Steven “Paco” Rodriguez and Austin Maddox have been nearly unhittable out of the Gators’ bullpen this season. The duo has combined for a 1.82 ERA, a .193 batting average against and 15 saves in 103.1 innings pitched.
However, with a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season title on the line, Rodriguez and Maddox did not get the job done. The junior relievers surrendered a two-run lead in the seventh inning of Auburn’s 5-4 win against Florida on Saturday.
“The guys who’ve done it all year long, it was just one of those days where they didn’t have their best day,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We were in a position to win a championship because of those guys.”
Rodriguez bookended his outing with two strikeouts, but what happened in between proved costly. Tigers third baseman Zach Alvord led off the seventh with a single on a full count. Shortstop Mitchell Self followed with a base hit and second baseman Tanner Cimo knocked an 0-2 pitch to left to load the bases.
Then right fielder Creede Simpson hit into a fielder’s choice, allowing Alvord to score and cutting the Florida lead to one.
Rodriguez fanned the next batter, center fielder Ryan Tella, before O’Sullivan pulled him for Maddox. Designated hitter Justin Bryant worked the count full against Maddox before punching out a two-run single to give the Tigers a 5-4 lead.
“We had our best guys on the mound in our latter half of the game and it worked out the way we wanted it to,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, it’s disappointing, but the game’s over and there’s not much we can do about it now except learn from it and hopefully make some better two-strike pitches down the road.”
Despite the loss Saturday, Florida still won the series due to its improved hitting. The Gators scored 20 runs on 34 hits against the Tigers. Preston Tucker led the offensive resurgence, finishing the weekend 8 for 14 with two home runs and five RBI. Tucker made the final out Saturday when he was thrown out at home.
“We swung the bat really good … that was probably the most important thing coming into the weekend,” O’Sullivan said.
The defeat dropped Florida to a No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins today with a matchup against Auburn at 5:30 p.m. in Hoover, Ala. Under new rules set to accommodate Texas A&M and Missouri next season, UF missed out on a first-round bye for the SEC’s top two squads.
With Jonathon Crawford on the mound, the Gators’ bats will look to stay hot against the Tigers’ pitching.
“In the big picture, our bats are going now,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re seeing the ball a lot better, so hopefully, moving forward, this will catapult us into being a really good offensive team come the postseason.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Steven “Paco” Rodriguez gave up three earned runs in one inning against Auburn on Sunday. He has a 2.17 ERA this season.
