Deric Fabian home run gives Florida early lead in key series against Vanderbilt
Florida is underway against Vanderbilt in a pivotal SEC series as the regular season quickly comes to a close, and a Deric Fabian home run gave the Gators an early 2-0 lead over the Commodores.
Fabian was in the starting lineup for the Gators for the first time in nearly a month thanks to an injury to shortstop Josh Rivera.
After right fielder Tyler Shelnut got aboard in the bottom of the second inning with a double to right center field, Fabian came up to bat with one out. He saw three pitches, launching a deep home run to left field to open the game’s scoring.
Florida would continue the scoring in the bottom of the second inning after the Deric Fabian home run, plating another run before Vanderbilt finally retired the side.
Second baseman Cade Kurland hit his way on after the bomb with a two-out single to center field. Left fielder Wyatt Langford plated him with a double down the left field line, making it 3-0, before the inning ended with a deep Jac Caglianone flyout to center field.
On Friday night, Fabian made his first start since a game against Florida A&M on April 18. He certainly made it count.
Fabian earned the start after Rivera, the team’s star shortstop, was sidelined due to being in concussion protocol. Rivera was hurt when he slid into second base in a game against Texas A&M last weekend.
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Rivera was in the middle of a terrific season. He sits second on the team in batting average at .367. Meanwhile, he’s one of four players on the team who have hit double-digit home runs, knocking out 14 on the season.
The star shortstop has hit seven doubles and a triple, while knocking in 55 RBI. He has an OPS of 1.120 and a slugging percentage of .655.
The Deric Fabian home run showed he’s a pretty capable replacement. Though he hasn’t been as much of a regular in the starting lineup, Fabian has made some nice contributions.
He has put together a .238 batting average while appearing in 15 games with six starts. He had hit one home run prior to Friday night against Vanderbilt.