After Florida took a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth on a three-RBI homer, Austin Peay responded in the eighth with one of its own.
Then, UF failed to spark a rally in the ninth.
Michael Davis’ homer to left field lifted the second-seeded Governors (46-13) past the No. 3 seed Gators (29-29) 4-3 on Friday for their 16th straight win in the first game of the Bloomington (Ind.) Regional.
Florida is one loss away from elimination and will face either No. 1 seed Indiana or No. 4 seed Valparaiso in the losers bracket on Saturday at 2.
Following an 80-minute rain delay, UF’s offense struggled to get anything going against Austin Peay for the first five innings.
UF had a runner on second during the first, fourth and fifth, but could not follow with any bases hits.
“You have to scrap and battle and get the guy in scoring position,” assistant coach Brad Weitzel said. “The next guy has to get into scoring position, even if it costs you an at-bat. We’re not doing that and we’re not hitting. We’re running out of time here.”
To lead off the fourth, AP third baseman Jordan Hankins doubled to right center. Craig Massoni followed with a groundout to move Hankins to third. UF pitcher Jonathon Crawford then walked Reed Harper to put runners on the corners.
In the next at-bat, Cody Hudson grounded out, advancing Harper to second and driving in Hankins for the 1-0 lead.
After the score, Harper stole third with two outs, but Crawford struck out Davis to end the inning.
In the wake of an uneventful start by the Gators offensively, sophomore Justin Shafer energized the Gators with a blast in the sixth.
After walking Casey Turgeon and Taylor Gushue on consecutive at-bats, Governors left-hander Zach Hall was subbed out for reliever Lee Ridenhour. Then, Shafer sent a three-RBI homer into left field to give the Gators a two-run advantage.
Crawford pitched 6.1 innings – allowing only four hits and one run – but the junior was switched for Daniel Gibson in the seventh. After Gibson retired two batters to close out the seventh, O’Sullivan decided to go with reliever Ryan Harris to begin the eighth.
Austin Peay then took advantage of Harris.
Massoni and Harper both singled to lead off the inning. Hudson then was reached on a fielder’s choice as Harper was tagged out at second and Massoni moved to third.
After Hudson stole second, Davis made his statement with a bomb to left field.
Davis had struck out in his three previous at-bats Friday.
“Harris throws 95, 96, 97 (mph),” Weitzel said. “It’s just one of those things that happened.”
Harris then retired two Austin Peay batters, giving Florida three outs to score a run.
After Tyler Rogers hit Shafer with a pitch, senior Vickash Ramjit grounded out into a 4-5-3 double play.
It was then up to Josh Tobias to keep the Gators’ hopes alive, but the third baseman grounded out to second to seal Austin Peay’s victory.
Weitzel said he is unsure who will pitch for Florida on Saturday as the Gators will try to stave off elimination.
“We’re a raccoon in a cage and someone’s trying to get you,” Weitzel said. “You have to go to ultimate battle mode and get through this. No one’s going to feel sorry for you.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Landon Watnick at lwatnick@alligator.org
Sophomore Justin Shafer bats during Florida’s 6-2 win against Georgia Tech in the NCAA Gainesville Regional on June 2, 2012, at McKethan Stadium. Shafer notched a three-RBI homer during the sixth inning in Florida's 4-3 NCAA Regional loss to Austin Peay on Friday in Bloomington, Ind.
