Replacing a two-year starter in Taylor Gushue was no easy task for Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida Gators.
Taylor Gushue actually graduated high school early and enrolled at Florida in time for the spring and made 52 appearances including 39 starts while learning under All-American Mike Zunino. Gushue started the next two seasons behind the dish, leading the Gators pitching staff and holding down the middle of the order for the Gators. He finished second on the team in batting average (.316) and led them with six home runs.
The Gators are missing his leadership off the field but on the field they’re getting more than they bargained for from a pair of freshmen.
JJ Schwarz was supposed to be a first round selection in the last Rule 5 MLB Amateur Draft. When that didn’t happen, he elected to spend the next three years in Gainesville, working on his game. Mike Rivera joins Schwarz in the class and the two have proven to be quite the duo behind the plate for O’Sullivan.
“We’ve thrown out I think over 50% [of runners stealing]. Both guys received real well, Mikey, I don’t think, dropped the ball all night,” O’Sullivan recalled of Rivera’s opening night performance against Rhode Island. “It was a cold, chilly night and his first college game. Didn’t drop a ball. JJ did great. He handled himself fine last night [against USF] on the road. We’re very fortunate.”
Fortunate, indeed.
Schwarz and Rivera have a history together. They both played for the Florida Burn — a prestigious travel team out of Florida — as well as competed on the 18U Team USA roster and were both integral players in Team USA repeating as World Champions. Schwarz hit .333 (12-for-36) with nine RBI and three doubles. Rivera drove in a team-high 11 runs, hit .364 (16-for-44) and added seven runs scored and three doubles.
The duo were so impressive in the fall that O’Sullivan began experimenting with moving first baseman Pete Alonso to right field in order to be able to get both freshmen bats in the lineup. With Alonso sidelined for several weeks due to a broken foot, the two freshmen have been hitting in the middle of the lineup, rotating between catcher and DH and both have looked like anything but freshmen in the box.
Rivera and Schwarz are tied for the third highest batting average on the team at .333. Schwarz is 5-for-15 with four of his five hits going for extra bases, including two home runs. Rivera is 4-for-12 with two RBI.
The two are getting the job done behind the plate, while also doing a fair job of handling the Gators young pitching staff. The staff has a 1.25 ERA and the two freshmen have done a good job of familiarizing themselves with the staff.
Replacing a veteran like Gushue was no easy task for Florida but Rivera and Schwarz have filled in early on in their careers and appear to have Florida set for years to come.