Gators take bite out of Nebraska

Florida rides early home run to 7-4 victory over Cornhuskers, halting NU's 11-game win streak

? Five pitches into the game, Florida’s Jeff Corsaletti and Adam Davis had negated some of Nebraska’s home-field advantage at the College World Series.

Corsaletti opened the game with the first of his record-tying three doubles, and Adam Davis followed with a home run to start a 7-4 victory Sunday that moved the Gators within a win of the championship round and ended Nebraska’s 11-game winning streak.

“Coming out and starting with a double and having the next pitch cranked over the fence, right away you had 26,000 people all go quiet,” Corsaletti said. “We couldn’t have scripted the start any better.”

The Gators (47-20) will take a season-best seven-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game against the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between the Cornhuskers (57-14) and Arizona State.

Arizona State eliminated Tennessee with a come-from-behind 4-2 victory in Sunday’s first game.

The Gators, who have never won more than two straight in the CWS in four previous appearances, need just one more victory to reach the best-of-three championship series.

“We took a step tonight, but there’s still a lot ahead of us,” Florida coach Pat McMahon said.

Florida starter Tommy Boss, who had complete-game victories in the regionals and super regionals, left with two out in the fifth after Ryan Wehrle’s two-run double pulled the Huskers to 7-4.

Sidearming reliever Darren O’Day (8-3) earned the win, limiting Nebraska to two singles the rest of the way and retiring the last seven batters.

He ended Nebraska’s threat in the fifth by striking out Jeff Christy on three straight sliders.

“Tommy battled because he didn’t have his good stuff today, but he got the 14 outs and turned it over to the bullpen,” O’Day said. “I did what they asked of me.”

Davis said Corsaletti, the Boston Red Sox’s sixth-round draft pick, set the tone for the game with his first at-bat.

“If you look bad in that first at-bat, the whole team’s shoulders kind of drop,” Davis said.

“Hitting a double like that, everybody is high on what he did.”

After Davis’ 11th homer put the Gators up 2-0 in the first, the Huskers scored one in return in the bottom half on Jesse Boyer’s leadoff double and Alex Gordon’s sacrifice fly.

Florida led 3-1 in the third after Corsaletti’s second double and Matt LaPorta’s sacrifice fly.

Arizona St. 4, Tennessee 2

Arizona State rallied for three eighth-inning runs to beat Tennessee and eliminate the Volunteers.

Blanked for six innings Sunday by Tennessee freshman lefty James Adkins and trailing 2-0, the Sun Devils scored in the seventh and then took the lead in the eighth.

Sun Devils standout Travis Buck, who had four hits and was tagged out trying to steal home in the ninth, Buck had an RBI single in the seventh to make it 2-1. Then Seth Dhaenens, who didn’t start, doubled in the go-ahead run in the three-run eighth.

Tuffy Gosewisch and Zechry Zinicola opened the seventh with opposite-field singles, and then Joey Hooft chopped a ball over first baseman Alex Suarez’s head for a double that tied it at 2.