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Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan (Photo by Eddie Kelly / ProLook Photos)
Kevin O’Sullivan’s face said plenty as the innings dragged on—furrowed brow, arms crossed tighter with each missed opportunity, each misplaced pitch.
By the time Florida trudged off the field Friday night, blanked 6-0 at home by No. 16 Vanderbilt, the look had hardened into something closer to disbelief. All week, O’Sullivan insisted the Gators had “been working hard” to right the ship after a disastrous 1-8 start to SEC play.
But under the lights at Condron Family Ballpark, effort gave way to evidence, and none of it flattering. Ten walks. Zero runs. A home shutout for the first time in two years. And a head coach nearing two decades atop the program who didn’t bother dressing it up.
“I’ve never quite seen anything like this,” O’Sullivan said.
For a few innings, Florida looked like it had finally patched some of the cracks.
Sophomore righthander Liam Peterson, the Gators’ Friday night ace, danced around early trouble and held Vanderbilt to a single run through four. The Gators’ offense, still sputtering, found chances with runners reaching scoring position in three of the first four innings. The execution was imperfect, but the energy suggested a group that had, at the very least, begun to click again.
But they unraveled in the fifth.
Vanderbilt tagged Peterson for two more runs in the top half of the frame, capitalizing on a leadoff walk. Florida threatened in response with runners on first and second with no outs, but a botched bunt attempt and back-to-back strikeouts squandered the chance.
“It’s not good,” O’Sullivan said. “Not good.”
Friday night didn’t just sting because of the result. It stung because of how familiar it all felt.
The loss was less an isolated incident of squandered opportunities and spiraling command and more a snapshot of a season that’s been slipping away since conference play began.
Three weeks into SEC action, Florida is hitting just .240 against league opponents and striking out nearly 10 times per game. The pitching staff, long a staple of O’Sullivan’s most competitive teams, has unspooled, posting a bloated 10.21 ERA in conference games while issuing almost seven walks a night.
“I’m upset about it,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve been upset about it.”
The stakes, already high, now feel existential.
Florida hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament in any of O’Sullivan’s 16 full seasons at the helm.
| Year | Tournament Result |
| 2024 | Reached College World Series |
| 2023 | National runner-up |
| 2022 | Lost in Gainesville Regional |
| 2021 | Lost In Gainesville Regional |
| 2019 | Lost in Lubbock Regional |
| 2018 | Reached College World Series |
| 2017 | Won National Championship |
| 2016 | Reached College World Series |
| 2015 | Reached College World Series |
| 2014 | Lost in Gainesville Regional |
| 2013 | Lost in Bloomington Regional |
| 2012 | Reached College World Series |
| 2011 | National runner-up |
| 2010 | Reached College World Series |
| 2009 | Lost in Gainesville Super Regional |
| 2008 | Lost in Tallahassee Regional |
That run—the second-longest active postseason streak in college baseball—has weathered injuries, rebuilds and the meat grinder of the SEC. But if this year’s Gators are going to extend it, they’ll need a historic turnaround.
No SEC team in at least the last decade has climbed out of a 1-9 conference hole and found its way into the Field of 64. The benchmark, more often than not, is 13 league wins, a total that would now require Florida to go 12-8 the rest of the way.
Even that would leave them on the bubble, though, the same precarious position they found themselves in a year ago after finishing the regular season 13-17 in the conference and just two games above .500 overall.
Florida’s climb begins with two more games this weekend against No. 16 Vanderbilt, followed by a home series against conference bottom-dweller Missouri and a road trip to fellow struggling powerhouse Mississippi State.
“We have to have some urgency,” O’Sullivan said. “I mean, we’re [1-9] in the league.”
Even O’Sullivan doesn’t have the answers right now. He admitted as much Friday night, standing in the shadow of another loss.
The options are thinning.
Starting second baseman Cade Kurland, center fielder Kyle Jones and top lefthanded reliever Frank Menendez are all out for the season. Saturday starter Pierce Coppola remains sidelined with a shoulder issue and no clear return in sight, though he played catch on flat ground before Friday’s game.
But injuries have only compounded already-existing issues.
So the Gators will keep tinkering with new combinations and new roles, hoping something clicks before the math becomes insurmountable.
“I’m trying everything,” O’Sullivan said.
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