With the hitting Florida produced all weekend, starter A.J. Puk’s exit after just 11 pitches would not stop the Gators from sweeping the Aggies.
For the third consecutive game, the Gators delivered 12 hits, this time necessary in order to fend off Texas A&M’s 12 hits en route to a 10-7 comeback victory.
The No. 1 Aggies (22-6, 4-5 SEC) started sophomore Jace Vines on the mound. Vines, who was cleared at the last minute to play from an illness, pitched only three innings after allowing five runs on six hits.
A&M starters Vines, Kyle Simonds and Tyler Ivey pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 11 runs on 14 hits, while also walking six batters. But on Sunday, Florida inflicted most of its damage in the seventh inning.
The No. 2 Gators (27-3, 7-2 SEC) trailed 7-6 with two outs and the bases empty in the seventh. Ryan Hendrix walked a pair of batters, and Buddy Reed and J.J. Schwartz took advantage by driving them home with RBI singles to take an 8-7 lead.
Mark Ecker could not stop the bleeding once he came into relieve Hendrix, as he faced the hottest bat of the weekend in Peter Alonso.
Alonso blasted two home runs and registered five RBIs on 8-for-12 hitting in the series. In need of insurance, he added an RBI single to right. A flustered Ecker then delivered a wild pitch to bring in Schwarz from third, creating the 10-7 score.
The early 2-0 lead for UF was quickly diminished once Puk was out of the picture. In the top of the third, Birk’s RBI double off UF’s Brady Singer scored J.B. Moss and Austin Homan to even the score at 2-2. Boomer White’s RBI single claimed the lead and Bank’s groundout RBI provided a 4-2 cushion.
That breathing room vanished after Florida’s three-run fourth inning, but Birk was at it again in the fifth. Moss started the frame with a triple, and Birk followed with a homer to right center to place the Aggies ahead at 6-5. Then, Michael Barash created a 7-5 advantage with an RBI double that brought home White.
Though two different Aggies recorded three hits on the day — White and Melton — it wasn’t enough to match up with Florida’s firepower. Four Gators registered two hits and Reed went 3-for-5 on the day.
The A&M pitching was not of aid, as it walked 20 batters for the series. In total, the Aggies allowed 24 runs on 36 hits in the three losses to the Gators.
Up next for A&M is a mid-week Tuesday matchup at Rice before a home series with Georgia this weekend.
