At the start of the season, the Gators had one sure thing in their starting rotation, and that was their ace, Patrick Keating.
Now, he is struggling to hang on to a spot in the starting rotation.
When UF (19-11) takes on Bethune-Cookman (15-15) tonight at 6:30 in Gainesville, Keating (2-3, 5.44 ERA) will have another chance to get back on track, and it may be his last.
He will take the mound at the start of the game, but another poor outing could send him out of the rotation for a while.
Following a bad start against Alabama on March 29 - Keating lasted just 3 1/3 innings and allowed 5 runs - UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan spoke about possible changes to the rotation and even addressed Keating's situation directly.
"I'm going to tell Patrick that he's going to be one of our guys," O'Sullivan said. "He's just going through a tough time, but he'll battle through it. He's a tough kid, and he will get through it."
Throughout the week, O'Sullivan said he had not decided on any changes to the rotation, but his decision on whether Keating would start the final game of the series at Vanderbilt depended on how the rest of the series went.
The Gators and the Commodores were even at 1 after the first two games of the series, and Keating had yet to throw in a game. It should have been a lock for O'Sullivan to turn to his preseason ace for the deciding game in a conference matchup.
Instead, O'Sullivan chose to go with Stephen Locke, who was reinstated fewer than two weeks ago after being kicked off the team before the season began.
Locke allowed just 2 runs in five innings of work, and - with a 7-run lead - did not come back out for the sixth. O'Sullivan sent Keating out to keep the Commodores at bay and allow the Gators to leave Nashville, Tenn., with a series win.
Keating's one-inning performance did not make a very strong case to keep him in the rotation, as he allowed 3 runs and gave Vanderbilt hope in what appeared to be a UF blowout. Vanderbilt went on to score another 11 runs on its way to a 16-9 victory in the game and a 2-1 victory in the series.
With his chances running out, Keating must begin to work his way back to Friday starts with a strong outing against Bethune-Cookman. Otherwise, he could find himself in the bullpen waiting for another starter to slip up before his next opportunity to start.
