GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Missed signs. Bases-loaded opportunities wasted. Making the first out at third. An infield pop-up that dropped to the ground when nobody called for it.
Those blunders sound like a bad game for a Little League team. Instead, the head coach of the reigning national champions rattled off the miscues his team committed in winning the Gainesville Regional.
If the Gators do the same in this weekend's matchup against Auburn for a berth in the College World Series, everyone knows what that likely means. Goodbye Omaha, hello long summer.
"We did not play our best,'' O'Sullivan said of the regional. "We can't fool ourselves. The bottom line is we've got to play better. I don't know how else to say it."
At this point in the season, there's really nothing else to say. It's all about getting the job done or calling it a season.
The Gators (45-18) opened the regional with victories over Columbia and Jacksonville. However, they needed two games on Monday night/Tuesday morning to defeat Florida Atlantic and keep their bid of a second consecutive national championship alive.
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As a reward, the Gators face Auburn right-hander Casey Mize on Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of the Gainesville Super Regional at McKethan Stadium. The No. 1 overall pick in this week's MLB amateur draft, Mize (10-5, 2.95) helped the Tigers (42-21) sweep three games in the Raleigh (N.C.) Regional last weekend.
The Gators defeated Mize on April 26 at McKethan Stadium. They hope to do the same Saturday in a pitching rematch between Florida junior
Brady Singer and Mize on ESPN.
"The whole baseball world will be watching,'' O'Sullivan said.
Florida outfielder
Wil Dalton will be at the plate trying to get a hit against Mize, never an easy proposition.
"You don't see a guy that polished much at this level," Dalton said. "You've got guys that have the tools to go and pitch in the big leagues, but his stuff is so refined and consistent. He throws every one of his pitches for a strike, any count and any time. He'll pitch you backwards. He'll pitch you however he wants to."
Mize is a dominant force on the mound, but so is Singer (11-1, 2.27 ERA), the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and a fierce competitor who has won three consecutive NCAA Tournament starts.
O'Sullivan calls Singer one of the most competitive players he has ever coached. Singer's teammates understand the magnitude of the matchup and like the guy on their side.
"I know neither of us have any intentions of having our last game be at Alfred A. McKethan,'' said Gators junior right-hander
Jackson Kowar, scheduled to start Game 2 on Sunday. "We're going to try and play baseball for a little longer."
Both Singer and Kowar were selected in the first round of the draft by the Kansas City Royals.
To help the Gators recharge following the lengthy super regional win, O'Sullivan gave them Tuesday off. He told the players he did not want to see them at the ballpark. The goal was to allow them to clear their heads and come back to work fresh on Wednesday.
Kowar hung out with his mom and cleaned his house. Others played video games and slept late.
"It was a long, long, long Monday," shortstop
Deacon Liput said. "Everyone just went to the pool or hung out or whatever it was to get your mind off everything, because like Sully said, sometimes you think too much of it or almost care too much in a sense.
"It was nice to have a day off and a day to regroup. We're ready to go."
O'Sullivan was pleased at the way the Gators responded in practice leading up to Saturday's Game 1.
The goal now is for the Gators to regain the sharpness that helped them win two of three games against Auburn in the regular season. If they can repeat that this weekend, it's hello Omaha, summer can wait.
"We've shown the ability to play at an extremely high level the whole year,'' O'Sullivan said. "Our body of work is totally different than what we've done the last two weeks. We're playing for a chance to go to Omaha. This should be the most exciting time of year, not the most stressful."
