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Friday, March 29, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

'Weird' loss continues midseason lull for Florida baseball

UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan called it “weird.” Junior catcher Mike Zunino was disappointed in himself. 

The Gators found more ways to trash momentum and keep their lingering midseason slump in place. 

“We’ve scored in two innings with 17 chances (in the last two games),” O’Sullivan said. “We’re going to have to score more runs.”

No. 23 Arkansas (30-13, 10-10 SEC) defeated No. 5 Florida (33-11, 12-8 SEC) 5-1 in a game the Gators never led. 

Junior left-hander Brian Johnson got the start for Florida, working 4.1 innings that were often hampered by poor defense. 

He gave up a run in the third when sophomore Dominic Ficociello lined an RBI single into left field, plating freshman Joe Serrano. There was a throwing error on the play by left fielder Vickash Ramjit. 

Ramjit ended the inning by making a diving catch in left. However, he landed on his shoulder and was removed from the game. Senior Jeff Moyer took over in Florida’s already depleted outfield and kept a frustrating night going. 

“We think he just stung his shoulder a little bit,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t know the extent of it yet.”

Moyer had an error of his own in a fifth inning in which Florida entirely collapsed. Moyer’s error helped the Razorbacks get two runners in scoring position. They took advantage of it by stringing together RBI singles by Matt Reynolds, Jimmy Bosco and Michael Gunn. 

By the end of the surge, the game had reached its eventual final score.

Florida had a big opportunity of its own in the third inning but failed to capitalize. One night after reemphasizing a need for small ball on his team, O’Sullivan ordered Zunino, Florida’s aAll-American catcher, to bunt with no outs and runners on first and second. 

Zunino popped out to pitcher Randall Fant and one batter later, Johnson knocked in Florida’s only run of the night. 

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“I didn’t execute for the team,” Zunino said. “That’s on me. We had the chance of a big inning, and we didn’t do much with it.”

For only the third time in his Florida career, junior Nolan Fontana missed a game at shortstop. Suffering from a stomach flu, Fontana had to turn over his spot to Cody Dent, who went 1 for 3 at the plate. Freshman Josh Tobias got his first start at third base since fracturing his hamate bone on March 23. 

“You get to the park and find out Nolan’s sick and it kind of throws you off,” O’Sullivan said. “But that’s no excuse. It is what it is.”

Sophomore Keenan Kish was a lone bright spot for the Gators, working the game’s final four innings without allowing a hit. 

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