UF and USF each post
victories while FSU and UCF lose as NCAA baseball regionals begin. At the Women’s College World Series, UF rolls past LSU 7-0.
GAINESVILLE — Behind JJ Schwarz’s timely hit and 22⁄3 scoreless innings from UF closer Michael Byrne, the No. 1-seeded Gators (43-16) narrowly escaped Friday night’s NCAA Regional opener with a 10-6 win over No. 4 seed Marist (32-22) at McKethan Stadium.
Byrne, who replaced senior reliever Frank Rubio in the top of the seventh, struck out three batters. Out of his 21 pitches, 15 were strikes and only six were balls.
Sophomore righty Jackson Kowar (12-0) got the start for Florida but struggled through 51⁄3 innings of work. Before he was replaced by Rubio at the top of the sixth, Kowar gave up five runs and eight hits, including consecutive hits to start the game.
His biggest miscue came in the top of the fourth.
After a wild pitch by Kowar put runners on second and third, the Wildcats’ Randy Taveras reached after Kowar overthrew first base after struggling to scoop a ground ball. Anthony Lazar scored on the play, and a sacrifice fly by left fielder Frankie Gregoire cut Florida’s lead to 5-4.
Despite struggles for the top of the Gators’ lineup, Florida totaled eight hits and nine RBI.
Designated hitter Mike Rivera went 1-for-3 with three RBI, including a hard rip beyond second base to score two runners to give the Gators their first runs of the game.
The Gators will face No. 2 seed USF tonight at 7.
Bulls rout ’Cats
USF left fielder Chris Chatfield knew it was good as soon as the ball left his bat.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Chatfield took a pitch down the middle of the plate from Bethune-Cookman’s Isaak Gutierrez and blasted the ball well beyond the visitors’ bullpen behind the right-center field wall at McKethan Stadium.
The two-run homer capped a dominant performance for No. 2 seed USF as the Bulls (42-17) routed the No. 3 seed Wildcats 9-1 in the first game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional on Friday afternoon.
“I thought we played really well,” Bulls coach Mark Kingston said. “We’re comfortable on that field. That’s two games in a row where we swung the bats well.
“I think our guys are comfortable in this ballpark.”
Bethune-Cookman (33-24), which rotated through four pitchers in the blowout, had no answer for South Florida’s consistent hitting.
Centerfielder Duke Stunkel led the Bulls on offense, going 4-for-6 from the plate with two RBIs. With a runner on second and facing an 0-1 count in the bottom of the second, Stunkel drilled a deep shot over the left field wall to give South Florida a commanding 4-0 lead. In addition to Stunkel, eight other Bulls recorded at least one hit in the game.
Friday’s contest would have been a shutout except for a solo home run by the Wildcats’ Chase DeBonis in the top of the ninth.
Facing a combination of Phoenix Sanders and Mark Savarese, BethuneCookman mustered six total hits.