Rivera drives No. 6 Florida to victory over FAU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 6 Florida used a nine-RBI night by shortstop Josh Rivera to take game one of the midweek series against Florida Atlantic by a score of 18-11 at Condron Family Ballpark on Saturday night.

Rivera had a career night against the Owls, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, a career-high nine RBI and two runs scored. Rivera’s nine runs drove in the most by a Gator since JJ Schwarz drove in 10 vs. Stetson on April 7, 2015.

The Owls (7-5) went ahead 1-0 in the top of the first thanks to a two-out, solo home run by Nolan Schanuel to right field. It didn’t take long for the Gators (11-3) to get back on track and then some, responding with a six-hit first inning of the season. Josh Rivera blasted a three-run homer off the batter’s eye in center field, followed by another three-run shot – this one to left-center off the bat of Tyler Shelnut.

A 41-minute weather delay paused the game in the bottom of the second inning after Wyatt Langford’s one-out double. Langford was eventually left out, allowing the Owls to cut the deficit to two runs on Schanuel’s second ball of the night — a three-run homer to straightaway center.

With a 6-4 lead in hand, Ty Evans gave the Orange & Blue a boost in the third. Evans connected for a home run for the second-straight game, leaving a yard for dead center.

Florida’s three-run advantage quickly disintegrated in the fourth as the Owls put together a five-run frame. The outburst was highlighted by RBI singles from Jalen Debose, Dylan Goldstein and Jackson Ross.

The Gators went right back to work in the bottom of the fourth, retaking the lead with a trio of runs. Rivera brought in the first with a sacrifice fly to center, while Evans walked with the bases loaded and Jac Caglianone crossed home on a wild pitch.

Florida put up another three points the very next inning. With two ducks in the pond, Rivera unloaded for his second homer of the game, setting a new career high and a season high with seven RBI.

FAU pulled away in three runs in the sixth, when Schanuel hit his third home run of the night.

In the eighth, the Gators put the game out of reach. Florida tacked on five more runs, starting with two-run singles by Langford and Rivera. BT Riopelle closed the frame with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Caglianone.

The Owls didn’t go quietly, Ross homered to the field to open the ninth. Florida Atlantic proceeded to load the bases, but reliever Brandon Neely drove the Gators away from further damage to end the game with an 18-11 tally.

Florida reliever Ryan Slater (3-0) picked up the win, pitching three innings with four earned runs allowed on five hits and two walks. He issued one.

FAU right-hander CJ Williams took the loss after tossing 1 2/3 frames with three earned runs allowed on two hits and one walk.

Both starting pitchers received no decisions on Tuesday night. Florida starter Yoel Tejeda Jr. allowed six earned runs over three-plus innings, giving up six hits and one walk. FAU starting pitcher Evan Waterbor lost seven earned over three frames, giving up five hits and four walks while striking out three.

In addition to Rivera, Langford (3-for-4) and Shelnut (2-for-3) collected multiple hits in the victory.

NOTABLES

• A 41-minute weather delay paused the game in the bottom of the second inning.
• Florida is tied for the season high with 18 goals.
  – The 29 combined hits on Tuesday were the most in a Florida baseball game since the Gators beat Winthrop, 28-5, on March 3, 2019 (33 combined hits).
• Rivera set a new career high with nine RBIs while tying his best with two home runs.
  – Rivera’s nine RBIs represent a freshman season high for the Gators and the most by a UF player since JJ Schwarz drove in 10 vs. Stetson on April 7, 2015.
• Evans homered for the second game in a row, hitting a solo shot in the third inning.
• Kurland saw a team-leading 11 hits, though he reached base four times and struck out four.
• Florida has struck out 163 batters in 120 innings – translating to 12.2 per nine innings.
• Florida’s plus-82 run differential is a team best through 14 games since the 2003 season.
  – The Gators have scored in 68 of 114 innings batted this season (59.6%).
• For the 12th time in 14 games this year, the Gators recorded a double hit.
• The Gators have 175 hits through 14 games (12.5 hits/game). The Gators improve to 25-10 all-time against the Owls including 19-8 at home.
  – Florida improved to 12-5 against FAU under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan with a 9-5 record in home games.

From HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN

In winning…
“I don’t know if it’s a lot of carelessness. The rain delay is obviously not good, but I said on Sunday, FAU can be hit. We’ve got new students who are still trying to find a way against the difficult line to navigate through. , they have five left and a switch -hitter. There were two turning points in that game. I think when Slater came back out in the top of the fifth and it went one-two-three after we scored three in the bottom of the fourth. huge for our momentum and obviously playing Josh’s defense in the bottom of the eighth with a hitter leadoff was a tremendous play. I didn’t know he had nine RBIs that night. He’s just playing at a high level right now. Offensively, we’re really good.”

In a bullpen performance…
“The other thing for me, Ryan’s line doesn’t show how he throws. The ball comes out a different way than this weekend. His fastball has a little hop. His slider is short and has a fast break at the end. . He’s had a little bit of misfortune with his pop up over the third baseman’s head and then bunt swinging down the third-base line. I thought he threw the ball well, so we get him to a point where he felt good about his outing and get him out [Nick Ficarrotta] in, he did the job, we got out. Philip [Abner] come in, do the job, we get him out. He swung his first fastball, missing Neely. The last three or four fastballs, he had real intent, so we had to keep coming out. The bottom line is that he hasn’t made as much as we need and if we get him more, he’ll be more consistent. For those three guys especially in the middle, do the job and don’t control and like I said, put a zero on top of the five and it’s better to get them out, success, get it. out, so now he can go forward and hopefully we can continue to build.”

In FAU’s pitching and lineup…
“He hit the strike zone. I think we nibbled a little early in the count and sometimes with two strikes we got to 0-2 and then it was a 2-2 count and then it went in. predictable fastball count. We still have to do some things, but let’s face it, FAU’s lineup is as good as any lineup you’ll see this year. It’s an SEC lineup and they have some of the best hitters in the country hitting right there and they start the game left, left, left. Unless you can slow the ball down down, they are quite good. I said that all together.”

UP NEXT

Florida and FAU return to action Wednesday night at 6 p.m. with coverage on SEC Network+.