Florida baseball was mercy-ruled by Texas A&M on Thursday and there were few at that point who would have predicted a Gators run to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, but that’s precisely where Kevin O’Sullivan and Co. find themselves on Sunday staring down No. 1 Tennessee in Hoover, Alabama.
The Gators were swept by the Volunteers at home in late April and the Tennessee players celebrated with some of the football team’s gear. That rubbed Gator Nation the wrong way and had many questioning whether the baseball team wrote a check the football team couldn’t cash come the fall. Before Billy Napier’s group gets a chance at revenge, the baseball team will get another shot at the Vols and it comes while UF is playing its best ball of the season.
In a split-double header against Alabama and No. 5 Texas A&M on Saturday, Florida outscored its opponents 20-6, including a 9-0 revenge shutout of the Aggies. There’s no guarantee that things carry over from day to day, but the entire lineup is hitting well and, perhaps even more shockingly, the pitching has held up like a College World Series caliber staff would.
The problem is Florida has run deep into its well of pitchers and we’re approaching short-rest territory with plenty of relievers and maybe even a starter. Regionals begin on June 3, so running Brandon Sproat out there on four-days rest is a bit iffy considering he’ll have to go again so soon. That said, who is left? Garrett Milchin? Tyler Nesbitt? Against Tennessee, you want Hunter Barco or Sproat, and the former is shut down for the year.
Whoever it is, they’ll need some run support against the best offense in the country. Jud Fabian seems to be back to his normal hitting self and Wyatt Langford continues to make the SEC coaches pay for not naming him to the conference’s First Team. The bottom of the order is also hitting well. Jac Caglianone is the hottest No. 6 hitter in the country right now, and even Mac Guscette…
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