Florida Baseball Drops 14 Spots in Latest D1Baseball Rankings

Florida dropped 14 spots in the latest D1Baseball rankings after losing the weekend home series to High Point. The No. 23 Gators (14-3), at No. 9 last week, are the lowest-ranked top-25 SEC team heading into conference play this weekend.

“When you’re playing well, you’re really not as good as you think you are,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “When you’re playing poorly, you’re not as bad as you think you are.”

Starting pitcher Liam Peterson took the mound in Game 1, going five innings and allowing two earned runs. The Gators tied the game at two on a solo shot in the sixth from Brendon Lawson before allowing five unanswered runs to end the game in a 7-2 loss. 

Saturday, the Gators struggled on defense, allowing five unearned runs in the third inning. Florida dug itself in a deeper hole after allowing a solo home run in the seventh, going down 6-0. The Gators scored two runs in the seventh and nothing else, resulting in a 6-2 loss. 

On Sunday, Florida battled for a 12-11 win against the Panthers (9-7). The Gators were powered by six home runs, including two from Lawson. The Gators won the game on three consecutive bases-loaded walks. 

Florida will look to bounce back against No. 20 Florida State (13-2) on Tuesday and then opens SEC play at home against South Carolina (12-5) on Friday. South Carolina is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season.

“I still think we have one of the better pitching staffs in the country, and we got exposed a little bit.” O’Sullivan said. “I’m positive or very confident that Aidan (King) will bounce back next week and Coop (Walls) will bounce back next week, because we’ve all seen it.”

Tuesday’s home start against Florida State is at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+ and coverage on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF, WJXL 1010-AM starts five minutes earlier.

Category: Baseball, College Baseball, Feature Sports News, Gators Baseball