The A.J. Puk who took the mound for Florida on Saturday was not the A.J. Puk coach Kevin O’Sullivan is used to seeing in practice.
After retiring the first five batters in UF’s 7-2 loss to Miami in the middle game of the series, Puk hit a snag.
The sophomore left-handed pitcher walked two consecutive batters and then hit a third, loading the bases before UM’s Brandon Lopez ripped an RBI single to right field to give the Hurricanes the early lead.
Puk went on to give up three more hits and allow two more runs in the third inning to cross the plate before being pulled in favor of Aaron Rhodes.
"Obviously he wasn’t pleased about how he threw (Saturday), and trust me, he’s really good," O’Sullivan said. "He’s got a chance to be one of the best lefties in the country, but (Saturday) was just one of those nights. He’s going to have to move on from it. He’s going to have to learn from it."
And one day later, Puk showed he is able to move on and learn from a bad night.
The sophomore hit a double to right-center field in his first at-bat of the night and was the only UF player to record multiple hits in Florida’s 2-1 series-clinching win against Miami on Sunday.
"A.J. is one of our best players," O’Sullivan said. "And I think the way he swung the bat, especially his first at-bat, to kind of shake off what happened (Saturday) night, I think that says a lot about him."
O’Sullivan is looking for that kind of consistency as No. 6 Florida (6-1) faces Florida Atlantic (6-1) at 6:30 tonight in Jupiter, Florida.
The Gators own a 20-7 all-time record against the Owls, but this game won’t necessarily be easy.
FAU started the season with four straight wins — including a 5-3 win over Miami on Wednesday — before taking two of three against Ohio State this weekend.
The Owls have four players with at least 10 at-bats who hold at least a .300 batting average.
UF right-handed pitcher Brett Morales (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his second start of the season tonight against FAU.
Morales started Florida’s 13-3 win against USF on Wednesday, pitching six perfect innings before reaching his pitch count for the night.
While the Gators have been successful early on, O’Sullivan knows the team still has room for improvement.
"We are scrappy," O’Sullivan said, "and even though we didn’t play our best and we don’t have all of our players right now. ... We’re in a good place right now, but there’s still a lot of things we can get better at."
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
A.J. Puk pitches during Florida's 7-2 loss to Miami on Feb. 21 at McKethan Stadium.
