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If anything is going to stop Florida this postseason, it looks like its in-state rivals won't be that thing. After blowing through Florida State in two straight Super Regionals, the Gators rocked the Hurricanes 15-3 in the College World Series's second game:
Florida pounded Miami for 11 runs in the bottom of the fourth, setting a new record for runs in an inning at notoriously offense-starving TD Ameritrade Park — and without the benefit of a home run — and added three more before the night was done, cruising to a 15-3 victory that set a new venue record for both runs and margin of victory.
Miami scored the first two runs of the game, each coming on a sac fly in the first and third innings, respectively. Florida added one of its own in the third off of a balk, but it was in the fourth where things got cooking.
Florida scored more runs (11) than it had hits (nine) in the frame. Three different Miami pitchers contributed to the shelling, and the last of them didn't go into the fifth. A pair of errors from shortstop Brandon Lopez on the same play—one fielding, then throwing—set up the first two runs by moving the inning's lead off man Josh Tobias to third and putting JJ Schwarz on base.
The 11 runs came largely as a result of steady offensive output. Only Schwarz early on made it on base due to error, and the only walk other than Tobias's was an intentional one to load the bases. Not surprisingly for the venue, there wasn't a home run in the inning either. The nine hits were eight singles and a double, and only one run came on a sacrifice. Every Gator in the lineup made it on base at some point except Harrison Bader, who struck out in his only plate appearance in the fourth.
The onslaught put the 2015 Gators into the record books and effectively ended the game at its halfway point. UF's starter Logan Shore only went one batter into the sixth, a double that eventually turned into a run scored for Lopez. That runner aside, three relievers closed out the game for Florida without allowing a run. Three more UF runs in the seventh added insult to injury and gave the game its final margin.
On Monday, Florida will get Virginia, who beat Arkansas 5-3 in the day's earlier game.