Freshman Brendan Lawson hit a grand slam and drove in five on top of Colby Shelton’s three-hit, three-RBI day.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 10 Florida utilized rookie heroics to secure an 11-1 victory in eight innings in front of 8,155 fans at Condron Family Ballpark on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Gators improved to 6-0 featuring series wins over Dayton (2-4) and Air Force to open the campaign. Saturday’s series-clincher was taken in by the fifth-largest crowd in Florida Baseball history.
With the game hanging in the balance in the middle innings, freshman Brendan Lawson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brendan-lawson/17350> (1-for-3) drilled a grand slam for his first-career homer. The Canadian rookie finished with five RBI on the day while Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/17335> (3-for-5) was also instrumental, barreling a pair of RBI doubles to chip in three RBI behind seven combined innings of shutout ball from starter Jake Clemente<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jake-clemente/17322> and reliever Frank Menendez<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/frank-menendez/17331>.
The Gators received a zero in the top of the first from Clemente, who struck out three to strand a pair of baserunners. Blake Cyr<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-cyr/17347> got the Orange & Blue started in the bottom half, leading off with a first-pitch double down the left-field line. After a passed ball, Bobby Boser<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bobby-boser/17349> drove in Cyr with a sacrifice fly to right-center to open a 1-0 Florida lead.
Clemente retired the side in order in the second and fanned two more Flyers in a scoreless third to raise his strikeout total to six. Florida then broke the game open in a major way, featuring a sweet swing from an aforementioned rookie infielder.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third, Lawson blasted a grand slam to right field on a 0-1 offering for his first-career home run. That pushed the UF advantage to 5-0 through three innings and the Gators never looked back.
After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth, Clemente was replaced on the mound by the lefty-throwing Menendez. The sophomore hurler produced a one-two-three frame with one strikeout for the Gators in his season debut.
Menendez tossed another zero in the sixth, handing the baton to the UF bats. Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/17325> led off the bottom of the inning with a double to deep center while Cyr reached on a hit-by-pitch. With two men down, Shelton came through with a two-run double down the left-field line to make it 7-0 in favor of the Gators.
Menendez retired the side in order once again in the seventh, reaching a career-high three innings and five strikeouts in the process. Kurland managed a one-out double in the bottom of the frame, but was left stranded as right-hander Matthew Jenkins<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/matthew-jenkins/17361> assumed the mound to pitch the eighth inning.
Dayton broke through for one run on an RBI single by Bobby Stand in the top of the eighth, but the Florida offense answered loudly to end contest in eight frames. Hayden Yost<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hayden-yost/17337> led off with a double off the right-field wall and Cyr was plunked for the second time. Shelton delivered a clutch swing once again two batters later, drilling a double to center to plate Yost while Lawson added his fifth RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to left to bring in Cyr. Landon Stripling<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/landon-stripling/17351> then called ballgame with two outs and the bases loaded, dropping a single just inside the left-field line for two runs and a makeshift, 11-1 walk-off win.
Menendez (1-0) earned the victory on three shutout, one-hit innings. He fanned a career-high five batters.
Clemente fired four scoreless, one-hit innings and surrendered two walks in the no-decision. He struck out seven batters after fanning eight in his first start one week ago.
Flyers starter Peyton Malecha (0-1) was handed the loss after 4 2/3 innings with five runs allowed on three hits and five walks. He struck out one.
NOTABLES
* Saturday’s crowd of 8,155 fans was the fifth-highest in program history.
* Florida’s 6-0 start has been fueled by three run-rule victories.
* The Gators have knocked at least nine hits in all six games.
* For the fourth-straight game, at least eight UF starters notched hits.
* Florida pitchers have produced an 83-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio through five games.
* All 19 UF pitching appearances have featured at least one strikeout.
* Through 49.0 innings, UF pitchers have allowed just seven earned runs on 28 hits and 11 walks on the year, equating to a 1.29 ERA and .163 batting average against.
* After stealing 43 bases one year ago, the Gators have already swiped 24 bags (55.8%) through six games.
* With today’s seven-strikeout, two-walk performance, Clemente has recorded 15 strikeouts to two walks in his first two starts.
* Lawson hit his first-career homer via a grand slam in the third.
* In his season debut, Menendez chucked a career-high three shutout innings with a career-high five strikeouts against zero walks.
* He earned his second-career victory.
* Shelton smacked two doubles and drove in three runs.
* Stripling ended the game in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run single to invoke the mercy rule.
* The Gators have struck out just 35 times while drawing 29 walks and 15 hit-by-pitches.
* Florida improved to 2-0 in the team’s first-ever series against Dayton.
* The Gators are 39-0 all-time vs. the Atlantic 10 (33-0 vs. current A10 teams).
* UF is 14-0 (11-0) against the A10 under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1999>.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On his overall impressions…
“Two starts in a row, four innings. That was one of those main things we talked about when the season started. We need to get some more quality starts than we had last year. You don’t want to go to your pen in the fifth. He just seemed a little off tonight. I don’t know if it’s mechanics or something. We’ll have to watch the video. With that being said, Frank was outstanding, 32 pitches over three. He threw the ball really good. It was great to see Brendan get his first home run. You know it was a grand slam. The other really big at bat was Colby’s double with two outs. He drove in two there down the left-field line. What a really good swing. We got production up and down the line again. We played clean baseball. Overall, it was a good night. We just need to figure out the starting pitching thing, which we will. They’ve been great in the preseason and everything. Traditionally, your second start is not your best start. Arm may be a little fatigued or whatever, so we’ll get those guys right.”
On Menendez and the bullpen…
“I knew we needed to get him and a couple of the other freshman lefties out there, and they’ll get
out there this week as well. And I thought Matt Jenkins did well, too. I know he gave up one run, but he had a good fastball on both sides of the plate.”
On Lawson’s performance and his characteristics as a freshman…
“He’s got a slow heart rate. Doesn’t seem to ever get too excited. The game doesn’t speed up on him. His zone control is exceptional, especially for a young hitter. He doesn’t chase out of the zone very much. We put him in the fifth spot tonight for a reason. He’s been swinging the bat really good. A lot of his outs have been hard hit. He’s an advanced hitter and I think I’ve said that even before the season started. He’s been doing that against our own pitchers as well.”
UP NEXT
Florida and Dayton meet in the series finale on Sunday at 12 p.m. on SEC Network+.
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