GAINESVILLE, Fl. - The Florida Gators (25-9) pummeled Stetson (18-16) 22-2 in a midweek matchup, led by freshman JJ Schwarz who became the first Gator in school history with four home runs in a game. As it turned out Schwarz could have beaten the Hatters by himself.
Schwarz (5-for-6) totaled a career-high 10 RBI with a two-run homer in the second inning, a two-run shot in the third inning, a three-run bomb in the fourth, a solo shot in the seventh and a two-run double in the eighth. Fellow freshman Dalton Guthrie also launched his first two career home runs for the Gators.
“I’ve never hit two [home runs in a game] before. After my second one, I was really excited, and then after the third I was like, ‘Holy crap, what is going on?’” said Schwarz.
Gator head coach Kevin O’Sullivan seemed to agree with Schwarz assessment.
“This game will drive you crazy. We got nine hits the last two games in Missouri. If you look on the board tonight, we have 22 hits. Obviously, this was a special night for JJ [Schwarz]. I don’t know if I have ever seen a guy hit four homers in one game. The most impressive thing is that he drove a ball to right center on his last at-bat. Sometimes home runs can be the best thing that happens to a hitter to get them going, but sometimes it can be the worst thing because they start pulling off the ball. For him to finish the night the way he did, and for him to hit the ball on the nose the other way, then that tells me tonight was a really special night for him because he was locked in.” said O’Sullivan.
The Gators will host SEC Eastern Division rival No. 21 South Carolina in a three-game series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. at McKethan Stadium
