Gators Notebook: Puk's Resurgence Makes Stop Near Home, Virginia's Thievery, More Tidbits
Monday, June 15, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
OMAHA, Neb. -- The directions are pretty simple.
Merge onto Interstate 80, drive west for about 250 miles, and you're here. That's how you get from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Omaha.
Several folks are expected to make that trip today to watch Cedar Rapids product A.J. Puk pitch for the Gators tonight in the College World Series.
The 6-foot-7 Puk is a big reason Florida is considered one of the favorites at the CWS. A sophomore left-hander, Puk enters Monday night's start against Virginia pitching the best of his college career.
His season is best analyzed in two parts.
In six starts since he made unwanted headlines for illegally climbing a crane in a construction zone, Puk has transformed into the dominant pitcher who scouts consider a potential No. 1 overall pick in next year's MLB amateur draft.
Before the incident, Puk was 6-3 with a 5.87 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Since, he is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.
Freshman catcher JJ Schwarz, Puk's primary receiver, credited Puk's renewed focus for the turnaround.
"I think ever since the off-the-field issues he's been a whole new guy," Schwarz said. "He's a new guy in the locker room and the dugout. Ever since then he just got really focused. I think it has really helped him a lot."
It's not the light-goes-on moment Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan envisioned for Puk, whose inconsistency hampered him early in the season. But like everyone else who has watched Puk pitch the past two months, he notices a difference.
"Quite honestly, he was embarrassed by what happened,'' O'Sullivan said during the Gainesville Super Regional. "It was a time for him to reflect. I do think it was a turning point for him."
In his last 34 1/3 innings, Puk has allowed 21 hits, nine runs (seven earned) and 14 walks. He has struck out 54. In his first 38 1/3 innings of the season, he allowed 34 hits, 26 runs (25 earned), and 18 walks to go with 45 strikeouts.
Puk seeks to turn in another quality start in his CWS debut. He pitched only four innings in Florida's 11-4 victory over Florida State to clinch the Gainesville Super Regional.
"Everything is just starting to click out there,'' Puk told his hometown newspaper. "Things are going the way I want them to go. I have been able to execute my pitches, been able to throw off-speed in fastball counts, been able to mix well.”
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FAMILIAR FOE
O'Sullivan knows a thing or two about Virginia's baseball program. He played there and coached there.
O'Sullivan was the Cavaliers' catcher from 1990-91 and returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach from 1996-97.
Florida and Virginia are the only two programs to advance to the CWS four times since 2009. However, this is the first time the schools have met in Omaha.
"I still follow them,'' O'Sullivan said. "Coach [Brian] O'Connor and his staff have taken that program to another level. They've put themselves to the elite in the country.
“When I coached there, I was fortunate that, when I got there, there were some talented pitchers. But just watching what Brian and his staff do what they've done, they've been as consistent as anyone in the country over the last 10 or 12 years.”
Virginia pitching coach Karl Kuhn, O'Connor's first hire at Virginia in 2003, has ties to the Gators. Kuhn grew up in Gainesville and attended UF.
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RUNNING OF CAVS
Virginia grabbed the Gators' attention in its 5-3 victory over Arkansas on Saturday.
The Cavaliers stole five bases in eight attempts, including three by Daniel Pinero. What made Virginia's performance in the running game interesting is that the Cavaliers are not known as a running team.
They attempted only 62 steals in 61 games prior to Saturday, sliding in safely 38 times.
"Our plan was to be aggressive from the start if the situation presented itself," O'Connor said. "And we maybe didn't get here today being in Omaha playing it close to the vest. So here we are and had a few chances taken today and they worked in our favor -- most of the time."
Pinero stole second and third in the eighth inning Saturday to set up the go-ahead run.
"They haven't run that much in the regular season or postseason,'' O'Sullivan said. "So it was interesting."
With the left-handed Puk starting, O'Sullivan said that should help keep the Cavs close to first.
"It won't be the first time that we faced a team that can run a little bit,'' O'Sullivan said. "A.J.'s just gotta pitch good. It is what it is."
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QUOTE OF NOTE I
"I think experience is very, very important. It's like anything. If you have experience at doing it, you're going to feel more comfortable. You're going to feel more confident. I think that's really the way our guys feel.'' -- Virginia coach Brian O'Connor on his team's return to CWS
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"I've been saying it all year, that's what makes a good lineup. You're playing with 27 outs.'' -- Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan on lineup producing from top to bottom
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EXTRA BASES
Florida's 15 runs in Saturday's win against Miami were the most scored in the CWS since Fresno State scored 19 against Georgia in 2008 ... The victory snapped UF's four-game losing streak at the CWS ... Schwarz went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and is now hitting .558 (24-for-43) with four home runs and 19 RBIs in 11 postseason games ... Florida starter Logan Shore passed Puk for the team lead in wins (10) with his victory over the Hurricanes. Shore has earned four of Florida's 10 victories in the postseason, tossing 23 1/3 innings over his four starts ... The first home run of the 2014 CWS came in the ninth game, on the 2,540th pitch, and to the 671st batter; Virginia's Joe McCarthy hit the first homer of the 2015 CWS in the first game, on the 43rd pitch, and as the 12th batter ... Former Gators Preston Tucker and Mike Zunino, whose teams met over the weekend in a three-game series in Houston, had dinner together on Saturday night and watched the UF-Miami game. Tucker and Zunino were in Florida's starting lineup in the 2012 CWS.
