OMAHA, Neb — In an attempt to wake up the bats Florida Gators manager Kevin O’Sullivan decided to shake up the starting lineup for Florida’s elimination game against TCU on Saturday night.
Ryan Larson will bat ninth tonight vs. TCU. He’s been the Gators’ leadoff hitter for the entire NCAA Tournament. Deacon Liput will now fill that leadoff role for Florida. He had been batting sixth in the lineup previously. Austin Langworthy and
O’Sullivan alluded to a change in the lineup after Florida’s 9-2 loss to TCU on Friday night.
“Probably need to look at the lineup a little tomorrow,” he said at his pregame press conference. “I hate to make a change this late in the season. But there’s some guys that are obviously not feeling great about themselves right now, and maybe I can take pressure off them by moving them down a little bit.”
The biggest change was dropping senior outfielder Ryan Larson down in the lineup. Larson has put together his best season as a Gator but is mired in an 0-20 slump since his walk off hit against Wake Forest in the first Super Regional game.
The Gators have struggled at the plate in Omaha, hitting just .200 (19-95) with 25 strikeouts.