Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and assistant Craig Bell shake hands with DBU following Friday's loss. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Do-or-Die Time for Gators
Saturday, June 1, 2019 | Baseball, Scott Carter
LUBBOCK, Texas – Over the past month, as the Gators baseball team tried to position itself for a 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, there was a lot of chatter about what the Gators had to do.
In the eyes of the selection committee Florida did enough to make the tournament, but following its opening game in the Lubbock Regional, the picture is much clearer.
To stay here, the Gators must win and keep on winning.
Florida lost 11-8 to Dallas Baptist University on Friday night and faces Army, an 11-2 loser to host Texas Tech in Friday's opening game, on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. ET) with the season on the line.
The Gators' dire circumstance is a result of a season-long issue: inconsistent pitching.
"That's been kind of our MO all year long,'' UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We have given up big innings, and we have had a lot of leadoff men get on because they have been offensive counts. I don't know if we have ever had a staff give up that many runs after we have scored, rebound runs."
The trend remained intact against the Patriots of the Missouri Valley Conference. DBU (42-18) took the early lead in the first inning off Gators starter Tommy Mace when third baseman Jackson Glenn hit a two-run homer. The Gators answered in the second when freshman Cory Acton connected for a two-run shot high over the right-field wall off Patriots starter MD Johnson.
The Gators then tossed the momentum back like a hot potato.
DBU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to chase Mace after only 44 pitches and 1 1/3 innings. A sophomore right-hander from Tampa, Mace had trouble locating his pitches and never looked comfortable on the mound at Rip Griffin Park.
The Patriots made Mace pay in his shortest outing of the season.
"The whole lineup did just a great job of going up to the plate with a plan,'' Glenn said. "With a plan like ours, we're just kind of sold out to a certain pitch and we're just trying to square them up the best we can. And luckily we kind of got away with that early."
Reliever Christian Scott limited the Patriots to one run in his three innings, but DBU stretched its lead to 7-2 in the sixth off reliever Ben Specht.
Florida (33-25) showed life with a three-run seventh to cut the lead to 7-5, highlighted by Austin Langworthy's bases-loaded double that scored Acton, Jacob Young and Brady McConnell, all of whom reached on walks by Johnson.
Once again, the Gators turned their back on momentum as DBU added a run in the seventh on Andres Sosa's solo homer, and after UF scored another run in the eighth, the Patriots scored three more of their own in the bottom of the frame.
A weary O'Sullivan can only trot starter Jack Leftwich to the mound Saturday in hopes of a strong outing to keep the season alive. Leftwich tossed a two-hit shutout in his last outing two weeks ago at Missouri.
"I told the team at the end, I couldn't be more pleased offensively how we been swinging the bat and defensively how much we have improved throughout the course of the year,'' he said. "I mean, you score eight runs in the first game of a regional, you should win. Over the years we have been hard to score that many runs against somebody who is a No. 1 or 2 [starter], especially in a regional setting.
"I'd think by Game 58 we would have some of these things squared away, but obviously we don't."
Despite the pitching woes Friday, the Gators refused to allow the Patriots to stroll into its showdown with Texas Tech on Saturday on cruise control. Nelson Maldonado had an RBI single and Wil Dalton added an RBI double in the ninth to trim a five-run deficit to 11-8. With Maldonado at third and Dalton at second, Kendrick Calilao stepped to the plate as the potential tying run against lefty reliever Burl Callaway with the Gators down to their final out.
Calilao ripped a pitch to left field that Patriots outfielder Augie Isaacson snagged off the top of the turf as he tumbled over, ending the 3 hour, 22 minute game in dramatic fashion.
DBU coach Dan Heefner has seen Isaacson make similar catches.
"That would have gotten real dicey there if he doesn't catch that ball because now we're looking at a 11-10 game with a guy in scoring position," Heefner said. "He's the best left fielder I've ever seen. Like he's been doing stuff like that for us all year long. He's just, like you saw on that play, he's fearless. He gets great reads on balls. Just right off the bat he was sprinting in on that, and then to have the confidence to dive and do the roll on it as well."
Soon after Isaacson's grab, the Gators loaded onto the bus and headed to the team hotel, where O'Sullivan shared a final word before the Gators exited and headed to their rooms.
You can be certain part of O'Sullivan's message centered on the obvious: win Saturday or go home.
