http://gatorcountry.com/baseball/ GatorCountry.com baseball news feed English ray@gatorcountry.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-25T04:00:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/bats_fall_silent_again_in_2_1_loss/14330 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/bats_fall_silent_again_in_2_1_loss/14330/article}#When:04:00:00Z
On Thursday against the Commodores, the Gators seemed to slip back into the slump that plagued the team through the latter half of the season. Florida (41-17) fell 2-1 in the SEC Tournament after Vanderbilt (32-25) held the Gators to just four hits.

“We did not hit, and that’s the bottom line,” assistant coach Brad Weitzel said on the Gator Radio Network. “In fact, I don’t even know if we brought the bats to the ballpark.” ]]> 2012-05-25T04:00:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/things_starting_to_click_for_gators/14320 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/things_starting_to_click_for_gators/14320/article}#When:21:48:00Z
The bats have come alive for the Gators. The team racked up double-digit hits in each of the past four games – all against Auburn – after staggering through SEC play with a .257 team batting average with only three regular starters hitting better than .300.

Enormous pressure as the nation’s preseason favorite might have gotten to the team in conference play, as Florida fell just one win shy of an SEC regular season title.

But will the pressure of those expectations fade and make way for a determined team with its eyes on the ultimate prize now that the postseason has arrived? ]]> 2012-05-23T21:48:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_top_tigers_6_1_in_sec_tournament/14318 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_top_tigers_6_1_in_sec_tournament/14318/article}#When:00:25:00Z
Five of the Gators’ six RBI came from freshman hitters, as Florida (41-16) cruised past Auburn (30-27) in the opening round of the 2012 SEC Tournament with a dominant 6-1 win, avenging a Saturday loss that cost Florida an SEC title.

“That game against Auburn (Saturday) hurt bad,” assistant coach Brad Weitzel said on the Gator Radio Network. “It was probably good we got to play them again.” ]]> 2012-05-23T00:25:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/pitching_staff_can_carry_florida_through_postseason/14311 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/pitching_staff_can_carry_florida_through_postseason/14311/article}#When:23:11:00Z
The team was blasting the ball around the park en route to a 20-1 start, batting .309 as a team. Then the bats went ice cold down the stretch and the team limped into the final few weeks of the season with one of the worst hitting slumps of the Kevin O’Sullivan era.

Overlooked in the rollercoaster ride at the plate has been the job Florida’s pitching staff has done to help propel the Gators to their fourth straight year with at least 40 wins.

“I haven’t had many staffs like this,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I think they’ve been really good all year. We’ve mixed the rotation around a little bit because we’ve had to.” ]]> Feature image story 2012-05-21T23:11:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/florida_ready_for_auburn_again/14310 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/florida_ready_for_auburn_again/14310/article}#When:17:23:00Z
The Gators (40-16) will take on the Tigers (30-26) at 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday in the third game of the tournament in Hoover, Ala.

“We fell a little bit short of an SEC regular season (title), but LSU earned it,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said on an SEC teleconference call. “I think this road trip has been really good for us, to be honest with you. We’ve had some good practices, and I thought we played really well at Auburn. I know they’re anxious to make a really good run here in the postseason.” ]]> 2012-05-21T17:23:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_falter_with_sec_title_on_line/14302 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_falter_with_sec_title_on_line/14302/article}#When:21:55:00Z
Tucker, a tad too slow, couldn’t beat the throw by Auburn right fielder Creede Simpson, who fired a strike to home plate and extinguished any chance of a regular season conference title with the bizarre game-ending double play.

The No. 3 Florida Gators (40-16, 18-12), needing a victory in the series finale vs. the Auburn Tigers (30-26, 13-17) to stay in contention for the title, fell short in a crushing 5-4 defeat in which the Gators held another early lead at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala. ]]> 2012-05-19T21:55:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_baseball_dominates_auburn/14301 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/gators_baseball_dominates_auburn/14301/article}#When:02:51:00Z
With postseason play around the corner, a quality pitching start and an early offensive explosion fueled the No. 2 Florida Gators (40-15, 18-11) to victory for the second-straight night.

The Gators clinched its final regular season series by defeating the Auburn Tigers (29-26, 12-17) 10-1 Friday night at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.]]> 2012-05-19T02:51:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/tuckers_record_blast_ignites_gators/14295 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/tuckers_record_blast_ignites_gators/14295/article}#When:03:20:00Z
Tucker, one hit away from becoming the all-time school leader in hits, smacked a two-run home run in the second inning to break the previous mark of 319 hits held by former second baseman Mark Ellis. The Florida offense, led by its slugging trio of Tucker, Nolan Fontana and Brian Johnson, erupted early in Auburn, Ala., en route to a commanding 6-0 win.

No. 2 Florida improves to 39-15 and 17-11 on the year. Auburn falls to 29-25 and 12-16.]]> 2012-05-18T03:20:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/samford_tops_florida_12_7_in_shootout/14283 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/samford_tops_florida_12_7_in_shootout/14283/article}#When:02:50:00Z
Samford (34-19) put on a hitting clinic against Florida (38-15) in a 12-7 win, racking up 15 hits on the Gators, the most the nation’s No. 3 team has given up all year.

“Obviously we didn’t get off to a great start pitching-wise,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said on the Gator Radio Network. “The thing that really, really hurts is we finally started swinging the bat there in the middle of the game. We scored five runs there in the fifth, six and seventh and we turned around and gave up five in return. We just could not seem to put a zero on the board.” ]]> 2012-05-16T02:50:00-05:00 http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/uf_hopes_two_week_road_trip_snaps_slump/14278 {title_permalink=http://www.gatorcountry.com/baseball/article/uf_hopes_two_week_road_trip_snaps_slump/14278/article}#When:19:36:00Z
With the core of last year’s lineup that hit .307 back this season, the hitting woes of late are almost unfathomable. Even this year’s lineup hit .309 while putting together a remarkable 20-1 start the season.

“It's baseball,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “When you're around this game as much as I've been and other people have been, there's nothing you can say or do other than encourage, keep working at it, and at some point we have talent, it's going to turn around. It is what it is.” ]]> 2012-05-14T19:36:00-05:00