Florida baseball's season is over. The Gators fell to Dallas Baptist 9-8 on Sunday afternoon, ending their College World Series hopes.
It was a "fitting end" to the year for Kevin O'Sullivan's team. The game, much like the season, was defined by a steady offensive attack that was hampered by inconsistent pitching.
The game did come down to the final Florida batter, however, the Gators could not overcome DBU's nine-run fourth inning explosion.
"This is probably the most resilient offense I've had in 12 years," said the Gators head coach. "They continue to scratch and claw and do what they needed to do to get us back in the ballgame. Most teams down 9-2, it would be tough to come back, and you know we got one base hit away from tying up the ballgame there in the ninth.
"But the beginning just got us. Gave up seven runs with two outs and couldn't quite stop the bleeding. That's been our M.O. the entire year. The beginning has kind of got us, so we have got some work to do that way moving forward next year. But awfully proud of how we battled this season and how we battled this weekend and like we said, Dallas Baptist earned it and certainly wish them the best of luck moving forward."
For the first time under O'Sullivan, the Gators allowed nine runs in one inning with the Patriots connecting on three home-runs - recording nine runs on seven hits - taking the 9-2 lead in the top of the fourth.
Up until that point Nick Pogue had thrown just 34 pitches, 26 of them strikes, going through the Patriots lineup rather quickly. However, that fourth inning saw him throw 33 pitches with six hits and six runs.
The Gators would chip away at the lead but they would squander several chances. Trailing 9-6 in the seventh, Nelson Maldonado was at the plate with bases loaded and two outs. Maldonado, Florida's leading hitter, went ahead in the count 3-0, but DBU reliever MacGregor Hines came back and caught Maldonado swinging for the strike out.
One thing is for sure, this team did not stop fighting.
"During the fall we knew we had a chance to be really go offensively," said Austin Langworthy after the game. "We had a bunch of guys swinging it really well, and even guys that didn't get a lot of opportunities this year did well in the fall and we just carried that over to the season, and you know, we battled our tails off all year. I'd go to war with any of these offensive players any day of the week."
"When it comes down to it, our offense as a unit, whoever is stepping in and replaces somebody that may be down or whatever happens, happens," added Wil Dalton. "We're very tight-knit and we work together really well and know our strengths and weaknesses and try to, you know, make sure everybody and the holes are all filled so we can do what we do."
It is no secret, the Gators struggled due to the lack of experience in their pitching staff this season. However, O'Sullivan is not letting that be used as an excuse, and he is not worried about the future of this group.
"We need to grow up on the mound in a hurry," said O'Sullivan as he reflects on the season and the future."I thought Nick grew up a lot there at the end of the year. I thought Specht was really, really good today. So there's a lot of bright spots.
"I mean, obviously we're all disappointed with the game today and how the season ended but Christian Scott has shown a lot of improvement. Got a bright future moving forward," added O'Sullivan. "Obviously get back Tommy [Mace] and Jack [Leftwich] and get those guys going and try to help them get better, and obviously Jack was great at the end of the year, too. And Tommy had a couple good starts there obviously at Missouri in the SEC Tournament against A&M.
"There's a lot of pieces, but I think the biggest takeaway, when you're really young in the bullpen with freshmen, it just makes it a little bit difficult. They have never really been in those types of leverage situations before. So you know, we'll get better moving forward. It's just unfortunate that we ended the game the way we did today."
