Richie Martin found life with his bat on Sunday.
In UF’s series finale against Maine, the junior shortstop went 3-for-4 at the plate — including a double and a triple — to help the Gators take a 5-3 win at McKethan Stadium to sweep their third weekend series of the year.
"I’ve been scuffling a little," Martin said in a release, "but that’s how baseball goes. I’m glad today went well."
Florida (14-2) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Buddy Reed RBI single to center field and never looked back.
The next inning, Martin ripped an RBI single to give UF a 2-0 lead, and Florida added two more runs in the fourth on a Josh Tobias RBI double and a JJ Schwarz sacrifice fly.
Maine (4-12) added three runs over the next three innings to cut Florida’s lead to 4-3 through seven innings, but the Gators held firm, retiring the Black Bears’ final six batters in order to seal the deal.
Freshman Mike Rivera closed out scoring with an RBI double in the eighth inning.
Dane Dunning improved to 4-0 on the year after giving up just four hits and one earned run in five innings of work.
The sophomore right-handed pitcher struck out three of the batters he faced.
On the season, Dunning has a 1.29 ERA and is holding opponents to a .139 batting average — the lowest among UF’s starters.
"I wasn’t confident in my stuff last year," Dunning said in a release. "Now I’m more confident and I’m able to do my own thing. Last year I would say I was thinking too much. I was always in a rush, trying to do everything so fast."
The Gators continue action with a two-game series against Fairfield on Tuesday and Wednesday before starting Southeastern Conference play against Tennessee on Friday.
Series notes: Junior outfielder Harrison Bader missed Sunday’s game with a sprained ankle. ... Florida’s defense did not commit an error throughout the series. Maine committed seven in the three games. … While UF outscored Maine 16-4 in the series, the Gators left 29 runners on base in the three games. … Florida’s starting pitchers gave up just two earned runs and 11 hits in 18.2 innings of work this weekend, earning a collective 0.99 ERA.
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Harrison Bader (8) celebrates with Dalton Guthrie (5) and Richie Martin (12) after hitting a home run during Florida's 22-3 win against Rhode Island on Saturday at McKethan Stadium.
