GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The William & Mary baseball team gave No. 2 Florida all it could handle on opening night, but the Gators rallied for a 5-4 opening night victory. With the decision the Tribe falls to 0-1, while UF starts 1-0.
 
Junior Cullen Large and freshman Brandon Raquet led the Tribe with two hits apiece. Large went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Brandon Raquet finished 2-for-4, had a homer, and two RBI.
 
William & Mary took an early lead thanks to a homer in the top of the second inning. In his first career plate appearances, Brandon Raquet belted a ball over the left field wall giving the Tribe the 1-0 lead.
 
Florida tied the score with a run in the bottom of the third, but W&M escaped a bases loaded jam to keep the score tied. Nelson Maldonado led of the inning with a walk, before Christian Hicks walked putting runners on first and a second. A bunt single by Blake Reese loaded the bases. Senior starting pitcher Nick Brown settled to get a strikeout, but Deacon Liput reached on a fielder's choice to allow the run to score. Brown picked up his second strikeout of the inning, before he got a ground ball to end the threat.
 
The Tribe regained the lead with a single run again on a Brandon Raquet RBI. Large led off the inning with a walk, before moving to second on a groundout by senior Ryder Miconi. After a walk to senior Charles Ameer, Brandon Raquet singled into left, making it 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
 
W&M tacked on two runs in to build its largest lead of the evening in the guest half of the fifth. With one out, sophomore Zach Pearson singled through the left side, but the Gators got a strikeout. A two-out walk to junior Ryan Hall, kept the inning live. Large followed by smoking a triple into the right center field gap, clearing the bases and giving W&M a 4-1 advantage.
 
UF started its comeback with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Back-to-back singles from Reese and Dalton Guthrie started the rally. The Tribe got a groundout, but it advanced each runner 90 feet. After the second out, JJ Schwarz singled into right center, making it 5-4.
 
The Gators claimed their first lead of the night with two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. A leadoff walk to Liput followed by an error put runners on second and third with nobody out. Schwarz followed with a groundout, but the tying run scored. The go ahead run came around to score on a wild pitch, and the Tribe got out of the inning only down 5-4.
 
W&M could only muster one hit in the final two innings and couldn't get the tying run home. Michael Byrne pitched the final three innings to earn the win for the Gators. He allowed one hit and struck out first in his first decision of the scene.
 
Brown tossed five strong innings for the Green and Gold in his first start of the season. He allowed three runs, on five hits, but struck out four. Redshirt sophomore Nick Raquet made his Tribe debut and was saddled with the loss. He pitched well, however, throwing the final three innings, allowing two hits, one earned run and struck out six.
 
The Tribe and the Gators continue their three-game opening series tomorrow, Feb. 18 at 4 p.m. The set concludes on Sunday, Feb. 19 with a 1 p.m.