Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan gathered his club for a final word following Saturday's win over Auburn. UF can advance to the College World Series with a win Sunday. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators Turn to Kowar to KO Tigers
Sunday, June 10, 2018 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Junior right-hander Jackson Kowar can help the Gators advance to the College World Series with a strong outing Sunday against the Tigers. Kowar needs to look no further than Singer for inspiration.
Singer outdueled Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in Monday's MLB amateur draft, on Saturday in Florida's 8-2 victory. Florida took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Gainesville Super Regional.
"That was why I ended up coming here,'' Kowar said. "It's been a perfect fit for me to be able to go out here and compete with all kinds of great arms year in and year out."
A lanky 6-foot-6 prep standout at Charlotte (N.C.) Christian, Kowar watched Singer toss 6 2/3 innings in Game 1. Singer allowed four hits, two runs and struck out nine in a gritty performance Gators fans are accustomed to.
"It's Brady being vintage Brady,'' Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
What O'Sullivan hopes to see Sunday is vintage Kowar.
Fifteen picks after the Kansas City Royals chose Singer 18th overall on Monday night, they selected Kowar, who enters Sunday's start 9-5 with a 3.38 ERA. Singer and Kowar have anchored Florida's starting rotation the past two years after waiting their turn behind Logan Shore, A.J. Puk and Dane Dunning as freshmen. A season ago Alex Faedo was the headliner.
While Kowar has a career record of 24-6, half of those losses have come in his last three starts. In outings at Mississippi State, against Arkansas in the SEC Tournament, and against Florida Atlantic in the Gainesville Regional, Kowar has a 7.33 ERA and allowed 27 hits in 17 2/3 innings.
Kowar's arm is fine. Lack of execution is the culprit for his woes.
"At the end of the day it comes down to locating," O'Sullivan said. "He's got an electric fastball, but when the ball is above mid-thigh, you have a chance for hard contact. The ball's got to get down, he's got to get back to pitching at the knees and get his secondary pitches going."
In Monday's loss to FAU, Kowar allowed a career-high-tying 11 hits, seven runs (four earned) and walked four in Florida's 7-4 loss.
Much like Mize, Auburn's ace who has now allowed 20 runs and 30 hits over his last 23 2/3 innings following Saturday's loss, Kowar has not been at his best over the final month.
Kowar's last win came May 12 against Georgia when the Gators clinched a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title. He allowed six hits and one run over seven innings while striking out nine.
Kowar appeared to get out of sorts like the rest of the Gators following Singer's hamstring injury that forced him to miss his final regular-season start and the SEC Tournament.
"Having him go out there first is something I think that we feed off,'' Kowar said. "I'm excited to get back to the normal rotation. I think this is kind of what our team is best at."
In a 11-5 loss to Auburn on April 27, the Tigers got eight hits and scored seven runs off Kowar in 4 1/3 innings. With their season on the line, the Tigers seek similar results Sunday. Auburn is starting freshman Tanner Burns, who lasted only four innings and got a no-decision against the Gators when he matched up with Kowar in late April.
"We're down to nine innings," Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. "We'll come out and try to force something."
Kowar's ineffectiveness of late is no mystery to him. He said he has been elevating the ball and spoke with O'Sullivan this week about increasing the stride on his delivery.
"My stride was a little short,'' he said. "That last 10 percent of my delivery to kind of work the ball down."
The Tigers managed a pair of runs off Singer early in Saturday's game, both coming after leadoff walks. Otherwise, Auburn's offense was quiet. The Tigers had five hits and only first baseman Josh Anthony (2-for-3) had more than one.
Auburn is hitting .286 as a team, which ranks fifth in the conference and has power throughout the lineup.
"They're a team that is not going to strike out a lot,'' Kowar said. "They are scrappy. They are also a team that can drive the ball. I've got to have command of three pitches, really compete, and have command of the fastball."
In series dominated by first-round pitchers, Kowar has an opportunity to add another championship moment to his college career. He was on the mound for the final out of last year's national title in Omaha.
O'Sullivan is fully confident Kowar can get the job done. The only concern is whether he pitches the way he has the last three starts or the way Florida knows Kowar can.
"He's going to have to pitch well. It's just that simple,'' O'Sullivan said. "We're going to have to be as good as Brady was."
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