Harrison Bader slumped his shoulders.
Georgia’s Mike Bell had just powered a fastball towards the left field wall, and as it sailed high over Bader’s head for the game’s only home run, the outfielder turned back to the infield and found his team down five.
His body language reeked of disappointment.
After earning its first series win on the road two weeks ago, No. 10 Florida (33-13, 13-9 Southeastern Conference) relapsed into its struggles away from home, falling 11-1 to Georgia (22-23, 7-14) Friday night.
“I expected us to play good tonight, “ coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “To be honest with you, this one caught me by surprise.”
Right-hander Logan Shore (6-4) was uncharacteristically inconsistent, allowing five hits and five runs in just 2.1 innings. It was only the second time this season Shore had given up more than three runs.
Florida’s hitters combined to hit .143 at the plate and tallied just four hits on the night. In comparison, Georgia compiled a .389 batting average, its highest average since March 8. The victory was also Georgia’s first conference win at home this season.
“It’s disappointing,” O’Sullivan said. “I told our team, some of these guys need a history lesson on how important it is to play Georgia. It’s a rivalry. And that’s not acceptable.”
UF was the first to score in the second inning after Mike Rivera drove in Peter Alonso from third base on a sacrifice fly.
Then, Georgia took over.
The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the second on an RBI groundout and used two RBI singles and a two-run RBI triple in the third to increase their lead to 5-1.
Florida allowed five runs in the seventh inning after Logan Browning balked and Georgia stringed together a series of hits to put the game out of reach.
UF and UGA will play Game 2 on Saturday at noon.
A Radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @icohenb
UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan watches from outside the dugout during the Gators' 9-7 loss to Southern Miss. in game one of NCAA Super Regional play in McKethan stadium Saturday, June 6, 2009. O'Sullivan and the Gators were eliminated from the 2014 NCAA Tournament in the regional round on Saturday.
