The Florida Gators took care of business against Texas Tech Thursday night in Omaha.

The Gators beat the Red Raiders 9-6 in the elimination game to advance, and they will face a familiar foe Friday night in Arkansas. Florida received a strong outing from freshman pitcher Jack Leftwich. Leftwich threw 6.1 innings and gave up only two earned runs.

Offensively, Florida was led by second baseman Blake Reese, who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Right fielder Will Dalton also added two hits and two runs scored. Senior J.J. Schwarz broke out of his slump, thumping a towering home run to left field.

The tale of the game came in the seventh and eighth innings. Texas Tech left the bases loaded after scoring three runs, and Florida got all three of those runs back in the top of the eighth. The Red Raiders then scored three in the bottom of the eighth before the Gators closed the door.

Although Florida hasn’t named a starter yet, one would assume that first-round pick Brady Singer would get the start Friday night against Arkansas. The Gators would need to beat the Hogs two straight games in order to reach the College World Series Championship Series (best 2-of-3).