Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has led the Gators to the CWS in five of the last seven seasons. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Carter's Corner: O'Sullivan Determined to Find Winning Formula for Omaha
Thursday, June 23, 2016 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The reality had started to set in late Tuesday as pitchers Shaun Anderson and Dane Dunning walked down a long hallway toward their hotel room.
Less than an hour earlier, Dunning had thrown the final pitch of the season for the Gators, retiring Tyler Floyd on a ground ball to second in Florida's 3-2 loss to Texas Tech in a College World Series elimination game.
Soon afterward, the players returned to the team's Omaha hotel and talked to family and friends in the lobby before going up to their third-floor room. As they trudged down the hallway, still dressed in their game attire, Anderson looked over to Dunning.
"This is the last time we'll wear these uniforms,'' Anderson said.
Dunning nodded and the two players strolled on toward promising futures in professional baseball, which are expected to start later this summer once they sign. Dunning was a first-round draft pick by Washington and Anderson a third-round selection of Boston in the MLB amateur draft earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan and his staff must begin planning for a future without Dunning, Anderson and six other juniors drafted in the first 10 rounds of the draft. While there is always the possibility of players not signing and returning to school, the consensus is that the eight Gators drafted are likely done with college baseball.
Florida's junior class proved an outstanding one, helping the Gators win 50 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history and earning two consecutive trips to the CWS. However, the talented group could only muster a 3-4 record in Omaha, including a two-and-out trip this year that included a pair of one-run losses.
In the immediate aftermath, O'Sullivan tried to put in perspective what the Gators accomplished on the way to a 52-16 record and No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
"We played 68 games,'' he said. "I don't think two games are going to define us."
Gators Logan Shore (right) and Alex Faedo embrace after Florida's season ended at the CWS. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Of course, the most passionate fans tend to have a different outlook when a team as talented as Florida fails to win a championship. The usual criticisms and inflammatory comments surfaced on social media and message boards even before the final out on Tuesday.
The Gators certainly pitched well enough to win in the postseason. In three super regional games against Florida State and two CWS games, Florida pitchers allowed only 30 hits and seven runs (six earned) in 45 innings. They struck out 54, walked 16 and posted a 1.20 ERA.
Normally, that type of efficiency on the mound gets it done in June.
But not this year. Not with a lineup that hit .213 in Omaha (13-for-61), .236 over the final five games (38-for-161), and managed only 15 runs over that span -- 12 of those coming in back-to-back wins over FSU in the super regional.
While junior first baseman Peter Alonso had a monstrous NCAA Tournament – 16-for-32 with five home runs and 13 RBIs – the rest of the order struggled to produce consistently. Alonso's towering two-run home run to left field Tuesday in the ninth inning – estimated at 425 feet – kept the Gators from getting shut out by the Red Raiders.
Florida, now 0-for-10 at the CWS, joins Florida State (21), Clemson (12), North Carolina (10) and Northern Colorado (10) as the only schools to make it to the CWS 10 or more times without winning a national title. And the Gators became only the third team, joining Arizona State in 2010 and the 2012 Florida team, to get swept as the No. 1 seed.
Still, while the Gators' quick exit in Omaha was disappointing, there is no reason for doom and gloom to spoil Gator Nation's summer. Florida has made five trips to the CWS in the last seven years and O'Sullivan has built one of the country's premier programs in his nine seasons.
The UF baseball program has never been in better shape and it should only get stronger. O'Sullivan recently reached an agreement with outgoing UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley to remain at Florida. Texas showed interest in luring O'Sullivan away after departing with longtime coach Augie Garrido.
However, O'Sullivan opted to remain at Florida and Foley is committed to major facility upgrades to continue to make Florida a popular destination with the nation's top recruits.
The program's stability should allow the Gators to maintain their status as a contender for Omaha year in and year out. O'Sullivan understands the obstacles ahead for the program to finally break through and win that elusive national title.
Since the CWS moved from hitter-friendly Rosenblatt stadium to spacious TD Ameritrade Park in 2011, the tournament has changed dramatically. There is more small-ball and less swing-for-the-fences. In the first inning of Tuesday's game, Gators sophomore JJ Schwarz hit a ball that would have left any other ballpark the Gators played in this season.
Instead of a 2-0 Gators lead, Texas Tech center fielder Tanner Gardner chased it down at the wall for the final out. Missed opportunities not only cost on the scoreboard, but they take a mental toll as well.
Through the first nine games of the CWS, the winning team scored three runs or less five times, including both Coastal Carolina and Texas Tech against Florida. TCU's 6-1 win over Coastal Carolina on Tuesday represents the event's offensive outburst entering Thursday night's Texas Tech-Coastal Carolina game.
Look for O'Sullivan to retool the makeup of his roster in the future. He'll always go after potential first-round draft prospects, but a few more down-and-dirty players such as Dalton Guthrie can only help. The teams that often win in Omaha are not necessarily the ones with the most draft picks or professional approach.
Remember Andrew Beckwith, the Coastal Carolina junior right-hander who handcuffed the Gators with an assortment of off-speed pitches and a funky delivery? He wasn't drafted.
The teams that win championships this time of year are the ones with really good college players who want nothing more than to make it to Omaha and to win in Omaha. The winning formula is an inexact science. Chemistry can outweigh talent. The Gators had both in 2016, but in the end, the ingredients didn't add up to a title.
"We fell a little short,'' O'Sullivan said. "It's not easy to get to this point. We've got a good core coming back. We've got to get better in a couple of areas, and I fully intend to make that happen."
If so, a different sort of reality could await the Gators the next time they leave Omaha.
Soon afterward, the players returned to the team's Omaha hotel and talked to family and friends in the lobby before going up to their third-floor room. As they trudged down the hallway, still dressed in their game attire, Anderson looked over to Dunning.
