First baseman Peter Alonso was determined not to have his college career end with a fracture to his left hand on a fastball from Vanderbilt right-hander Jordan Sheffield on May 13.
So three weeks later, with the fifth metacarpal still not fully healed, Alonso returned for a regional hosted by his University of Florida team. He homered on his first swing.
“Sheffield, he throws pretty damn hard. I think the pitch was 96 mph, or something like that,” Alonso said. “He’s a great pitcher, great arm. But I didn’t want my Gator career to end on a broken-hand hit-by-pitch against Vanderbilt.