GAINESVILLE -- Gainesville baseball showed plenty of balance on Friday -- the kind of balance that the Red Elephants hope will lead them deep into the playoffs.
It certainly proved more than enough to get them through the first round.
The Red Elephants edged a pitcher’s duel against Cambridge in Game 1, taking a 3-2 decision and then completed the sweep courtesy an offensive explosion in Game 2, 14-3 in five innings.
“We can only go to series-to-series, but that was a great start for us,” Gainesville coach Jeremy Kemp said. “It was huge for us to start out like this and get some rest for our pitchers with the next series coming up. And even though we’ve got a lot of guys with playoff experience, we’ve still got some young guys that this is their first time in the playoffs, so it’s big to build confidence.”
Gainesville (22-5) drew plenty of confidence from starter Jonathan Gettys in Game 1, as the junior overcame a shaky first inning to dominate the rest of the way -- before a wild seventh inning nearly let the Bears back into contention.
“I feel like if we can just get our pitchers two runs we’ve got it from there,” Red Elephants senior catcher Michael Curry said.
Gainesville gave Caleb Whitenton a huge cushion in Game 2, scoring early and often before an eight-run fifth inning put the series away.
“You can’t sleep on these first round series, and sweeping it puts us in a great position,” said Curry, who provided plenty of the firepower, going 3 for 4 with three doubles and an RBI in Game 2; Gettys also finished 3 for 4 with four RBI and a home run. “I’m a senior so that gives me that little bit extra, knowing this is my last go around, and I want to give the guys something big to go out on.”
The win set up a second round showdown with Lakeside, Evans starting with a doubleheader on Wednesday at Ivey-Watson Field in Gainesville, start time still to be determined.
GAME 1: Gainesville 3, Cambridge 2
Gettys found his groove after some early control issues and allowed the Red Elephants to grab control of the contest, as the junior starter went 6 innings without allowing a run.
Gettys walked the first two batters he faced -- from there it was almost all smooth sailing, as he struck out 10 Bears batters, allowing just three hits along the way.
“He got rattled early, and I went out and (assistant) coach (Adam) Miller went out there and got him settled down,” Curry said. “He was lights out from there.”
Cambridge’s Austin Weiermiller proved tough to touch as well, however, and Gainesville needed four innings to take the lead -- Whitenton finally getting to grips with the Cambridge starter to smoke a solo home run over the left field wall. Anthony Carrera also scored on an error in the inning to make it 2-0.
“Their first starter was about as good as we’ve seen all season,” Kemp said of Weiermiller.
Mikey Gonzalez, who finished the contest 2-for-2 from the plate, combined with Fedrick Cardona to make it 3-0 in the fourth. Cardona walked, took second and third on a wild pitch and came home on a deep sac fly from Gonzalez. Whitenton also finished 2-for-2 in the contest.
“I think Caleb’s home run really got us going,” Curry said. “Sometimes we lack some intensity, but after that we were ready.”
It looked as if that would be plenty for the Red Elephants, who took a 3-0 advantage into the top of the seventh, but the Bears racked up two straight hits on Gonzalez -- who came in to relieve Gettys -- and pulled within a run on a Red Elephants error. But Harrison Styles entered and sealed the victory, inducing a pop out to Brandon Sewell in right field.
“Jonathan’s pitch count got to 100, and that’s enough for him, so we had to pull him, and we had some tough plays in the field after that,” Kemp said. “But we got it done.”
GAME 2: Gainesville 14, Cambridge 3, five innings
The Red Elephants jumped on the Bears early courtesy a first inning double from Anthony Carrera, a deep drive that scored Collier Scott (running for Curry) and Whitenton for a 2-0 lead.
Cambridge pulled a run back in the second, only to watch Gainesville catch fire in the third. Curry led off with his second double of the game, and Carrera was hit by a pitch to set the stage for Gettys -- and the designated hitter responded, smacking a two-run single. The RBI chased Cambridge starter John Hirschland, but the Red Elephants weren’t finished, as Drew Wright followed with a two-out RBI single off reliever Michael Viafora. Banks Griffith closed out the scoring spurt when he took home on a wild pitch for a 6-1 Red Elephants lead.
It was nothing compared to the fifth inning, however.
Following a two-run surge from Cambridge in the fourth, Gettys responded with a solo home run for a 7-3 advantage. It was just the start of an offensive explosion for the Red Elephants, who racked up five hits and eight runs in the frame -- chasing three pitchers in the process. Gonzalez, Griffith and Curry all drove in runs to help put the contest away.
Gainesville finished the contest with 12 hits -- more than enough Whitenton, who took the win after 4 innings pitched, allowing three runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Styles pitched the fifth.
“You’ve got to take advantage of those situations and get it done when you can,” Kemp said. “You want your pitchers to get some work, but not too much work here in the playoffs, so to finish it off was huge.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2015/5/307498/baseball