While UF's hot start has it sitting atop the Southeastern Conference, it appears to be losing the battle of attrition.
The No. 19 Gators lack depth in their pitching staff - only six players have thrown more than 20 innings, forcing coach Kevin O'Sullivan to repeatedly use the same players. Early on, it appeared that UF would be able to withstand its lack of depth as it ran out to a surprising 18-4 start.
But the Gators have lost four of their last six games, allowing nearly nine runs per game in the losses.
O'Sullivan looked to an unconventional source in Wednesday's 11-10 loss to North Florida. Designated hitter Dustin Bamberg received the start against the Ospreys and usual Saturday night starter Patrick Keating stepped in for three innings.
"We're light pitching-wise," O'Sullivan said. "We had to start Bamberg, because he's one of our better hitters right now. If he can give us two or three innings, he can stay in the game as a DH, but unfortunately it didn't work out for us."
With the NCAA introducing a condensed schedule this season, one of O'Sullivan's worries in the preseason was how his pitching staff would hold up through the grind of playing five games per week.
It appears his fears may be coming to fruition.
"There's no question," O'Sullivan said of the strain on his staff. "We've only got nine healthy arms and we're asking guys who haven't pitched since high school to pitch. We just don't have much and we keep asking the same guys to go over and over."
Friday night starter Billy Bullock is confident that this is simply a rough stretch as the Gators make their way through a long season, and not a sign of impending danger. Bullock will have an opportunity to help the Gators (20-8, 7-2 SEC) turn it around in their three-game set at Tennessee (17-10, 5-4 SEC) beginning Friday night at 7.
"This kind of stuff happens when you go through a season," Bullock said. "All you can do is just keep coming to the park every day, because this is just how baseball works. Guys aren't pitching as well as they did early, but I think we'll find a way."
Starting catcher Buddy Munroe also sees the struggles of the bullpen as nothing more than a blip on the radar.
"I think we're just scuffling a little bit," he said. "It shouldn't be anything we have to worry about; we've got a good group of guys here."
McARTHUR OUT: It appears that Brandon McArthur hasn't escaped the injury bug. The first baseman injured his right knee when he stumbled over first base in the bottom of the fifth against North Florida. Results of an MRI taken Thursday afternoon had not yet been released, according to UF sports information director John Hines. Freshman second baseman Josh Adams is expected to slide over to first and Clayton Pisani, who entered the season as a starter, is expected to start at second. McArthur had started a career-high 28 consecutive games this season and is batting .314 with 24 RBIs.
