Josh: There’s no shame in what happened to the Gators on Tuesday night. Florida lost to an undefeated rival in No. 5 Florida State. However, what is cause for alarm is the Gators’ performance against much lesser competition. UF lost to North Florida and was swept by Florida Gulf Coast. How are the Gators supposed to turn things around playing teams from one of the nation’s best conferences every weekend if they can’t take care of business against the Atlantic Sun Conference?
Adam: Baseball is a funny game. There are slumps and surprises. Florida has dealt with both this season. I expect the Gators to make their sixth straight NCAA Regional appearance. Losing against UNF and Florida Gulf Coast would be a much bigger deal for Florida football. We aren’t talking about pigskin here.
Florida has averaged 19.6 SEC wins per season during coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s tenure. Eight teams from the SEC made the Regionals last year (Missouri and Texas A&M were still playing in the Big 12). They averaged 17 conference wins. Florida will get it together in its 30 SEC games. Freshmen like right-hander Mike Vinson and left-hander Danny Young have improved. Speedy freshman center fielder Harrison Bader has started hitting balls on the ground.
Sometimes it takes longer for players to adjust to college baseball. Kind of how you realize girls don’t have cooties anymore. Some people just take more time to figure it out (Josh).
Josh: Baseball is a funny game, but it’s not as funny as you flailing with half your body over the edge of the press box in a futile attempt to catch a foul ball. I hope to see more attempts like those.
On a more serious note, O’Sullivan said prior to the season he would use non-conference play to solidify a starting lineup and starting rotation. While he was expected to name a weekend rotation on Wednesday, it won’t be filled with guys who were overly impressive in the Gators’ first 18 games. Besides Jonathon Crawford, no UF starter has lasted six innings in a game. After Crawford, the Saturday and Sunday spots will likely be filled by some combination of Jay Carmichael, Tucker Simpson and Eric Hanhold. Those guys have had impressive appearances (especially Carmichael), but none of them have shown they can successfully limit a team like Kentucky, which is hitting .307 this season. The arms just aren’t there to support a lineup that is still struggling to find its collective stroke at the plate.
Adam: Age is just a number. Florida has the arms, and the upcoming series against Kentucky is a test for them. Even if they fail, the Gators can still succeed in the SEC. It’s early. What Florida pitchers haven’t done this season is locate pitches consistently. Keeping the ball down and throwing two of the first three pitches for strikes are ingrained in these players since tee ball. They’re just slumping. They get it. As do the hitters. Give these guys a chance come conference play. This isn’t something that can’t be fixed. Freshman shortstop Richie Martin will provide a boost once he returns from a fractured finger. A schedule that has SEC powers Kentucky and South Carolina visiting Gainesville helps, too. Florida played two straight SEC series on the road last year. That doesn’t happen once in 2013. An easier schedule, coupled a team on the cusp of “getting it,” the Gators will be just fine.
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org and Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Sophomore Zack Powers is congratulated by teammates at home plate after hitting his second grand slam during Florida’s 16-5 win against Duke on Feb. 17 at McKethan Stadium.
