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Rohan Swings At Pitch

Baseball Falls To No. 1 Florida 22-5 In Series Opener

Rohan Homers For First Time This Season

Box Score

ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop baseball team opened its two-game midweek series against the No. 1 Florida Gators with a 22-5 defeat on Tuesday evening at McKethan Stadium.

The Eagles record drops to 9-10 on the season, while the Gators improve to 19-2 overall.

“The bottom line is just we have to be better on the mound,” said head coach Tom Riginos. “We pitched from behind in the count all night. When you play a team like the University of Florida they are going to make you pay, and that's what they did tonight.”

Wade Newman (0-2) took the loss throwing 3.1 innings and allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits, two walks and one strikeout. Steven Rodriquez (1-0) earned the victory surrendering two runs on three hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 3.1 innings of work.

Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Nolan Fontana and Austin Maddox scored with two outs in the inning. Maddox singled to center field and came around with Fontana after a fielding error by Cam Walters.

Winthrop cut the deficit to 2-1 in the top of the second inning when TJ Olesczuk drove in Brett Thomas with his RBI sacrifice fly to right field, but the Gators responded with two runs in the bottom-half of the inning on RBI's from Brian Johnson and Ben McMahan.

Eddie Rohan made it 4-2 in the top of the fourth with his first home run of the season, a solo homer, over the left field fence. Florida answered with two more runs in its half of the fourth which saw Josh Adams record a lead off solo home run to left field. Preston Tucker also added an RBI in the inning.

After the Eagles scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning on Tyler Cook's RBI single and Matt Pierpont scoring on a wild pitch, the Gators drove in nine runs during the fifth and sixth innings to make it a 15-4 contest. The fifth inning was highlighted by Fontana's two RBI double, while Adams and Kamm Washington recorded an RBI each. In the sixth Fontana hit a grand slam to right field, and Brian Johnson also homered to right field.

Winthrop made it 15-5 after plating one run in the top of the seventh on Rohan's RBI single to center field. Florida came back and scored seven combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings. The two runs driven in by the Gators in the bottom of the seventh came when Mike Zunino and Tyler Palmer scored on a fielding error by Thoams at first base. Zunino followed a bases loaded walk by Palmer in the eighth with Florida's second grand slam of the game to increase its lead to 22-5.

Rohan finished the contest with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate, including the home run, to lead the Eagles offensively. Cook also added two hits and an RBI. Five different Gator players recorded three hits each on the evening, while Fontana drove in six runs and Zunino with four.

Winthrop and Florida will wrap up their midweek series with game two on Wednesday, Mar. 23 at 7 p.m.

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