COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies dropped the second game of their series against the No. 1 Florida Gators, 6-1, Saturday afternoon on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park.
The loss dropped Texas A&M to 33-14 overall and 11-12 in the SEC. Florida improved to 38-10 overall and 18-5 in league play.
Aggie starter John Doxakis (6-3) worked 5.0 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out five. Asa Lacy worked the final 4.0 innings, yielding two runs, one earned, on two hits.
UP NEXT
The Aggies look to stave off the series sweep Sunday in a 12:02 p.m. contest.
SCORING SUMMARY
T3 | Florida took advantage of three free passes to manufacture a run. Blake Reese and Nick Horvath drew six- and seven-pitch walks, respectively and Deacon Liput moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Nelson Maldonado was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reese scored when Jonathan India ground into a fielder's choice putout at second. UF 1, A&M 0.
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T6 | The Gators took advantage of an Aggie error to put up three runs. India started the inning with a five-pitch walk. Wil Dalton hit a tailor-made double play ball back to the mound, but Doxakis' throw to second sailed right of the bag. JJ Schwarz and Alex Langworthy both knocked in runs with singles and Brady Smith finished the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly. UF 4, A&M 0.
B6 | The Aggies broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Michael Helman and Cam Blake both drew five-pitch walks. After a double steal, Hunter Coleman was hit by a pitch. UF 4, A&M 1.
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T7 | The Gators stretched the lead back to four runs. Liput doubled to start the inning and stole third base. He scored on a sacrifice fly by India. UF 5, A&M 1.
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T8 | Florida took advantage of another A&M error to add an insurance run. A throwing error by Braden Shewmake on a grounder to short put Schwarz on second. He moved third on a sacrifice bunt by Langworthy and scored on a sacrifice fly by Smith. UF 6, A&M 1.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On Florida's pitching…
"When you're going against (Brady) Singer and (Jackson) Kowar, you're only going to get so many opportunities and we certainly had some today. We had seven free base runners. We just weren't able to cash in on them but give them credit. That's why they're two of the best in the country."
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On today's game…
"We set up a couple innings for them and they got some big hits. I thought (John) Doxakis was very good. We walked the first two guys, they bunted them over, we hit the next guy and a sac fly gave them the first run. Then we walked the leadoff hitter again later, we got a double play groundball and threw it away and they cashed in on that as well. The story of the day is missed opportunities on our part and we gave them opportunities that they capitalized on. You can't give Florida anything. They are so deep from a lineup standpoint, very deep on the mound and they're incredibly well coached. You have to be your very best in every facet to have a shot to win late. We haven't done that the last two days."
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Sophomore LHP John Doxakis
On his pitching…
"There were some good parts there were some bad parts. Obviously there were too many free bases. That's going to kill you and that's where most of their runs came from. We always hang our hats on throwing strikes and I didn't do my best, so we are going to get better at that."
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On his throwing error…
"We practice that every day, it happens. I need to overcome it and make sure it doesn't happen again. Nothing affected the throw, it's just a mess up and obviously the bat went flying."
The loss dropped Texas A&M to 33-14 overall and 11-12 in the SEC. Florida improved to 38-10 overall and 18-5 in league play.
Aggie starter John Doxakis (6-3) worked 5.0 innings, allowing four runs, three earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out five. Asa Lacy worked the final 4.0 innings, yielding two runs, one earned, on two hits.
UP NEXT
The Aggies look to stave off the series sweep Sunday in a 12:02 p.m. contest.
SCORING SUMMARY
T3 | Florida took advantage of three free passes to manufacture a run. Blake Reese and Nick Horvath drew six- and seven-pitch walks, respectively and Deacon Liput moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Nelson Maldonado was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Reese scored when Jonathan India ground into a fielder's choice putout at second. UF 1, A&M 0.
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T6 | The Gators took advantage of an Aggie error to put up three runs. India started the inning with a five-pitch walk. Wil Dalton hit a tailor-made double play ball back to the mound, but Doxakis' throw to second sailed right of the bag. JJ Schwarz and Alex Langworthy both knocked in runs with singles and Brady Smith finished the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly. UF 4, A&M 0.
B6 | The Aggies broke the scoring seal in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Michael Helman and Cam Blake both drew five-pitch walks. After a double steal, Hunter Coleman was hit by a pitch. UF 4, A&M 1.
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T7 | The Gators stretched the lead back to four runs. Liput doubled to start the inning and stole third base. He scored on a sacrifice fly by India. UF 5, A&M 1.
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T8 | Florida took advantage of another A&M error to add an insurance run. A throwing error by Braden Shewmake on a grounder to short put Schwarz on second. He moved third on a sacrifice bunt by Langworthy and scored on a sacrifice fly by Smith. UF 6, A&M 1.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Rob Childress
On Florida's pitching…
"When you're going against (Brady) Singer and (Jackson) Kowar, you're only going to get so many opportunities and we certainly had some today. We had seven free base runners. We just weren't able to cash in on them but give them credit. That's why they're two of the best in the country."
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On today's game…
"We set up a couple innings for them and they got some big hits. I thought (John) Doxakis was very good. We walked the first two guys, they bunted them over, we hit the next guy and a sac fly gave them the first run. Then we walked the leadoff hitter again later, we got a double play groundball and threw it away and they cashed in on that as well. The story of the day is missed opportunities on our part and we gave them opportunities that they capitalized on. You can't give Florida anything. They are so deep from a lineup standpoint, very deep on the mound and they're incredibly well coached. You have to be your very best in every facet to have a shot to win late. We haven't done that the last two days."
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Sophomore LHP John Doxakis
On his pitching…
"There were some good parts there were some bad parts. Obviously there were too many free bases. That's going to kill you and that's where most of their runs came from. We always hang our hats on throwing strikes and I didn't do my best, so we are going to get better at that."
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On his throwing error…
"We practice that every day, it happens. I need to overcome it and make sure it doesn't happen again. Nothing affected the throw, it's just a mess up and obviously the bat went flying."