Vanderbilt brought the hits from their eight-game winning streak to Gainesville right on time for their three-game series against the Florida Gators last weekend. Unfortunately for head coach Tim Corbin and the Commodores, they didn’t quite bring the runs until Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, Jason Esposito took the fate of the slumping Vanderbilt offense into his own hands, hitting home runs in back-to-back innings as the Commodores took the third game of the series, 7-0, and avoided a Southeastern Conference road series sweep in the final game just as they did against Alabama two weeks ago.
Florida centerfielder Matt den Dekker hit a two-run home run off of Richie Goodenow in the seventh inning of the Gators’ 3-2 victory on Friday, tarnishing another strong outing from sophomore Sonny Gray (4-3). On Saturday, the Gators chased Vanderbilt starter Taylor Hill (3-2) during a three-run sixth inning on the way to a 7-3 win.
The Commodores failed to take advantage of eleven combined hits off of Alex Panteliodis, Jeff Barfield (1-0) and Kevin Chapman, leaving nine runners on base in Friday’s game. The final two, Andrew Harris and Brian Harris, were left stranded in the ninth inning when second baseman Riley Reynolds struck out swinging to end a late rally.
Florida jumped ahead in the second inning on Saturday on a two-run home run from leftfielder Daniel Pigott and built its lead to as large as six runs. Starting pitcher Brian Johnson allowed one run on seven hits over 5.2 innings and also went 3 for 3 at the plate for the Gators.
Despite commanding outings from Panteliodis and Johnson, the series was far from lacking in impressive performances from the Vanderbilt pitching staff. On Sunday, Jack Armstrong (4-0) pitched six scoreless innings to remain undefeated on the season, striking out four and allowing the Commodores to build their early lead. Armstrong combined with relievers Goodenow and Chase Reid for the Commodores’ second shutout of an SEC opponent this season.
And on Saturday, reliever Corey Williams made a spectacular play from his stomach in the seventh inning after a line drive hit him in his right knee, breaking his kneecap. Williams grabbed the ball after falling to the ground and shoveled it over to Aaron Westlake at first. Westlake came off the bag to cut the throw off and tagged the runner out in front of the bag. Williams will miss the rest of the season.
The series win concludes a brutal stretch of Florida’s schedule on a positive note. The Gators were ranked second in the nation before losing two of three on the road against No. 11 Ole Miss and dropping a mid-week contest to Florida State in Jacksonville. Panteliodis bounced back from his first loss of the season against the Rebels with a strong performance on Friday, striking out six Commodores and allowing one earned run in 6.1 innings of work.
Andrew Giobbi continued his recent offensive tear, going 3 for 3 and scoring both Commodore runs on Friday. The senior catcher was 6 for 12 on the weekend and hit 14 for 25 in the six games going back to the final game of the Kentucky series last Saturday.
The Commodores have lost their first two SEC series on the road, performances that lie in sharp contrast with the team’s 19-1 record at Hawkins Field. After an eight-game homestand starting Tuesday night against Belmont, the team begins a six-game road trip that includes a three game series against Tennessee and single games against Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and Austin Peay.
