Tommy Toledo is not the only one who has been affected by his injury — the Gators are still trying to pick themselves up after the incident.
Ever since the sophomore was hit in the face by a comebacker on March 14, Florida has been looking for somebody to step up for the injured pitcher.
UF tried plugging freshman Hudson Randall into Toledo’s usual weekend spot in the rotation, but that move hasn’t been as successful as coach Kevin O’Sullivan would have liked.
In his last weekend start, Randall lasted one inning and gave up five runs on six hits Saturday.
And usual midweek starter Anthony DeSclafani has struggled all season with a 7.84 ERA.
So O’Sullivan tried something different against No. 4 FSU Tuesday. He gave his bullpen a chance to collectively fill the void.
Senior pitcher Jeff Barfield, usually a reliever, got his first start of the season, but he didn’t last long. The right-hander rung up three hitters in two innings of work.
“[Barfield] was only going to go through the line up once because we need him for this weekend,” O’Sullivan said.
From there the bullpen took over.
Justin Poovey, Randall, Nick Maronde and Kevin Chapman all pitched in relief against FSU in the bullpen-heavy game.
But O’Sullivan’s new method didn’t provide a different result.
They combined to pitch seven innings while giving up six runs, two of them earned. Despite all of the runs coming off five errors, the bullpen kept Florida in the game. FSU was up just 5-2 in the seventh until Chapman gave up a two-run homer in the ninth.
“We had plenty of arms. It’s not like we pitched poorly,” O’Sullivan said. “Things got away from us at the end with Chapman on the mound.”
With Toledo’s return in question, finding a replacement will be an ongoing process that the Gators need to figure out as they head into the heart of their conference schedule.
