The No. 1 overall seed in the 2012 NCAA Baseball Tournament opened the postseason in impressive fashion on Friday night. The Florida Gators defeated Bethune-Cookman 4-0 on a dominant pitching performance by Jonathon Crawford, who pitched a no-hitter against the overmatched Wildcats. Crawford allowed only one baserunner, a walk in the top of the third inning. It's the first no-hitter for the Gators since 1991 when John Burke tossed a no-no against Furman in the NCAA Tournament. The sophomore struck out five as he cruised in a 98-pitch outing to open the regional round with a win.
On the offensive side for the Gators, it was all Casey Turgeon. The second baseman drove in all four runs, even though all Crawford needed was the RBI single in the second which brought home Daniel Pigott. Turgeon added to his big night in the bottom of the 5th when he launched a three-run homer to left.
Florida now faces the No. 2 seed in the Gainesville regional, Georgia Tech, on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET.
For updates on the NCAA regionals, keep checking this StoryStream from SB Nation Tampa Bay. For more on the Gators baseball program, visit Alligator Army.