Josh Rivera hits two-RBI home run in first inning against Georgia
Florida SS Josh Rivera added to his impressive hitting numbers early Sunday afternoon, blasting a two-RBI opposite-field home run in the first inning to open things up against Georgia.
The two-shot bomb was good for the 14th homer of the season for the senior and counted for his 51st and 52nd RBI on the season. It boosts his season batting average to .396, which ranks fifth-best in the SEC. He went on to hit a single and double over the next three innings.
Catch the big-time bomb below as the No. 3 Gators look to send the Bulldogs back to Athens with a series loss.
Florida added some cushion to its lead in the second inning and put itself in the driver’s seat early. After Rivera’s two-run shot followed by the extra run in the first, teammate Jac Caglianone — who also received the start on the mound — doubled the lead with a three-RBI home run of his own.
The shot was good for Caglianone’s 20th of the season — which leads both the SEC and NCAA. The next closest has 18.
Behind the bats (and arm) of Caglianone and Rivera, you can catch the rest of the game live on SECN+ as Florida looks to win the series 2-1 over their SEC rival.
More on Florida’s season, series against Georgia
The SEC East might be the strongest division in college baseball. Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida are all ranked in the top 12 in the latest D1 Baseball Rankings. Despite ranking No. 3 in the latest rankings, Florida (29-7, 10-4 SEC) sits in third place out of the group thanks to their four conference losses through 14 games.
Georgia ranks last in the division (4-10 SEC), but enjoyed a seven-run ninth inning against Florida to help the unranked Bulldogs sneak past the highly-ranked Gators 13-11 after UGA freshmen Cade Kurland (2-for-5) and Luke Heyman (2-for-5) hit a pair of grand slams to help lead Georgia to victory.
Florida turned around Saturday afternoon and defeated Georgia 2-1 after center fielder Michael Robertson hit a walk-off single to even the series at one a piece heading into Sunday’s matchup. It was the 15th time Florida was forced to come back from behind and win this season — more than half of the team’s 29 wins.
“I knew I hit it good. At that point, I pretty much in my head, whether they caught it or not, I think it was going to be deep enough to get the job done. Pretty much right off the bat I was in celebration mode,” Robertson said about his walk-off single. “My guys did a good job of getting on base in front of me and I got a good pitch to hit and squared it up.”
After the Georgia series, Florida will turn its attention to Florida A&M for a one-off game on Tuesday before focusing on this weekend’s road series against No. 6 South Carolina.