In the eyes of the selection committee Florida did enough to make the tournament, but following its opening game in the Lubbock Regional, the picture is much clearer.
To stay here, the Gators must win and keep on winning.
Florida lost 11-8 to Dallas Baptist University on Friday night and faces Army, an 11-2 loser to host Texas Tech in Friday's opening game, on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. ET) with the season on the line.
The Gators' dire circumstance is a result of a season-long issue: inconsistent pitching.
"That's been kind of our MO all year long,'' UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We have given up big innings, and we have had a lot of leadoff men get on because they have been offensive counts. I don't know if we have ever had a staff give up that many runs after we have scored, rebound runs."
The trend remained intact against the Patriots of the Missouri Valley Conference. DBU (42-18) took the early lead in the first inning off Gators starter Tommy Mace when third baseman Jackson Glenn hit a two-run homer. The Gators answered in the second when freshman Cory Acton connected for a two-run shot high over the right-field wall off Patriots starter MD Johnson.
The Gators then tossed the momentum back like a hot potato.
DBU responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to chase Mace after only 44 pitches and 1 1/3 innings. A sophomore right-hander from Tampa, Mace had trouble locating his pitches and never looked comfortable on the mound at Rip Griffin Park.
The Patriots made Mace pay in his shortest outing of the season.
"The whole lineup did just a great job of going up to the plate with a plan,'' Glenn said. "With a plan like ours, we're just kind of sold out to a certain pitch and we're just trying to square them up the best we can. And luckily we kind of got away with that early."
Reliever Christian Scott limited the Patriots to one run in his three innings, but DBU stretched its lead to 7-2 in the sixth off reliever Ben Specht.
Florida (33-25) showed life with a three-run seventh to cut the lead to 7-5, highlighted by Austin Langworthy's bases-loaded double that scored Acton, Jacob Young and Brady McConnell, all of whom reached on walks by Johnson.
Once again, the Gators turned their back on momentum as DBU added a run in the seventh on Andres Sosa's solo homer, and after UF scored another run in the eighth, the Patriots scored three more of their own in the bottom of the frame.
A weary O'Sullivan can only trot starter Jack Leftwich to the mound Saturday in hopes of a strong outing to keep the season alive. Leftwich tossed a two-hit shutout in his last outing two weeks ago at Missouri.
"I told the team at the end, I couldn't be more pleased offensively how we been swinging the bat and defensively how much we have improved throughout the course of the year,'' he said. "I mean, you score eight runs in the first game of a regional, you should win. Over the years we have been hard to score that many runs against somebody who is a No. 1 or 2 [starter], especially in a regional setting.
"I'd think by Game 58 we would have some of these things squared away, but obviously we don't."
Despite the pitching woes Friday, the Gators refused to allow the Patriots to stroll into its showdown with Texas Tech on Saturday on cruise control. Nelson Maldonado had an RBI single and Wil Dalton added an RBI double in the ninth to trim a five-run deficit to 11-8. With Maldonado at third and Dalton at second, Kendrick Calilao stepped to the plate as the potential tying run against lefty reliever Burl Callaway with the Gators down to their final out.
Calilao ripped a pitch to left field that Patriots outfielder Augie Isaacson snagged off the top of the turf as he tumbled over, ending the 3 hour, 22 minute game in dramatic fashion.
DBU coach Dan Heefner has seen Isaacson make similar catches.
"That would have gotten real dicey there if he doesn't catch that ball because now we're looking at a 11-10 game with a guy in scoring position," Heefner said. "He's the best left fielder I've ever seen. Like he's been doing stuff like that for us all year long. He's just, like you saw on that play, he's fearless. He gets great reads on balls. Just right off the bat he was sprinting in on that, and then to have the confidence to dive and do the roll on it as well."
Soon after Isaacson's grab, the Gators loaded onto the bus and headed to the team hotel, where O'Sullivan shared a final word before the Gators exited and headed to their rooms.
You can be certain part of O'Sullivan's message centered on the obvious: win Saturday or go home.
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballBrendan Lawson Postgame Press Conference May 10, 2026 | Kentucky
Sunday, May 10
Caden McDonald Postgame Press Conference May 10, 2026 | Kentucky
Sunday, May 10
Kevin O'Sullivan Postgame Press Conference May 10, 2026 | Kentucky
Sunday, May 10
Liam Peterson Postgame Press Conference May 9, 2026 | Kentucky
Saturday, May 09
