Spectators at McKethan Stadium sat in silence as freshman standout Josh Adams writhed in pain under an overcast sky.
The second baseman fouled a 1-2 pitch into his left ankle in the bottom of the sixth inning of UF's 6-3 loss to LSU on Sunday. Adams was carried to the dugout by two teammates, where he spent the rest of the afternoon on crutches. X-rays after the game were negative, and he was diagnosed with a bone bruise.
Adams leads the team in home runs (five), slugging percentage (.633) and walks (17), and he is second in batting average (.367).
"That hurts," pitcher Tommy Toledo said of Adams' injury. "Hopefully, he'll be back. It's better to be safe and just keep him out."
Clayton Pisani figures to return to the starting lineup if Adams is forced to miss extended time. Pisani entered the season as the Gators' starting second baseman but has seen little time in the lineup recently as Adams emerged as one of the Gators' most productive players.
Pisani has started 18 games and is batting .281 with two home runs. After the game, O'Sullivan was optimistic that Adams would make a swift return.
"I think he's going to be fine," he said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to our trainers, but hopefully, he'll be all right."
Sunday's loss kept the Gators (20-6, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) from claiming their second sweep in conference play. UF won Friday's opener 8-5 and blasted the Tigers 7-1 on Saturday.
If there were any power outages in Gainesville on Sunday, it's likely because there was so much of it on display at Perry Field. Eight of the nine runs scored came by way of the long ball. Seven of the eight homers were over the right field wall.
"Today was just one of those days," O'Sullivan said. "There was wind blowing towards right, so anything hit toward the right had a chance of going out. They connected on couple balls and that's the way it goes."
Toledo (4-1, 2.70 ERA) had the worst outing of his young career, allowing four runs on three home runs. It was the first game since an 11-2 loss to Brown on March 8 in which the Gators never led.
Tigers designated hitter Matt Clark blasted a two-run shot to left in the top of the second to give LSU a 2-0 lead. It was the first of two homers for Clark. The next batter, Leon Landry, hit a solo home run to left to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
"I was trying to get the ball down as low as I can, but they made some good hits," Toledo said. "There really isn't much else you can do. You've got to hit your spots. I missed a couple, and they took advantage of it."
Shortstop Cole Figueroa did his best to keep UF in the game. Figueroa hit solo home runs in the bottom of the fourth and the sixth. It was Figueroa's first multiple-homer game of the season.
"I'd much rather get a win and not hit any," Figueroa said.
On Saturday, UF starter Patrick Keating had the best outing of his career, throwing a complete game. Keating allowed seven hits over nine innings and only one run.
Friday night, UF went into the seventh inning down 4-2, but strung together five consecutive hits against LSU reliever Jared Bradford. Buddy Munroe finished Bradford's night with a three-run homer, and the Gators cruised from there.
Bradford started for LSU Sunday and threw a complete game of his own.
