Gators Fail to Repeat, But Program in a Special Place

O'Sullivan, Kevin (2018 CWS vs. Arkansas)

Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan during Friday night's loss to Arkansas in the College World Series. (Photo: Kaila Jones/UAA Communications)

Gators Fail to Repeat, But Program in a Special Place

Saturday, June 23, 2018 | Baseball, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As the Gators waited on the tarmac Saturday afternoon for their luggage to come off the chartered flight home, a classic Florida summer shower began to pelt them with huge raindrops.

The sun was out as the isolated dark cloud drifted across the sky above.

"Of course,'' someone shouted.

In some ways, the scene did seem an appropriate return home for the UF baseball team. The sun glowed on the Gators throughout the season as they earned a school-record fourth consecutive trip to the College World Series. But in the end, the defending national champions failed to play their best and dropped a pair of games to Texas Tech and Arkansas in Omaha.

Those losses, which sandwiched a pair of elimination-game victories over the Texas and Texas Tech, assured Florida would not become the first national champion to repeat since South Carolina in 2011.

"The next couple of days will not be easy,'' Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said following Friday night's 5-2 loss to Arkansas. "It's just disappointing right now. We fought all the way to the end."

The Gators (49-21) won most battles easily throughout the regular season as they claimed the No. 1 spot in the national polls almost wire to wire. When Georgia visited McKethan Stadium for a three-game series May 11-13, UF won two of three to claim a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title with a week left.

However, trouble loomed on the horizon.

Third baseman Jonathan India heads back to the clubhouse after Florida's season-ending loss to Arkansas on Friday night in the College World Series. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

The Gators closed the regular season by getting swept at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs turned their season around with the sweep and rode that momentum all the way to Saturday night's 5-2 loss to Oregon State, which ended their bid to play Arkansas in the CWS final. Instead of an all-SEC championship series, Arkansas and Oregon State will square off in the best-of-three series starting Monday night.

Over the final six weeks of the season, the Gators endured injuries to starting pitcher Brady Singer and senior captain JJ Schwarz. Singer returned from a hamstring injury in time for the NCAA Tournament while Schwarz missed 11 games before coming back in the CWS.

Still, the Gators' issues went deeper than the untimely absences of two of their cornerstones. Florida took the field with a 39-11 record when Georgia came to town in mid-May. Over their final 20 games, the Gators went 10-10 and survived four elimination games – one in the Gainesville Regional, one in the Gainesville Super Regional and two in the CWS – before finally succumbing to the Razorbacks.

A look at the numbers reveal why the Gators stumbled during the most important part of the season:

The Gators committed 25 errors over their final 20 games, a rare run of defensive inefficiency during O'Sullivan's watch. Florida made just 34 errors in the season's first 50 games.
Florida scored 94 runs over the final 20 games, including three or fewer runs nine times. Overall, the Gators averaged 4.7 runs over their final 20 contests, well below their season average of 6.6 runs per game.
In the CWS, the Gators hit only .219 (30-for-137), which ranked seventh of the eight teams in Omaha. Only Mississippi State's .215 average ranked lower.
Over the final 20 games, Florida batted just .235 (152-for-648) as a team. Once again, well off its season average of .274. When Georgia came to town, Florida's batting average stood at .290.

The defensive and offensive woes were too much to overcome for a pitching staff that was among the nation's best, anchored by Singer, named the Dick Howser Trophy winner as the nation's top player.

In the season's final game, both crept up. Florida managed only three hits as Arkansas starter Isaiah Campbell pitched 4 2/3 perfect innings at the outset. Once the Gators finally chased Campbell, they had little success against relievers Jake Reindl and Matt Cronin.

Meanwhile, a pair of errors by second baseman Blake Reese, Florida's top hitter in the CWS with a .357 average (5-for-14, 3 doubles), continued the Gators' late-season stretch of defensive miscues.

Singer also wasn't as sharp as Gators fans are accustomed to seeing, suffering his second loss of the CWS. The Razorbacks scored a run in the first, another in the second, and two in the fifth off Singer, including a solo home run by Dominic Fletcher that put Arkansas ahead 4-0.

"They're one of the best offensive teams I've ever faced,'' Singer said. "If not the best."

However, only those armchair managers who stay quiet until things go wrong would label Florida's season anything other than a success. The Gators made their seventh trip to Omaha in 11 seasons under O'Sullivan, a stretch that seemed unfathomable before his arrival.

Senior JJ Schwarz finished his career at the program's all-time leader in career games. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Florida has now played 26 CWS games with O'Sullivan in the dugout, or seven more than in the program's long history prior to his arrival. The team's recent run of success helped kickstart plans for a new stadium, which is set to open in 2020.

"We've created something really special here at Florida,'' O'Sullivan said. "It obviously goes a lot deeper than wins and losses."

Florida loses seniors Schwarz and outfielder Nick Horvath heading into next season, plus first-round MLB draftees Singer, fellow starter Jackson Kowar and third baseman Jonathan India, the SEC Player of the Year. Shortstop Deacon Liput is also expected to start his professional career and closer Michael Byrne, a 14th-round pick, is weighing his options.

Of course, that's a yearly occurrence for O'Sullivan and his staff. While they will have holes to fill, there is ample talent returning.

Reese, outfielders Austin Langworthy, Nelson Maldonado and Wil Dalton, catcher Brady Smith, first baseman Keenan Bell and young pitchers Jack Leftwich, Tommy Mace, Tyler Dyson and Jordan Butler provide a strong nucleus to build around as the Gators wait to see what players from another highly-ranked recruiting class come to school.

Schwarz played in the 266th game of his career on Friday night, eclipsing the school record held by former UF outfielder Preston Tucker. He is the first player in UF history to play in four consecutive CWS.

The Gators failed in their bid to repeat as national champions, but there is no doubt where the program stands in the game's hierarchy. Florida is among the best, year in and year out.

"It means the world to me,'' Schwarz said. "This school means the world to me. I don't even know how to put it into words. God's been so good to me and having an opportunity to play for a school like this, I'll be forever thankful for Sully and the staff for giving me the chance."

Florida fans everywhere should appreciate what this program has become. If they don't, they are not paying close enough attention.