Taylor Gushue pointed to the Florida dugout as McKethan Stadium awoke from its Saturday night slumber. The sophomore catcher gave Florida a 1-0 lead on a double down the left-field line to score Casey Turgeon from first base.
Florida needed a win Saturday night to clinch its third straight Southeastern Conference series. Tennessee right-hander Nick Williams hadn’t allowed a runner to second base since the third inning and had Gushue in a 0-2 hole. Florida hitters struggled all night picking up a deceptive mid-to-high 80s fastball from the junior.
The opposite-field base knock increased his team-leading RBI total in conference play to 14. His .342 average against SEC pitching ranks second on the team behind Vickash Ramjit’s .368.
Gushue added his second double of the night in the 10th when he pulled a 2-0 fastball to advance Turgeon to third base. Turgeon scored two batters later with the bases loaded on a ground ball to Tennessee shortstop A.J. Simcox.
“Somehow I relaxed my last three at-bats, started seeing the ball better and then just put some good swings on it,” Gushue said. “I really was not trying to do to much. I can’t reiterate not trying to do too much enough.”
That number was nowhere to be found on the stat sheet for Gushue last season. The sophomore skipped his senior high school baseball season and arrived at Florida in January of 2012.
Gushue came way of Calvary Christian Academy in Boca Raton as the all-time school leader in home runs with 30. Expectations followed the catcher, and he started the season in the everyday lineup at first base. The buzz grew louder when Gushue homered on the first pitch he saw during the season opener against Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 17, 2012.
Gushue struggled as his first season progressed. SEC pitchers started finding holes in his swing. He had trouble adjusting to seeing an increased amount of off-speed pitches. The starting spot disappeared as Gushue’s average in SEC play sputtered to .143.
Coach Kevin O’Sullivan stressed after the game Saturday night that the player people saw hit mammoth home runs in the early going of last season and then struggle as the season wound down should’ve been a senior in high school; but Gushue hasn’t been hitting like a typical college freshman this season.
Now a year wiser, the sophomore has passed on the experience to his peers. He had the opportunity to learn from eventual professional baseball players like Brian Johnson and Mike Zunino.
“He’s an incredible influence in the dugout,” freshman Harrison Bader said. “He’s always loud. He’s always talking. He’s always helping out with pitches.”
Gushue wasn’t in the lineup a year ago when the then-No. 2 Gators opened their series against No. 17 Arkansas at home. This year, he’s started all 44 games this season either from the catcher or designated hitter spot.
“I just think I was trying to do too much,” Gushue said. “I wasn’t staying within my abilities. I was trying to hit home runs at the plate every time, and that is not what a good baseball player tries to do. He tries to keep everything simple.”
Young lucky after scary incident: A line drive ended the night early for freshman Danny Young on Friday. Tennessee left fielder Vincent Jackson hit a ball up the middle that struck the pitcher in the lip.
Young, who had tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, left the game to receive 25-30 stitches at Shands at UF. O’Sullivan said the freshman didn’t suffer a fracture, concussion or damage to his teeth that he knows of.
Young watched Game 2 from the dugout in a blue shirt and orange shorts with the lower left side of his face swollen from the night before.
“Fine is not the right word,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s lucky and he’s better than what we thought last night.”
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Sophomore catcher Taylor Gushue swings Florida’s 14-5 win against South Carolina on April 12 at McKethan Stadium. Gushue leads the Gators with 30 RBI.
