In the end, they had nobody to blame but themselves. Not the rain that delayed them three hours and fifteen minutes, not the opposing pitchers that let them twice have the bases loaded in consecutive innings, and not the NCAA selection committee that gave them the hardest regional of any national seed.
The blame for Florida (40-22) in its 3-2 loss to College of Charleston (42-17) falls squarely on the shoulders on the No. 2 national seed that squandered multiple chances to put runs on the board.
Twice they had the bases loaded only to get zero runs out of both innings. While the Gators did score one run in the fifth, a crucial baserunning gaffe wasted an out for the home team. Braden Mattson’s smoked shot to left-center field could have at first been a home run, before College of Charleston center fielder Morgan Phillips dropped his attempt at robbing the home run at the wall. But when Phillips dropped the ball, it stayed fair, and Mattson crossed paths with catcher Taylor Gushue between first and second, the umpires made the correct call and Florida conceded an out without making the Cougars work for it.
At the very least, it could have loaded the bases for the third inning in a row, a microcosm for the frustrating evening for a Florida team that now must turn around and play three seed North Carolina in the span of less than 12 hours.
“(The quick turnaround) is what it is,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game. “We’ve got no choice. We’re not going to talk about it. Pregame meal’s tomorrow at 9 a.m., we win we advance, the season’s over.”
Follow Richard Johnson on Twitter @RagjUF
Florida fell to College of Charleston 3-2 in the first round of the NCAA Regional on Friday at McKethan Stadium. UF now faces a potential early exit from the tournament if it falls to UNC in Saturday's elimination game.
