After recording the final out in No. 2 Florida’s series finale against top-ranked Texas A&M, Shaun Anderson pumped his right fist twice as the rest of the Gators gathered around the pitcher’s mound.
Dalton Guthrie and Deacon Liput chest-bumped at second base, while Buddy Reed high-fived teammates before pulling Mike Rivera in for a hug.
After receiving a long-awaited gut check against Kentucky last weekend that dropped Florida from its No. 1 status, the Gators came out with a chip on their shoulders and with something to prove.
They answered the call.
The Gators responded with a critical three-game sweep of the Aggies that pushed them to a tie for the Southeastern Conference lead, showing the country why they can be the most dangerous team in college baseball.
"We just wanted to come out and do our thing and play like the team we are," freshman Jonathan India said Friday. "We lost the No. 1 team in the nation position. We’re trying to get it back."
With the Gators’ performance this week, they sent a strong message about why they should be back on top.
Florida had 36 hits on the weekend and saw contributions up and down the lineup.
India recorded a career-high four hits and three RBIs in the opener, including a pair of doubles to set the tone for the series.
First baseman Peter Alonso had a team-high eight hits, including a pair of no-doubt home runs in the first two games of the series.
Sophomore JJ Schwarz, who had just four hits in his last nine games heading into Sunday’s contest, opened scoring in the finale with a one-out double in the first inning and had the game-winning hit in the seventh, a line drive to right field that scored Guthrie.
"Of course we were salty that we didn’t play up to our potential at Kentucky," Alonso said. "I mean, that’s just not us. That doesn’t define our ball club. We wanted to show who we really are.
"I feel like this weekend we did that."
And after dominating Friday and Saturday to claim the series, the Gators showed off their resiliency on Sunday.
With starting pitcher A.J. Puk exiting with back spasms after throwing just 10 pitches, freshmen Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar were left to handle the brunt of the pitching duties and experienced growing pains in the process.
Twice Texas A&M peppered the duo for multiple runs to take the lead, first during a four-run third inning against Singer and then during a three-run fifth inning against Kowar.
And twice the Gators rallied to regain the lead, sending nine batters to the box in the fourth inning and eight batters in the seventh to come away with the victory.
"It makes me feel good," O’Sullivan said. "It was a different win. … I’m proud of our team. It was a heck of an effort. It took every ounce of focus and energy to get through that game."
It was an effort that was lacking against Kentucky. It was an effort O’Sullivan needed to see.
And it was an effort that let the college baseball world know the Gators are still a team to be feared.
Jordan McPherson is a sports writer. Contact him at jmcpherson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @J_McPherson1126.
Freshman infielder Jonathan India hits a ball during Florida's 7-4 win over Texas A&M on April 1, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
