UF shut out by Virginia, on brink of elimination
One game after scoring 15 runs on rival Miami, the Gators failed to score Monday night.
Now, Florida is a game away from having its season come to a close.
Virginia, a team that needed a win in its final series of the season just to make the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, continued its hot streak with a 1-0 victory over the Gators.
The Cavaliers, which advanced to the championship series last year, is a victory away from another trip to the title round. Virginia (41-22) has won seven straight and will face the winner of Wednesday’s Florida-Miami game on Friday night.
The Gators or Hurricanes would have to beat Virginia twice to move on.
"It was a heck of a ballgame,'' UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Both teams played at a very high level. Both starting pitchers were outstanding.''
Virginia pitchers Brandon Waddell and Josh Sborz combined on a two-hitter against a Florida offense that had been on a roll. In its previous six NCAA tournament games, Florida averaged just over 12 runs.
Monday, Virginia struggled against UF starter A.J. Puk until the sixth when the Cavaliers loaded the bases on three consecutive singles.
Florida reliever Taylor Lewis came in and gave up a sacrifice fly to Robbie Coman.
The Gators looked to tie the score in the eighth putting runners on the corners with no outs.
Sborz relieved Waddell (4-5) and got an out on Harrison Bader's comebacker. Sborz then got Richie Martin and Josh Tobias out to escape the jam.
"It came down to an at-bat that Robbie Coman did a nice job and got a sac fly,'' said O'Sullivan, whose team had won 10 straight.
"But I'm real proud of the way we played. .-.-. Obviously we had a chance there in the eighth with first and third, and Harrison put a really good swing on the ball. And Sborz did a nice job, and kept his composure, got the out at second. It's one of those things, if the ball gets through it's a totally different ballgame. Like I said, proud of our guys. We battled. We just came up a little bit short tonight.''
Gwynn honored
Late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn is being honored with an eight-team college baseball tournament bearing his name.
The Tony Gwynn Classic will be played Feb. 26-28 at the University of San Diego and Gwynn’s alma mater, San Diego State, where he coached for 12 seasons following his 20-year career with the San Diego Padres.
The announcement was made Tuesday on the one-year anniversary of Gwynn’s death.
“It may seem like a sad day,” said Gwynn’s widow, Alicia Gwynn. “But really it is a celebration.”
The 2016 field is set with SDSU and USD as co-hosts. Also participating are Nebraska, Nevada, Kentucky, Tulane, UC Santa Barbara and Bryant University.
The 2017 tournament will include Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Seton Hall, Wichita State and UC Irvine.
“What a way to honor Tony,” said USD coach Rich Hill, who played with Gwynn in college. “I think this is going to be the best college baseball tournament in the country. Teams are already lining up to play in it.”
Miami Herald wire services contributed to this report
This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 8:13 PM with the headline "UF shut out by Virginia, on brink of elimination."