Gator baseball roughs up Jacksonville

Josh Adams' sensational freshman season continues to surge forward.

Adams went 4-for-5 and drove in five runs to help lead No. 18 Florida to an 11-6 victory over Jacksonville in front of 2,755 fans Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium.

Adams, who grew up not far from the Dolphins' campus in Jacksonville, matched his career high in RBI and set a new career high for hits.

"I was just seeing the ball well tonight," Adams said. "I kind of had a feel for their pitching staff since I grew up in Jacksonville. I've known their coach (Terry Alexander) since I was six years old. I kind of have a good idea of what they like to do up there."

Adams passed Cole Figueroa for the team lead in RBI with 30 and is now tied with Avery Barnes for the team lead in average at .403. This was Adams' sixth game of the season with at least three RBI.

"He's hot," Figueroa said. "There's not much more you can say."

Adams delivered an RBI single in the first, a double in the third, a two-run single in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth.

The only time Jacksonville retired Adams was when Steven Eagerton, Adams former high school teammate at Eagle's View Academy, forced him to fly out deep to the right-center field warning track to end the sixth.

"(A home run) would have been nice," Adams said. "I gave him a little scare."

Dustin Bamberg went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI while Jon Townsend added three hits and drove in two runs.

Clint Franklin (3-1) got the win after working 2 innings in relief of starter Travis Lawler.

Lawler, a freshman right-hander, ran into serious trouble in the fifth inning after surrendering no runs and one hit in his first four innings of work. The Dolphins battered Lawler for six hits and five runs in the fifth inning.

Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan kept Lawler in the game during the Dolphins rally hoping he would get out of the jam. O'Sullivan was hoping Lawler could give the team more innings and rest a bullpen with five games on tap this week.

"I didn't want to take him out," O'Sullivan said. "But it got to the point where the tying run came to the plate."

With Florida clinging to a 7-5 lead and two runners on, Franklin got out of the jam by getting Thomas Myers to fly out to the warning track in left field.

The Gators and Dolphins will conclude their two-game, home-and-home series tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Sessions Stadium in Jacksonville.

NOTES: Florida left fielder Avery Barnes extended his hitting streak to 14 games with his second inning single. ... Right fielder Jonathan Pigott did not play Tuesday due to an illness, O'Sullivan said. Clayton Pisani started in right field in his place.