If
the Gators baseball team is going to advance deep into postseason,
it will quickly need to learn how to cope with opponents’ raucous
atmospheres.
For
the second straight game, No. 5 Florida fell to No. 18 Arkansas in
Baum Stadium — home to the third-largest average crowd in the
nation — behind a medley of poor two-out pitching and an inability
to cash in on quality opportunities.
On
Friday, the Razorbacks (32-14, 12-11 Southeastern Conference)
played inspired baseball behind a cranked-up crowd of 9,286,
dropping the Gators (35-12, 17-6 SEC) 5-3 and handing Florida just
its second series loss all season. The defeat also extended UF’s
coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s winless streak (0-5) in Baum Stadium.
“We
just quite didn’t do enough,” O’Sullivan said. “Seems like our
swings got bigger the more the crowd got into it. The louder the
crowd gets, the bigger our swings get.”
Florida registered just a single hit after the third inning, while
the Razorbacks continuously came up with timely knocks.
The
Gators took a 2-1 lead in the third on a run-scoring fielder’s
choice by second baseman Josh Adams, but promptly surrendered the
advantage when Arkansas scored three runs with two outs in its half
of the frame.
“We
went up 2-1, and then we turn around and give up three in the
bottom half of the third,” O’Sullivan said. “We had momentum, and
then we lost it.”
Florida lefty Brian Johnson (7-2) ran into trouble in the third,
allowing two hits and a walk, all with two outs. Johnson’s night
ended early as the sophomore tossed just 4.0 innings, giving up
five hits and four runs (three earned).
Arkansas tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, again on a
two-out knock. All five runs allowed by Florida came with two outs.
Razorback pitchers again frustrated the Gators' steady bats,
holding Florida to just six hits on the night. Down 4-2 in the
fifth, UF had a golden opportunity to regain momentum, but the
Gators again failed to capitalize.
Center fielder Bryson Smith drew a leadoff walk and shortstop Nolan
Fontana singled to right, placing runners at first and third with
nobody out. But catcher Mike Zunino, who entered the series red
hot, rolled into a routine 6-4-3 double play, killing UF’s
rally.
“When you play a good team on the road, you're going to have to
piece together some hits, piece together some runs,” O’Sullivan
said. “Bottom line is we have to get more than six hits and three
runs.”
Arkansas’ starter Randall Fant (2-3) pitched a quality start (6.0
innings and three runs), but reliever Barrett Astin completely
shutdown the Gators for the final three innings. The right-hander
struck out four without allowing a hit.
