The Gator baseball team wrapped up its fall practice sessions on Sunday with Game 2 of the Orange and Blue World Series. The six-inning scrimmage once again utilized a non-traditional game format to enable coaches to evaluate players in different scenarios.

The six-inning game started in the top of the fourth, where the Gator offense plated the first of its two runs. Following back-to-back singles by junior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville , Ga.) (1-for-3, one RBI and one walk) and freshman Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) (2-for-4), freshman Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) (2-for-3, one RBI) smoked a fastball up the middle to drive in Smith.

The Gators’ second run came in the bottom of the seventh. After stroking a single into right center, freshman Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.) (1-for-3, one run and one walk) advanced to third on a double by senior Matt den Dekker (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) (2-for-4) and scored on a sacrifice fly. On the day, the Gator offense pounded out 14 hits, with four walks and two runs.

However, the day was characterized by formidable pitching, assisted by another flawless day from the Gator defense.  The Gator pitching effort was led by freshman Ben Brown (Winter Haven, Fla.) and sophomore Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.). Brown pitched two perfect innings, registering one strikeout, while his counterpart Poovey surrendered one hit and collected two strikeouts in two frames.

Freshman Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.), sophomore Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) and senior Kevin Chapman (Coral Springs, Fla.) each contributed an inning on the mound, giving up a total of five hits, with two K and one walk. Junior walk-on pitchers Grant Abadal (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Matt Campbell (Tampa, Fla.) completed the scrimmage, as both righties threw two innings, giving up three hits and notching one strikeout apiece.

The Gators will spend the remainder of the fall semester with individual workouts as they continue preparations for the 2010 season, which head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s team will begin on Feb. 19 with the opener of a three-game series against USF at McKethan Stadium.

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