The Gators took their brooms to Missouri this weekend.
Florida baseball completed the weekend sweep of No. 22 Missouri after beating the Tigers 4-3 on Saturday.
"We finally put it all together," said Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan after the win. "We’ve been swinging the bats really well all year long for the most part … I just wish we’d pitched like this the entire year, we probably wouldn’t be in the position that we’re in. They really battled."
There is a reason why O'Sullivan was so proud of his pitching staff this weekend - the group combined for a season-best of 17 scoreless innings.
On Saturday it was Nick Pogue, who started things on the right foot for the Gators, matching a career-high with 5.1 innings pitched with no runs allowed. He also set career-highs with six strikeouts and one walk.
"Nick Pogue, to go on the road and do what he did today, that’s three quality starts in a row for him," said O'Sullivan. "Jordan Butler looks like he’s trying to catch form and Christian Scott, what can you say, he was unbelievable. That’s the best fastball he’s had in quite some time. He was throwing sliders for strikes on both sides of the plate to both righties and lefties. It was a gutsy performance."
With their pitching staff holding their own, Florida's bat woke up in the second inning. Kendrick Calilao kicked things off when he singled to center field and then Cory Acton followed it up with a double off the wall. The Missouri center fielder bobbled the ball, which allowed both runners to advance and Calilao to score.
Acton was able to score soon after after a grounder from Jacob Young.
UF was able to add to their lead in the third inning when Brady McConnell was walked but soon sprinted to third after a Austin Langworthy single. A ground ball from Nelson Maldonando would score McConnell and make it 3-0.
The home team would rally back in the seventh, scoring three runs to tie the game, however, UF would have the final word.
Langworthy walked to lead off the inning then stole second on a strike out. Then Brady Smith's double would bring home Langworthy for the winning fourth run.
UF has now sept Missouri four years in a row - beating the Tigers 12 consecutive times.
"I’m proud of the team, that they didn’t hang their heads and come in here thinking that we’re out of this thing," said the UF skipper. "I think we’ve put ourselves in a very interesting position moving forward. I think with the way we’re playing right now, the way we’re trending upward … we’ll see what happens.”
Florida will now journey to Hoover, Ala. to play in the SEC Tournament as the No. 11 seed. The Gators will open up the competition against No. 6 seed Texas A&M on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
After the series win the Gators have a chance of a postseason.
“I haven’t really looked at it that closely to be honest with you, I’ve been trying to help these young players get better," said O'Sullivan about the team's resume. "Every coach is going to feel like their team should get in. I feel like the history that we have and the success we’ve had in the postseason, the youth that we have continues to show improvement, we’re trending upward.
"We play a difficult schedule every year and I think you should be rewarded for that. It’s a very difficult league, and we’ve played some traditionally tough places: Missouri, LSU, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt. We’ve had to grow up this year, and I think we have. Like I said, everybody feels like they should be in, but I do believe the way we’re playing right now, if we can find our way into a Regional we’d be tough to handle.”
