Wake-Up Call: Former Plant star Tucker powers Gators

Welcome to the Wake-Up Call, a new feature on TBO.com that will greet you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

The other day, University of Florida freshman first baseman Preston Tucker (Plant) spoke about his recent improvement at the plate.

"I'm seeing the ball really well," he said.

Wednesday night, Tucker's performance had to be seen to be believed.

Tucker hit three home runs, including two grand slams, and set a school record with 11 RBIs in the Gators' 16-3 victory against the Central Florida Knights.

The stunning production happened in three consecutive innings.

* Fifth inning: Grand slam, down the right-field line. "I think it hit Keys [a dorm across the street from the stadium]," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
* Sixth inning: Three-run homer to left-center field. "Opposite field, something we've been working on," O'Sullivan said.
* Seventh inning: Grand slam to center field. "The third one was a laser and it didn't get 10 feet off of the ground," O'Sullivan said.

"I've never done that before [hit three home runs] before, so I've never had the emotional high you get when you hit three home runs in a game," Tucker said. "I'm still in awe."

In his last three games, Tucker is 10-for-12 with six homers and 20 RBIs.

In his last 12 games, Tucker is 23-for-43 with 31 RBIs.

Overall, Tucker is now batting .363 with seven homers and 39 RBIs.

Tucker's RBIs broke the UF single-game record of 10, set by Avery Barnes against Tennessee in 2007 and Adam Davis against Tennessee in 2005. It tied the SEC record (Mississippi State's Jason Nappi against UAB in 2008).

Tucker's three homers tied the UF single-game record, set by six players, most recently by Brian Leclerc against Florida A&M in 2005. Tucker became only the third SEC player to hit two grand slams in one game, joining Georgia's Roger Miller (1987) and Auburn's Frank Baldasare (1968).

Elite junior golfers are here

Can't make it to Augusta this weekend for Tiger's latest show-stopping performance?

Here's a chance to catch the next generation. Friday through Sunday, the American Junior Golf Association will hold the Mizuno Junior Tournament at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club. Eighty-five Florida players are included in the 216-player field, including boys and girls ages 12 to 18, representing 27 states, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Norway, Northern Ireland and South Africa.

First groups are off at 8 a.m. each day in the 54-hole stroke-play event.

The boys' field includes Sebring's Rocky Khara, Tampa's George Letson, St. Petersburg's M.J. Maguire and Riverview's Ian McConnell, while the girls' field features Bradenton's Doris Chen (the defending champion), Dunedin's Michelle Butler, Inverness' Briana Carlson, Lutz's Alexandra Milan, Tampa's A.J. Newell and Plant City's Madison Opfer.

The Tampa Bay area has a distinguished history with the event. Ryuji Imada (Chamberlain) won the boys' event in 1994 and '95. Beth Bauer (Bloomingdale) was the girls' winner in the event's first five years (1994-98), while Brittany Lincicome (Seminole) was the champion in 2001 and 2003.

Span breaks out quickly

Minnesota Twins LF Denard Span (Tampa Catholic), beginning his season in the major leagues for the first time, is 4-for-9 (.444) in three games as the leadoff batter. Wednesday night, Span hit his first home run, a two-run shot, to help the Twins past the Seattle Mariners 6-5.

Harvey surfaces with Rockies

Outfielder Ryan Harvey (Dunedin) has signed with the Colorado Rockies, just two weeks after being released by the Chicago Cubs, the organization that made him the sixth overall pick in the 2003 baseball draft. Plans are for Harvey to play at Double-A Tulsa. In six minor-league seasons, Harvey had 83 home runs and batted .247 and never advanced past Double-A. Can Harvey turn it around? Maybe there's some déjà vu in play.

Another former Dunedin High standout, Brian Dopirak, was a second-round pick by the Cubs in 2002. Dopirak was released in 2008, but resurrected his career and batted .308 with 27 home runs and 88 RBIs with the Dunedin Blue Jays, who named him Most Valuable Player.

Murray springs back

Former Plant QB Aaron Murray, who enrolled early, is wrapping up his first spring season at the University of Georgia. He has a healthy competition with Zach Mettenberger, a fellow freshman who said he was set on early enrollment himself once he learned of Murray's plans. Murray and Mettenberger could very well be Georgia's primary choices for starting quarterback in 2010. For now, Joe Cox will be the replacement for Matthew Stafford, the probable No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Murray could get some face time in Saturday's G-Day spring game, which will be shown live by ESPN at 1 p.m.

Coley hired at St. Pete High

One of the top players in Pinellas County history, Tamika Coley, has been hired as girls basketball coach at St. Petersburg High School. Coley, who had been coaching the junior varsity at Gibbs, helped Pinellas Park to the state's Final Four in 1991, averaging 22 points, 18 rebounds and six assists. At the University of Central Florida, she became a three-time All-Atlantic Sun Conference first-team selection.

She scored a UCF-record 2,006 career points (the only UCF player to pass 2,000) and had a UCF-record 1,211 career rebounds, while averaging a double-double each season at UCF. She made it to the final cut for the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team and was inducted into the UCF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

Birthday wishes

Former Brandon High School basketball player Jeff Turner - who became an All-SEC player at Vanderbilt, earned a gold medal with Coach Bobby Knight's 1984 U.S. Olympic team and was a first-round draft choice of the New Jersey Nets - turns 47 today.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Wednesday's trivia question:

Former Winter Haven High School star Otis Birdsong, an All-American at the University of Houston, never won an NCAA Tournament game. In fact, the Cougars failed to earn any NCAA bids during Birdsong's career (1974-77). In Birdsong's final collegiate game, he had 38 points, but Houston lost to St. Bonaventure 94-91 in the National Invitation Tournament championship game at Madison Square Garden.

Thursday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Florida Gators freshman Preston Tucker set a school single-game record with 11 RBIs on Wednesday night against Central Florida. Who holds the single-game RBIs record for the Florida State Seminoles?

Check for the answer in Friday's Wake-Up Call.