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| Pitching |
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| W- Hudson (1-0) |
6.0
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7
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1
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1
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0
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6
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| L- Barbosa (0-1) |
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| SV - Toledo (1) |
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| Batting Leaders |
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| USF - Falla |
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| UF- Fontana |
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Three hits from sophomore Jimmy Falla and a quality start from senior LHP Andrew Barbosa were not enough as the University of South Florida baseball team (0-2) fell to No. 1 Florida, 4-1, Saturday afternoon at Florida's McKethan Field in Gainesville.
USF would get on the board first. With one down in the top of the first, a single by senior Jonathan Koscso followed by a double to right center by junior Sam Mende put runners on second and third.
Koscso would cross home plate on junior Todd Brazeal's RBI ground out to second base to give the Bulls the 1-0 lead after the first frame.
The lead was short lived however as Florida reached Barbosa for an unearned run in the bottom of the first.
After a scoreless second inning, Florida took the lead when Josh Adams bounced into a 4-6-3 double play scoring Dave Pigott, who doubled to lead-off the inning.
That was all either starting pitcher would yield as both Barbosa and Florida's Hudson Randall would hold down the opposing offenses for the remainder of their outings.
On the day, USF would outhit the Gators, 11-10, but it would be a story of missed opportunities for the Bulls.
The Bulls left 10 runners on base thanks to a pair of run-saving plays by the Gator defense.
With two down in the fourth and runners on first and second, senior Junior Carlin sent a sharp liner up the middle into center field. Trying to score from second, Brazeal was thrown out at the plate on a perfect one-bounce throw from Florida centerfielder Bryson Smith that beat Brazeal by a step.
Trailing 2-1 in the top of the seventh, the Bulls loaded the bases with two outs for Mende. Mende sent a 2-0 pitch bouncing up the middle but Florida shortstop Nolan Fontana made a diving stop behind second base and flipped to second for the third out to preserve the Gator advantage.
Florida went on to tack on an unearned run in their half of the seventh and then another run in the eighth.
Offensively, Falla led the Bulls with a career-high three hits including a two-out triple in the fourth inning with Carlin adding a pair of singles.
The 6'8 Barbosa (0-1) was left on the hook suffering the hard luck loss after going 6.0 innings, scattering six hits, allowing just two runs, one earned and striking out five. Of Barbosa's 70 pitches, 49 were strikes.
The Bulls will look to avoid the sweep as they send true freshman LHP Nick Gonzalez to the mound in the series finale. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. tomorrow at McKethan Field. Sunday will be a matchup of true freshman as Florida will send RHP Karsten Whitson to the mound. Whitson was selected in the first round of last June's Major League Baseball Draft by the San Diego Padres with the ninth overall pick.
Game Notes
Today's game was played in 2:16 … Senior OF/LHP Junior Carlin made his first appearance on the mound since the 2008 season … The three hit day for Jimmy Falla was the first of his career … Falla's triple in the fourth inning was also the first of his career … With five strikeouts on the afternoon, senior LHP Andrew Barbosa has struck out five or more batters in 10 of his 16 career starts … Barbosa has gone 5.0 innings or more in 15 of his 16 career starts and 6.0 or more in 13 of 16 starts.
