Gator baseball team slugs past FAU, 18-11 behind Josh Rivera’s 9 RBI’s

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -Whenever a team that leads the nation in hits, home runs, and slugging percentage produces a season-high run total, you figure that number is going to be huge. Equally impressive--one player generated half of that high run total.

Florida shortstop Josh Rivera homered twice and drove in nine runs in UF’s 18-11 victory over visiting Florida Atlantic on Tuesday at Condron Ballpark. Florida improves to 11-3, while FAU drops to 7-5 with its fourth straight loss.

Ty Evans and Tyler Shelnut also went deep for the Gators, who have now bashed 39 homers in 14 games. Rivera and Wyatt Langford tallied three hits apiece, while Langford and Cade Kurland each scored four runs.

The performances were good enough to off-set a three-homer night by the Owls’ Nolan Schanuel. Jackson Ross also had a good game for FAU, going 4-for-5. Gator pitchers combined to allow 14 hits. The victory in relief went to Ryan Slater (3-0) despite allowing four earned runs on five hits over three innings.

Florida looks to stay hot at the plate and hopes to improve on the mound Wednesday against the Owls. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

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