OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Harrison Bader led off the game with the first of Florida’s four home runs, Alex Faedo and two relievers combined on a four-hitter, and the Gators knocked Miami out of the College World Series with a 10-2 win Wednesday night.
It was the second time in five days the Gators (51-17) dominated Miami, and now they’ll play Virginia on Friday needing to beat the Cavaliers twice to reach next week’s best-of-three finals.
The Hurricanes (50-17) went 1-2 in their first CWS appearance since 2008.
Two nights after Virginia beat Florida 1-0 on a two-hitter, the Gators’ offense was back to its usual prolific self against the Hurricanes. The Gators outscored Miami 25-5 in the two CWS meetings, with Saturday’s 15-3 win the most lopsided postseason loss in Miami history.
Buddy Reed, Richie Martin and Peter Alonso also homered for the Gators. Before the new flat-seam ball was put into play this year, TD Ameritrade Park had yielded only 25 home runs in the 59 CWS games since its 2011 opening and only three each of the last two years.