The No. 6 Florida baseball team is three-quarters of the way through the regular season. With just 14 games before postseason play begins — including a midweek against Bethune-Cookman tonight — here are three questions for the Gators.
Can the offense continue its high-octane production?
While coach Kevin O’Sullivan prides himself on pitching and defense, there’s no denying that Florida’s offense has been a crucial factor in its success this year. The Gators are 15th in Division I baseball with a .307 team batting average and ninth with a .478 slugging mark. That has to do in large part to Florida’s consistency up and down the lineup. Seven of UF’s eight starters with at least 100 at-bats are hitting at least .303 on the season and have an on-base percentage of .370. Florida has seen power surges from junior Harrison Bader and freshman JJ Schwarz, who have combined for almost as many home runs this season (24) as UF did as a team in 2014 (26).
Are the road woes over?
Heading into UF’s three-game series against Mississippi State last weekend, one of Florida’s biggest weaknesses was playing away from the confines of McKethan Stadium.
In 12 road games heading into the series in Starkville, the Gators accumulated a .248 batting average. That number dips to .210 when only looking at the nine games against Southeastern Conference opponents or teams that were ranked in the top 25 at the time. But in the Gators’ three-game sweep of the Bulldogs, UF posted a collective .296 batting average, just shy of its .298 conference hitting clip. Obviously one series — especially one against a team that’s only won a third of its conference games — isn’t a large enough sample size to make any sort of predictions, but if the Gators can continue this momentum into the home stretch of the regular season, it might be the difference maker.
Is the pitching rotation solidified?
O’Sullivan was hesitant to change up his starting rotation from Day 1. Almost every weekend, he said the Gators would not be the best they could be if they didn’t have the sophomore trio of Logan Shore, A.J. Puk and Dane Dunning opening on the mound. Shore and Dunning have held their own. The former has tossed two complete games in the last three weeks and boasts a 2.29 ERA. The latter is 4-1 on the year, has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.7:1 and is holding opponents to a .214 batting average. Puk, on the other hand, has been a different story. The lefty was suspended last week along with teammate Kirby Snead after being arrested for reportedly trespassing a posted construction site. But even before the arrest and subsequent suspension, Puk has not been reliable when drawing the start. His 5.87 ERA is worst among UF’s starters and second worst on the staff. He gave up at least three runs in four of his seven starts. In Puk’s absence, O’Sullivan has put freshman Alex Faedo into the starting rotation through the last two weekends. He responded by giving up just four earned runs in 10 innings of work — good for a 3.60 ERA — while striking out eight batters compared to just one walk. Senior Bobby Poyner and junior Taylor Lewis have also become UF’s go-to closers. The duo, along with Shore, are the only UF pitchers who have tossed more than 20 innings this year and have a sub-2.50 ERA. Don’t be surprised if O’Sullivan makes some rotation changes in the coming weeks, but for now, he has what he needs.
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UF's Dane Dunning pitches during Florida's 7-4 win against Alabama on March 28, 2015, at McKethan Stadium.
