JACKSONVILLE - If you take a peek at UF's schedule, it says the Gators were on the road Wednesday night.
You would never have known it, as two-thirds of the spectators packed into John Sessions Stadium were clad in orange and blue, only to watch UF (18-5) give up a three-run lead and take a tough 8-5 loss to Jacksonville (14-8).
Despite playing what amounted to an extra home game, the Gators' pitching staff put together one of its shakiest performances of the season. Starter Stephen Locke lasted just three innings and combined for more walked and hit batters (four) than strikeouts (three). J.K. Lacoste - who pitched just 2/3 of an inning - walked two batters and allowed two earned runs. The usually solid Josh Edmondson lasted just two innings.
Sophomore Kyle Mullaney, who entered the season as the ace of UF's staff, threw 2/3 of an inning and allowed three runs, the second of which came on a balk. Things got so bad that Dustin Bamberg, who started the game at designated hitter, came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh and was the best pitcher of the night for UF. The senior threw 1 2/3 innings and struck out three.
"He's going to have to give us some innings," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said of Bamberg. "Some of these guys, it's disappointing that we just can't get anything out of them. For some guys it's been two or three years and we can't get anything out of them. At some point you have to give us something."
The loss of starting catcher Buddy Munroe in the second inning may have played a role in the struggles of the Gators' pitching staff. Munroe hit a pitch off his right ankle in the top of the second inning.
After blasting the Dolphins 11-6 on Tuesday, the Gators appeared to be on their way to another easy win Wednesday. Right fielder Clayton Pisani scored on Bamberg's sacrifice fly to center field and gave the Gators a 1-0 lead in the first inning. It was the 11th consecutive game in which UF scored the first run.
The Gators were 9-1 in the previous 10 games with the only loss coming against Mississippi on Friday, when the Rebels rallied from an early 4-0 deficit.
"They did a good job of playing hard the whole time regardless of what the score was," third baseman Jon Townsend said. "It would have been easy for them to fold when they got behind, but they stuck to their game plan."
Townsend finished the night 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
"These guys have been swinging the bat really well. I don't think you can fault them," O'Sullivan said. "You're going to have a game where you're not going to swing the bat well. That's when the pitching needs to step up, or the defense needs to step up."
Freshman Josh Adams, a Jacksonville native, had his worst offensive game of the season. The second baseman finished 0 for 3 and didn't score or drive in a run.
"They didn't really do anything different against us," Adams said. "Today, we just couldn't come out and swing the bats."
Despite losing in his hometown, Adams said he wasn't taking this loss harder than any other.
"Just because I know a lot of the guys doesn't really make a difference," Adams said. "A loss in general doesn't feel good. Being at home doesn't make it that much worse."
