GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There was the moment in Friday's 9-3 loss to Florida at the Gainesville [Fla.] Regional that you knew Bethune-Cookman had played itself back into contention.
How could you tell?
The top-ranked Gators went to the bullpen three times in the seventh inning.
Josten Heron just scored on Nate Sterijevski's triple to right center. Pitching change. Rakeem Quinn walked and Demetrius Sims singles home Sterijevski to make it a four-run game. Pitching change. Throw in one more situational change – the Gators' bullpen is that deep – and Florida keeps the damage down, then answers with two runs of their own to preserve the win.
The Gators' heroes this night were Peter Alonso, who absolutely crushed two home runs in his first game back after missing ten games with a broken hand and staff ace Logan Shore, the Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year who remained undefeated (11-0) on the year and recorded his fifth post-season career victory.
But just like in the midweek game here last month, it came down to the Wildcats spotting the Gators an early lead – 6-0 after three.
“It's unfortunate that we played a little bit uncharacteristically," stated B-CU head coach Jason Beverlin. "The way we've been playing the last 20 games or so, we've played really good defense and had good starting pitching. I thought we swung the bats alright today, but we couldn't overcome some mistakes we made on the mound and out in the field.”
The Wildcats challenged Shore from the get-go – it took a diving catch from Gator centerfielder Buddy Reed to deny Rakeem Quinn a hit on the first pitch and a Deacon Lilput fielding play at the cusp of the outfield to get Michael Cruz to end the inning.
But while Shore's filthy fastball/offspeed sequence kept Bethune-Cookman unsettled, the Gators were making the the most of what they were given.
After a two-out hit batter, Alonso send a Tyler Norris hanging slider into the trees behind left field for a 2-0 first inning lead. The Gators' two runs in the second reached on walks. The two runs in the third were unearned.
“It was tough tonight," stated Nathan Bond. "(Florida's) pitching is pretty good. I was thinking that if we could get some runners on base, we could start this thing back up again.”
The Wildcats got to Shore in the fourth when Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie Of The Year Danny Rodriguez doubled and scored on Jameel Edney's two-out single.
Alexis Herrera relieved Norris in the third and, with the exception of one missed fastball in the fourth that Alonso smacked into left center, kept the Gators off-balanced with his sidestep delivery for 3 1/3 innings.
Sims registered two hits for the Wildcats, while Quinn registered his 28th stolen base of the year and also provided the defensive highlight of the game with a fifth-inning diving catch.
Bethune-Cookman (29-26) will face Georgia Tech, who lost 7-6 to UConn, in an elimination game Saturday at noon. Florida and UConn will meet at 6 p.m.
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