Florida Baseball Unravels Late, Drops Finale to Auburn
No. 20 Florida baseball let Saturday’s finale slip through its fingers in the ninth inning at Condron Family Ballpark, surrendering five runs in a crushing 8-5 loss to No. 13 Auburn. The Gators committed four errors on the day, including two in the final frame.
Now averaging a .971 fielding percentage, Florida (28-13, 10-8 SEC) is on pace to be the second-worst defensive team Gator team dating back to 2013 season.
“On Wednesday alone we probably worked on bunt defense for a good 20-30 minutes,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “In a bunt situation, we threw the ball down the right field line. All you can do is practice until you get it right.”
The cracks began to form in the fifth inning. Ethan Surowiec started at third base in place of Kolt Myers, whose miscue in game two allowed Auburn to add insurance runs. The results were all too familiar. The left side of Florida’s infield once again struggled to make routine plays, a recurring issue that has kept the Gators from escaping innings cleanly all season.
Surowiec played hot potato on the corner, committing three errors and pushing Florida’s season total to 44.
“A lot of the things that happened were self-inflicted, it’s not like they (the team) weren’t prepared,” O’Sullivan said.
In the first inning, Florida struck first. With runners on first and second, Blake Cyr sent a fly ball toward left that got lost in the sun. Auburn’s Ethin Bingaman threw his hands up searching for it, only to turn and watch it drop well beyond the fence for Cyr’s third home run of the series.
“I’m just sticking to my approach that we worked on pregame,” Cyr said. “We had a gameplan, and all I try to do is execute that gameplan.”
The offense stalled from there. Florida managed only three hits across the final eight innings against an Auburn pitching staff that entered the day with a 3.24 ERA, the best in the SEC.
The struggles weren’t limited to the field. Catcher Karson Bowen, who entered the game 1-for-10 in the series and hitless in five plate appearances Friday, couldn’t find his rhythm at the plate. He made contact but consistently got under the ball, sending routine pop-ups across the field and finishing the day 1-for-4.
Looking for any spark, Florida tried to manufacture offense in the third. Standing on first, Kyle Jones took off for second on the pitch, sliding in safely at first glance. But as his momentum carried him backward off the bag, Auburn’s Chris Rembert applied the tag for the out.
O’Sullivan stormed out of the dugout to argue with second base umpire Christopher Griffith. After a lengthy discussion, O’Sullivan returned briefly before heading back out—this time to first base umpire Jeremy Dupree. The Gators were issued a warning, and tensions began to rise.
As the game moved into the early afternoon, temperatures rose to 93 degrees, but so did the radar gun. Florida starting pitcher Russell Sandefer saw his fastball working all game. Sandefer went 4 2/3 innings giving up one hit and two runs – neither of which were earned.
“We gave up seven earned runs the entire weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “Quite honestly, I think they outcompeted us.”
But the pressure finally broke through in the ninth. Routine plays turned costly, and the Tigers capitalized on every opening, turning a tight game wide open.
Florida will return to Condron Family Ballpark on Tuesday to face Jacksonville University, a team that already handed the Gators a late-inning loss earlier this season. If Saturday was any indication, the margin for error remains as thin as ever. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
‘They just out gutted us,” Cyr said. “They just wanted it more and that’s what today came down to.”
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