Ten minutes. That’s all it took for UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to be ejected from Saturday’s midday meeting between the Florida Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores.
At 1:02 p.m., UF freshman right-hander Aidan King threw out the game’s first pitch. He endured a chaotic frame of action, including a controversial no-call on a first base pick-off and a wild sequence that ended in Vanderbilt junior center fielder RJ Austin being tagged out at home plate.
King exited the mound to cheers from the scattered Condron Ballpark crowd. But as he returned to the bullpen, O’Sullivan made his way out of the dugout and towards home plate. The home plate umpire attempted to defuse the situation, but the Gators head coach was livid for an unknown reason.
At 1:12 p.m., as Florida’s skipper continued jawing away at home plate, the umpire made the tell-tale gesture – he was throwing O’Sullivan out of the game. This marked the third time in his career at Florida that O’Sullivan had ever been ejected from a game, as well as the first such occasion while at home.
The latter continued his tirade even as he was escorted back to the dugout, but eventually, he was forced to depart the field of play. Needless to say, his presence was missed, as the Gators seemingly could not find their rhythm at any point through the rest of the game.
Florida (20-13, 1-10 SEC) dropped its fourth consecutive series in SEC play this season in a 3-2 loss to No. 23 Vanderbilt (23-8, 6-5) on Saturday afternoon. The Gators left 11 runners on base and failed to land any decisive blows against the Commodores in what has continued to be a frustrating start to conference play.
Vanderbilt made its first dent on the scoreboard in the third inning, courtesy of a leadoff solo shot from senior shortstop Jonathan Vastine. Two frames later, junior second baseman Mike Mancini belted a two-out double into deep center field to score freshman left fielder Rustan Rigdon, who had reached second base on a walk and a wild pitch.
Beyond those misfires, however, King had a solid all-around day on the mound. The freshman righty pitched five innings on the afternoon, finishing with a line of four hits, two walks and two runs (both earned), all while sitting down five batters on strikes.
Florida was unable to muster a response at the plate until the bottom of the fifth, immediately following an altercation between King and Vanderbilt junior center fielder RJ Austin. With two outs on the board and Mancini still at second following his RBI double, Austin built the count on his ensuing at-bat to 3-2 before taking a pitch to the shoulder.
Rather than tallying a hit-by-pitch, however, Austin was called for leaning into King’s pitch, resulting in a strikeout and Mancini being stranded in scoring position. After the call was reviewed and confirmed, Florida’s freshman pitcher appeared to have some words for the Vanderbilt junior, leading to the two being separated by their respective teammates.
With a newfound firelit under them following the brief spat, the Gators came out swinging in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore designated hitter Landon Stripling made it on base via a one-out walk, while sophomore center fielder Hayden Yost followed up with a line-drive single into right field.
UF junior second baseman Justin Nadeau went on to score Florida’s first run of the day (and the weekend as a whole) with an RBI single through the left side to plate Stripling. Senior third baseman Bobby Boser subsequently tallied a walk to put the go-ahead run for the Gators into scoring position.
Nevertheless, all three runs would remain stranded for Florida, as junior shortstop Colby Shelton took the first pitch he saw for a fly out into left field to end the inning.
The Gators had a similar opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a single from junior left fielder Blake Cyr. Once again, however, not a single runner would cross home plate in the inning, as Yost grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Florida finally managed to tie things back up 2-2 in the following frame, thanks in part to back-to-back singles from Nadeau and Boser. Nadeau would go on to score via an RBI single from junior catcher Luke Heyman, while Boser was tagged out at third on the same play.
Entering the top of the eighth inning, it was anyone’s game for the taking. The final dagger for the Commodores, however, came in the top of the ninth inning, courtesy of sophomore catcher Colin Barczi.
With the score still knotted, UF junior right-hander Billy Barlow entered the game looking to pick up where McNeillie left off. Florida started off the frame strong, with Heyman snagging a foul out behind home plate before catching a runner stealing second for out number two.
Barczi then took to the plate, ready to put this game on ice. Facing a 1-2 count before knocking out back-to-back foul balls, the VU sophomore took Barlow deep into right field and into the grassy ballpark porch. Vanderbilt’s dugout roared in approval, while the Condron Ballpark crowd remained silent in their seats, stunned at what they’d just seen.
Florida went down in the flames in the bottom of the ninth, with a final swinging strikeout from Heyman serving as the nail in the coffin for yet another dejecting UF performance across the board.
The Gators and Commodores will return to Condron Ballpark on Sunday afternoon for Game 3 of their weekend series, where Florida will look to avoid its third SEC sweep this season. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. ET.
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
Jack Meyer is a fourth-year journalism major and the Sports Editor for The Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys reviewing music, spending time with friends, playing video games and going to the gym.
