It would be easy for the Gators to stretch their weekly Monday off day into Tuesday.
After all, the team that will fill the opposing dugout at McKethan Stadium tonight at 7 is not what most would consider a legitimate threat to beat No. 1 Florida (19-1). Samford is 13-7 this year against a schedule that has not included a single team ranked in the top 25.
This scenario is not unfamiliar for the Gators.
“I don’t think you go into it with a mindset of feeling (overly relaxed), but I think it tends to happen kind of on its own,” senior Daniel Pigott said before the season of midweek games.
The matchup with Samford is sandwiched between a Southeastern Conference opening-weekend sweep of Vanderbilt and a three-game rematch of last season’s College World Series finals. It’s the ultimate test of concentration for the Gators, who will leave Wednesday for Columbia, S.C., and a meeting with South Carolina, the team that ended their national championship dreams last June.
“The fact of the matter is when we get back together on Tuesday it’s time to move forward and move past this weekend,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after Sunday’s 8-2 victory.
Last season, midweek games were a minor blemish on an otherwise stellar year for Florida.
The Gators lost eight times in 30 SEC games in 2011, yet they lost seven of their 14 midweek games — including a 4-5 mark once SEC play began. Myriad reasons can be used to explain losses to teams like UCF and Jacksonville.
Four of Florida’s five midweek losses during SEC play came on a Tuesday, meaning the Gators had to turn around and play after a weekend series against the likes of South Carolina, Mississippi State or Vanderbilt — all teams that made it at least as far as the Super Regionals in 2011 — and a mandatory Monday day off.
For Florida, midweek games are generally about survival and getting reps for lesser-used relievers, while those Tuesday games are a chance to make a statement for smaller in-state programs. Tonight, the Gators will start freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi, who has not seen action since a March 7 outing against Florida A&M.
Pigott believes senior leadership will keep the Gators from falling into what seemed like traps last season.
“We had such a great team, and we dropped a few games that maybe we shouldn’t have,” he said. “I think we’ll be more mindful of that this year. This year, we’ll be probably better equipped to figure it out and notice when it’s happening and nip it before it happens.”
Freshman Johnny Magliozzi will get his third career start tonight when No. 1 UF hosts Samford. Magliozzi is 1-0 with a 5.19 ERA in four appearances. He has struck out four batters and walked three in 8.2 innings of work.
