Toledo, den Dekker lift No. 5/7 Gators over Saints

No. 5/7 Florida Gators baseball (5-0) continues to roll through opponents in 2010, taking down the Siena Saints (1-4) 13-3 Thursday night at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Tommy Toledo (1-0, 2.16 ERA), more than a year removed from shoulder surgery, tossed a career-high seven strikeouts over five innings while giving up just three hits and two runs in the victory.

Senior outfielder Matt den Dekker (.500) had a career-high four hits in the outing, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Adding to den Dekker’s production were freshman catcher Austin Maddox and sophomore OF Tyler Thompson, who each went 3-3 with two RBI and a run. Sophomore designated hitter Ben McMahan added a 3-5 performance with a home run, two RBI and two runs, while freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana jacked a homer of his own to left field in the fifth inning.

Florida tagged Siena pitcher Robert Tedesco for seven earned runs in 3.1 innings of work; they also dominated replacement Ryan Poplawski with six earned runs in 4.2 innings of relief. The Gators will open up a three-game series against the La Salle Explorers with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. The third game of the series will be played Sunday at noon.