GAINESVILLE - Connor Falkenbach pitched five innings of scoreless relief to lead Florida to a 5-3 win over Vanderbilt on Friday.
Falkenbach (7-3) took over for starter Tommy Boss, who gave up three earned runs in four innings, and allowed just two hits the rest of the way for the Gators (29-12, 9-7 Southeastern Conference).
Vanderbilt (27-11, 7-9) took a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning on a two-run homer by Tony Mansolino.
Florida narrowed the deficit to 3-2 then took the lead with two runs in the sixth when C.J. Smith scored on a Vanderbilt error and Matt LaPorta's sacrifice fly.
Jeremy Sowers (6-3) took the loss for Vanderbilt, giving up four runs - but just one earned - and five hits in seven innings.
MORE BASEBALL: Georgia Tech's Brandon Boggs drove in five runs and scored three in an 11-4 win over host Florida State. ... USF's Conference USA series opener at Memphis was postponed because of bad weather and is scheduled to be made up as part of a doubleheader today.
FOOTBALL: Game times for Florida's matchups with Tennessee and Georgia have been set, and CBS will broadcast each. The Gators' SEC opener at Tennessee will be at 8 p.m. Sept. 18, and the game against Georgia will be at 3:30 p.m. Oct. 30 in Jacksonville. Florida opens the season on Sept. 4 at home against Middle Tennessee State.
MEN'S BASKETBALL: Miami guard Armondo Surratt will transfer after he was granted a release from his scholarship less than two weeks after the school hired Frank Haith as coach. Surratt, who started 29 games this season, has not decided which school to attend.
TRACK: USF's Jimmy Baxter of St. Petersburg won the high jump at 7-13/4 at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. Megan Malone set a USF record at 12-71/2 to finish fifth in the pole vault. ... Florida's Ryan McIntyre won the discus with his best mark in two years, and the men's shuttle hurdle relay team recorded a victory in that event at the 109th Penn Relays in Philadelphia. McIntyre won at 193-5.
USF AD: Three more applications were received for the vacant athletic director position at South Florida: Jamie Baringer, assistant general manager of JRV Management in Ohio; Jon Oliver, senior associate AD for administration at Virginia; and Joe Hull, senior associate director of athletics at Maryland.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The daughter of former Stanford and Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway signed a letter of intent to play for the Cardinal. Jessica Elway, a 5-foot-10 guard/forward from Englewood, Colo., averaged 10.1 points as a senior at Cherry Creek High School.
