th-ranked team in the conference, Florida got tripped up at home.
“You've seen how competitive this league is this weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “It doesn't matter who you play. If you don't play well, you'll find yourself in some trouble."
Serrano on the Gators: His team may have salvaged its road series with a win on Sunday, but Serrano doesn’t think anything less of Florida. The coach shared his thoughts after the game before the Volunteers took a bus ride back to Knoxville.
"They keep running out great arms on you. That's the key to success, and that's not where we're at right now. They've got good arms,” Serrano said. “Offensively, I know they've been going pretty good. I think the last two games our guys have done a good job of slowing them down a little bit. They're a team that's playing good right now just like some other teams in this league. When it's all said and done through regionals, they'll have an opportunity to get back to Omaha again."
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Several members of the Gators baseball team stand on the top steps of the dugout during Florida’s 4-0 win against Ole Miss on March 31 at McKethan Stadium. Florida dropped the final game of its series against Tennessee 4-2 on Sunday.
