Baseball

GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? Jeff Corsaletti went 4-for-5 with four RBI, including the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth to lead No. 7 Florida to an 11-6 victory over Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.

With the win, Florida pulled off the series sweep to improve to 23-7 overall and 6-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Kentucky fell to 14-12 on the year, including 0-8 in league play. The Wildcats have dropped 12 straight league games dating back to last year.

Sunday marked the second game in the series Florida won in its last at bat and it was the third time in its last four losses Kentucky has lost in the opponents final at bat.

The game was tied, 6-6, heading into the eighth when pinch hitter Bryson Barber led off with a walk. Brian Jeroloman singled to set up Corsaletti?s game-winning RBI single.

Then the floodgates opened. Stephen Barton followed with a bloop single to load the bases.

After an RBI groundout made it 8-6, Matt LaPorta launched a two-out, three-run home run over the wall in straight away center for the final margin.

All five runs were charged to freshman Brock Baber, who took the loss for the second straight game and fell to 0-2 on the year. He had entered in the seventh worked a perfect inning before the Gators got to him.

Kentucky rallied from a three-run deficit in the top of the seventh behind a pair of one-out singles from Antone DeJesus and Shaun Lehmann followed by a two-run home run by John Shelby.

The dinger was the fifth for Shelby this year, all coming in the last 13 games. With a single in the game as well, Shelby has tallied four multi-hit games in his last six outings. He finished the series with six hits and six RBI.

As they did in the first two games of the series, the Wildcats jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. DeJesus led the game off with a single and Michael Bertram drew a walk. Both came home on Kevin Caldwell?s two-out double to right-centerfield.

Florida answered with a single run in the third and took a 4-3 lead with a three-run fifth. Brandon McArthur had the big blow with a two-run homer before starter Kalen Gibson allowed a single and walked three straight batters to force in a run.

The lead was extended to 6-3 in the sixth on Corsaletti?s two-run home run.

Gibson went the first five innings and allowed five runs on four hits while walking five and striking out six. He earned a no-decision after Shelby tied the game in the eighth.

Darren O?Day earned the win for Florida after pitching a perfect 1 2/3 innings to end the game. He improved 5-2 on the year.

Kentucky returns to action on Wednesday at home against Evansville at 6:30 p.m.

Related Stories

View all