Gators win opener vs USF, 6-2
Posted by UFreak in 
2009 — Position — 2010
Avery Barnes — LF — Tyler Thompson
Matt den Dekker — CF — Matt den Dekker
Riley Cooper — RF — Daniel Pigott
Brandon McArthur — 1B — Preston Tucker
Clayton Pisani — 2B — Josh Adams
Mike Mooney — SS — Nolan Fontana
Josh Adams — 3B — Bryson Smith
Buddy Munroe — C — Mike Zunino
Preston Tucker — DH — Austin Maddox
Rounding the bases Friday night, Austin Maddox wasn’t sure if he was going to wake up before he reached home plate.
Moments earlier, Florida’s freshman designated hitter had just belted the second collegiate pitch of his career over the right-center field wall for a two-run home run to give the Gators (1-0) a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
His trance ended after he touched home and realized what happened.
“First (at-bat). That doesn’t happen to many people, but it felt really good,” Maddox said.
It felt pretty good for the Gators all night in their season opener against South Florida at McKethan Stadium. Along with Maddox’s debut, junior infielder Josh Adams showed off some power by clearing the left field bleachers twice as the Gators defeated USF 6-2 in front of a crowd of 3,309.
While Maddox felt like his at-bat was a dream, Adams, who has won consecutive All-SEC accolades, said he had goosebumps after his first at-bat when he hit a two-run homer off Randy Fontanez in the first.
He was giddy after the hit, but he wasn’t very nervous coming into the game.
“Honestly, for a lot of us it felt like another scrimmage game because we’ve been scrimmaging so much,” Adams said. “About five minutes until game time everybody started getting that look like, ‘All right, it’s here. We’re ready to go.’ Everybody was ready and it was a good night.”
Besides Florida’s offensive explosion in the first, Friday meant the return of a familiar face. After spending the 2009 season sidelined after shoulder surgery, sophomore right-hander Tommy Toledo made his first appearance on the mound in more than a year.
He started strong as he struck out his first batter, but admitted jitters caught up to him while facing his third batter, Stephen Hunt, who saved the inning with a single to center. After Hunt stole second, Toledo walked Sam Mende off a wild pitch, putting runners at the corners.
Toledo then calmly struck out the next batter on a 3-2 count.
Toledo’s nerves didn’t leave him. His control problems landed him in a bases-loaded situation in the second, but like the inning before, he escaped with a strikeout and the clean sheet.
“It was definitely good to get my feet wet a little bit with the guys on and get those situations out of the way,” Toledo said. “I’m sure its going to be like that for the rest of the season, so I’m glad I got the first one out of the way.”
Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulled Toledo after 3 1/3 innings with four strikeouts, two walks and an unearned run off 71 pitches. He was replaced by lefty Alex Panteliodis, who picked up the win after 3 1/3 innings and three strikeouts.
Florida’s bats went silent after Fontanez found his rhythm. He retired six straight after giving up those four runs and went 6 2/3 with five strikeouts in the losing effort.
Adams, who went 3-for-3 on the night, hit his second homer in the fifth and drove in his fourth run with a double in the seventh that scored senior center fielder Matt den Dekker.
The early bat work proved too much for the Bulls, but nerves kept the game from getting out of hand as Florida committed two errors on the night and only five hits after the first inning.
Still, O’Sullivan was pleased with the solid opening.
“There’s nothing like opening day,” he said. “Everybody’s anxious and everybody’s kind of amped up. I could tell our (batting practice) was a little different. It’s always good to get the first one out of the way.”
