The Florida Gators baseball team was swept by No.23 Vanderbilt this weekend after an 11-3 loss on Sunday, dropping to 1-11 in SEC play. Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad has been swept twice by a conference opponent at home this season for the first time since 2004. The Gators, one of college baseball’s national powerhouses, are off to a historically bad start.
“Credit Vandy, they battled all weekend long, and they beat us, bottom line, but we certainly didn’t help ourselves,” O’Sullivan said on Sunday.
Florida’s losses keep piling up as they continue making the same mistakes over and over again. The Gators were outscored 20-5 in three games vs Vanderbilt, despite only being outhit 29-26 this weekend. You read that correctly; Florida’s offense only scored five runs on 26 total hits vs Vanderbilt.
The Gators were horrific at the plate in big situations, batting 4-29 (.137) with runners in scoring position including 0-5 with the bases loaded across three games. Florida had a number of chances throughout the weekend to change the outcome or momentum of the game but couldn’t deliver the big hit.
“It’s really hard to watch,” O’Sullivan said on Florida’s hitting with runners in scoring position. “We had bases loaded a couple more times today, didn’t deliver.”
Most notably, the Gators were 2-10 with runners in scoring position including 0-3 with the bases loaded in game two’s 3-2 loss. One of those bases loaded opportunities came with just one out in the inning. The Gators out-hit Vandy 9-5 in game two but left 11 runners on base in the contest.
On the other hand, Vandy was able to take advantage of opportunities, coming up with timely two out hitting with runners in scoring position all series long.
Florida pitching had some bright moments this weekend but failed to finish what they started. In all three games, the Gators were either tied or down by three runs or less entering the 7th inning. Florida was outscored 11-1 in 7th, 8th, and 9th innings this weekend, ending any chance they had at mounting a comeback.
One of Kevin O’Sullivan’s best qualities as a head coach is getting his team to play their best ball when it matters most. The time for improvements is right now sitting at 1-11 in SEC play, but the Gators aren’t playing any better.
“Been here a long time, I’ve never been a part of something like this,” O’Sullivan said. “At some point they respond, the players kind of pull together and figure these things out. For whatever reason this group is just not responding at all to any type of adversity.”
Despite a historically bad start, the Gators won’t throw in the towel yet.
“We’re going to keep coaching them. At some point, this thing has got to improve. But to use the word disappointment would be a huge understatement, to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan said.
With the benchmark for an NCAA Tournament selection historically being 13 SEC wins, the Gators likely need to finish 12-6 in their final 18 conference games. That means Florida can’t really afford another series loss, unless they can get a sweep or two in the process.
Florida is set to take on the SEC’s worst baseball team in Missouri at home next weekend.