The Gators opened their season strong this weekend after facing the USF Bulls in a three game series which left the Gators 3-0. The series began on Friday, ending on Sunday in extra innings in McKethan Stadium. Although, completing the sweep was not a complete cakewalk.

The Florida Gators begin their 2010 baseball season with a running start, as they beat South Florida by four runs on Friday evening. Junior, Josh Adams, seemed as if he was the impact player of the game when he went 3-3 at the plate along with 4 RBI. Two home runs by Adams and Maddox enabled them to take an early 4-0 lead. On Saturday, freshman lefty pitcher, Brian Johnson, was the starting pitcher for the Gators with 5.2 scoreless innings. The sophomore outfielder, Tyler Thompson, had a standout night going 2-5 with 4 RBI. Washington and Maddox both hit one run homers to put a few runs on the board. Brian Johnson and his fellow Gators defeated the Bulls 9-1.

Sunday was a completely different story as the Bulls were looking to finally beat the Gators after losing two nights in a row. USF scored five runs in the top of the 8th as they trailed the Gators 3-1. Now, the Bulls were leading the game 6-3. Although, Coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his players had other things on their minds as they were behind by 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Gators were looking to complete the sweep and they would not quit fighting for the victory until the last out. The Gators rallied in the ninth to give USF a run for their money which would lead the teams into extra innings. USF shortstop enabled the Gators to score the tying run as he committed a very costly error. Without the error, the Bulls would have packed up and hit the road leaving the town of Gainesville victorious.

Only the Gators got of the McKethan Stadium alive this weekend as they faced the Bulls, but the #7 ranked Gators are facing the UCF Knights on Wednesday evening at 6:30. The Gators are having a extremely successful start to the 2010 baseball season as they look to advance to 4-0 after the three game sweep in Gainesville.

(Information collected from ESPN.com, Gatorzone.com, and from Adam Silverstein from Onlygators.com)
By: Justin Rectenwald