Maybe it was the frigid weather, or maybe it was having an extra day off after Friday night's game against Brown was rained out.
Whatever the reason, it took the Gators 14 innings before they decided to show up.
"We weren't ourselves," freshman outfielder Josh Adams said. "We came out tired and lazy."
That was easy to see, as Brown blasted UF 11-2 in the first game of the doubleheader. The sluggish play carried over into the second game as the Bears blitzed the Gators to take a 7-2 lead entering the bottom of the sixth. The Gators shook out the cobwebs in the bottom of the sixth and pulled out an 8-7 win.
"The way we played today is not acceptable," Coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Their kids deserved to win both ball games. We didn't deserve to win that one at the end."
O'Sullivan said he saw the lack of energy in pre-game batting practice and the coaching staff tried to address it, but was unable to get through to the Gators.
Brown pitcher Will Weidig dominated UF in the opener, striking out seven and allowing two earned runs in eight innings.
"We had poor at-bats the entire day, we didn't make any adjustments," O'Sullivan said. "Every time we got a little momentum we'd fall behind."
Jon Townsend's RBI-triple in the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game sparked the Gators' comeback. Buddy Munroe brought him home on the next at-bat with a sacrifice fly to center to cut Brown's lead to 7-4.
Avery Barnes, who is batting a team-high .459, provided the game-winning run. His walk-off single drove in designated hitter Bryson Barber.
"In that situation you do the best you can to get that run in so you can win the ball game," Barnes said. "You do the best you can."
O'Sullivan rejects the idea that his team overlooked the Bears. The team addressed Brown yesterday and was prepared to play today, O'Sullivan said.
"This team will not overlook anybody," O'Sullivan said. "We're not that good."
