In the eighth inning of UF’s 10-4 loss on Saturday, first base coach Lars Davis restrained an enraged Buddy Reed while the centerfielder yelled at umpire Scott Cline.
With two runners on, the junior was called out on a close play at first base.
Then, on Sunday, Dalton Guthrie took his helmet off and squatted in disappointment by first base.
The sophomore had just popped out with the bases loaded late in Florida’s 2-1 loss to then-No. 5 Mississippi State on Sunday.
Frustration and anger filled McKethan Stadium this weekend. The emotions were natural and shared by everyone, as the Gators lost their first home series in nearly a year.
"It’s extremely frustrating," UF first baseman Peter Alonso said.
"It doesn’t feel good at all to have someone come on your home field and win two out of three."
Alonso, who leads the team with 34 RBIs, knows Florida’s offense simply didn’t come through in the clutch.
In its two losses, UF left 21 runners on base and scored just five combined runs — its lowest two-game total all season.
"It’s baseball. It’s a close game," Alonso said on Sunday. "The ball could bounce either way."
Over the weekend, it bounced in the Bulldogs’ favor.
But now, the No. 3 Gators (29-5) will look to rebound against in-state rival No. 6 Florida State at 6 p.m. in Tallahassee.
It’s a familiar position for Florida, which will try to sweep the three-game season set with the Seminoles.
Two weeks ago, the Gators dropped back-to-back games against Kentucky before pulling out a 3-2 midweek win over FSU in Jacksonville.
Junior relief pitcher Shaun Anderson said UF’s using the recent losses as fuel.
"It’s pretty heartbreaking," he said. "But it gets the team fired up."
Anderson, who was lights-out in his three innings of work Sunday, likely won’t be available tonight. He, Kirby Snead and Dane Dunning have been coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s go-to arms out of the bullpen in close games.
Dunning, who threw 71 pitches through five innings on Sunday, also won’t be available out of the pen.
The junior started Sunday’s game in place of lefthander A.J. Puk, who is still recovering from back spasms he suffered in his last start on April 3.
With a chunk of its pen depleted, Florida will rely on other arms to relieve freshman Jackson Kowar, who O’Sullivan said will probably start.
"We have to go up there and our pitching got taxed a little bit," O’Sullivan said. "We’ll have to have some other guys step up."
Florida State (22-8) is rolling, especially on offense. The Seminoles took two of three from No. 11 Louisville this past weekend, scoring 29 runs in the process.
Even more impressive is that those wins came in games started by the Cardinals’ Brendan McKay, Baseball America’s 2015 Freshman of the Year, and Kyle Funkhouser, a 2015 MLB first-round pick.
For the Gators, Alonso said they’re just focused on getting back on track.
"We just need to come out and have a good game against Florida State," he said. "It’ll be a big one."
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org and you can follow him on Twitter @Pinakk12.
Peter Alonso follows through on a swing during Florida's 10-4 loss to Mississippi State on April 9, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
