Florida had plenty of chances.
Fighting to continue its season, the Gators had runners on in every inning. They scored a run in two of them.
Despite jumping out to a 4-1 lead against Valparaiso (32-28), Florida (29-30) collapsed in a four-run seventh inning, losing 5-4 in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday.
“When you get into a tournament setting like this, it usually comes down to an at-bat here, a pitch there, a play there,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It comes down to the little things, and we weren’t quite good enough on the little things.”
The Crusaders jumped out to an early lead against Gators starter Johnny Magliozzi. The sophomore – making his first start since giving up five runs to Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Tournament on May 21 – struck out the side but gave up a home run to shortstop Spencer Mahoney to put the Gators in an early hole.
But Magliozzi turned his outing around, holding Valparaiso scoreless until the seventh inning, including a stretch where he retired seven straight batters.
“The first three innings, I was pretty uncomfortable,” Magliozzi said. “Then I got in a rhythm.”
But the Gators lost control of the strike zone in the seventh.
Magliozzi surrendered two singles and a walk to load the bases, and O’Sullivan brought in left-hander Daniel Gibson.
The junior allowed one run to score when third baseman Josh Tobias couldn’t control a ground ball. Gibson walked the next two batters on nine pitches to tie the game at 4.
“It just hit off my chest and kind of got behind me,” Tobias said. “I should have stayed down better and kept it in front to get an out, but I didn’t.”
Sophomore Ryan Harris came in to relieve Gibson, and the Crusaders scored the fourth run of the inning off a fielder’s choice on a ball hit up the middle.
Although the Gators trailed, they still had opportunities to tie and possibly win on Saturday.
Tobias got his fourth hit of the game in the eighth and advanced to second on a walk to Zack Powers. But pinch hitter Christian Dicks struck out swinging and center fielder Richie Martin grounded out to end the threat.
Second baseman Casey Turgeon walked to start the ninth, and Justin Shafer singled. A bunt by Vickash Ramjit advanced the runners, bringing catcher Taylor Gushue to the plate.
The sophomore was mired in a 0-for-23 slump when he came to bat. He worked the count to 2-2 before he swung and missed a changeup down and away.
The Gators’ batting leader, Harrison Bader, came up next with two outs and Florida’s season on the line. The freshman also got into a 2-2 count before grounding out weakly to third.
The loss eliminated the Gators from an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2008. Florida lost its first two games in the Tallahassee Regional that year.
The Gators ended the season with five straight losses and only two wins in their last eight games.
“We saw both sides,” assistant coach Brad Weitzel said. “We played well against Ole Miss and South Carolina in there in the middle. We got hot; things went our way … I thought it would carry over to the second part of the season, but it didn’t.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Sophomore Johnny Magliozzi warms up between innings during Florida’s 7-4 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 24 at McKethan Stadium. Magliozzi and the Gators were eliminated from the NCAA Bloomington Regional on Saturday.
