After a three-run first inning, it appeared that Florida would bounce back after the Auburn series loss.
But seven unanswered runs from Jacksonville prevented that.
Ultimately No. 12 Florida (28-14) fell to Jacksonville (22-18) 7-5 on Tuesday night at Condron Family Ballpark. The Dolphins have now won ten of their last twelve games and completed the season sweep over the Gators.
Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan made his message clear postgame.
“If I had all the answers, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now,” he said “Now is not the time to point fingers or start blaming each other, but there does need to be a sense of urgency.”
Sophomore right-hander Cooper Walls made his eighth start of the season and set the tone early, retiring the Dolphins in order in the top of the first.
On the opposing side, Ben Baker-Livingston made his second appearance of the season against Florida and ran into immediate trouble.
Sophomore center fielder Kyle Jones wasted no time getting the Gators on the board Tuesday night. On the first pitch he saw, Jones launched his fourth home run of the season to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
After committing five errors that led to nine unearned runs in its series loss to Auburn, Florida benefited from two Jacksonville miscues in the bottom of the first.
Sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson reached on an error by Dolphins second baseman Roger Vergara and later scored on an RBI single from senior designated hitter Karson Bowen.
The second defensive mistake proved costly. With the bases loaded, it appeared freshman third baseman Colton Schwarz had grounded into an inning-ending double play. But Jacksonville shortstop Sammy Mummau booted the ball, allowing another run and extending Florida’s lead to 3-0.
Walls continued to cruise in the second, striking out Sam Grunberg and Griffin Pomper. But the San Diego, California, native ran into trouble in the third.
Jacksonville recorded its first hit of the game when left fielder Blake Edmonds led off the inning with a single. A perfectly executed hit-and-run allowed Mummau to single to right, moving Edmonds to third.
Vergara made up for his earlier error with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Edmonds. Designated hitter Sammy Bermudez followed with a double down the left-field line to score Mummau, cutting the deficit to one.
Grunberg then singled to left, bringing home Bermudez and completing the three-run rally.
Florida threatened in the bottom of the third after Bowen drew a walk and Schwarz singled to put runners on the corners, but graduate catcher Cole Stanford grounded out to Baker-Livingston to end the inning.
The three-run third ended Walls’ night, and Florida turned to sophomore Caden McDonald out of the bullpen.
McDonald induced a flyout to right fielder Hayden Yost and struck out Pomper before Edmonds recorded his second hit of the night with two outs. McDonald escaped the inning with a groundout to first baseman Surowiec.
After allowing three runs in the first, Baker-Livingston settled in. He retired the Gators in order three times and allowed just two hits over his final innings. The Richardson, Texas, native delivered his longest outing of the season, going six innings and surrendering one earned run.
McDonald kept Jacksonville in check until the seventh. Edmonds led off the inning with his third hit of the night, and freshman Cade Walter advanced him with a sacrifice bunt.
Mummau then delivered his second hit of the game with a double down the left-field line, scoring Edmonds and giving Jacksonville its first lead, 4-3.
That run ended McDonald’s outing, and O’Sullivan turned to freshman left-hander Eli Blair.
Mummau later stole third on a ball in the dirt, and Vergara added his second sacrifice fly of the night to extend the lead to 5-3.
Senior right-hander Ricky Reeth took over in the eighth, but defensive struggles from Auburn resurfaced. He issued a leadoff walk to Grunberg, and a throwing error by Schwarz on a sacrifice bunt by Abdriel Delgado put runners on the corners.
Third baseman Logan Barrata extended the lead with a sacrifice fly, scoring Grunberg.
Reeth appeared to induce an inning-ending double play, but an error by Lawson prolonged the inning. Edmonds capitalized, lining his fourth hit of the night down the right-field line to score Barrata and push the lead to 7-3.
Florida attempted to rally in the bottom half, as senior left fielder Blake Cyr homered for the fourth consecutive game, trimming the deficit.
Florida’s last gasp came shortly after. Bowen followed Cyr with a double into right-center and a sacrifice fly by Schwarz allowed him to score.
“We had a really good first, and then I think it's important just to keep getting guys on base, stick with the approach,” Bowen said.
The Dolphins turned to Payton Waters for the last three outs, and he delivered, completing the season sweep over the Gators.
“There’s going to be some criticism, and in this case, I can’t argue with that,” O’Sullivan said. “But I also believe in this team. We can get hot.”
Florida returns to action this weekend at home against Texas A&M. Game 1 of the series is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m from Condron Family Ballpark.
Contact Zach Moore at zmoore@alligator.org. Follow him on X @zach_moore27.
Zach is a sophomore sports journalism student in his first semester at The Alligator, covering softball. He also has experience as an intern in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. Zach enjoys watching sports in his free time, primarily the Minnesota Vikings, Orlando Magic, and Arsenal FC.
