Florida Gators Baseball Lose Star Reliever to Oblique Injury

The injuries continue to pile up for the Florida Gators baseball team and head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, as another key contributor is set to miss a significant amount of time due to an ailment.

Reliever Jackson Barberi, arguably Florida's top arm out of the bullpen, will miss the next three-to-four weeks with an oblique injury suffered in Friday's win over Ole Miss. Barberi, who has a 2.00 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 27 innings of work, was being considered to move into a starting role, O'Sullivan told Florida Gators on SI last week.

"We're throwing around the idea of Barberi maybe starting, and hopefully this injury isn't serious, because some of these injuries are just, they're starting to mount up," he said on Friday. "And it's pretty frustrating to be honest with you."

Florida will be without Jackson Barberi for almost a month due to an oblique injury. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

In addition to Barberi, Florida is without freshman outfielder Cash Strayer due to a broken hand, outfielder Blake Cyr due to a concussion and star infielder Brendan Lawson due to an illness. Strayer is two weeks in to a three-to-four-week recovery, while Cyr and Lawson are expected back for this weekend's series at Georgia.

Meanwhile, Florida has been without reliever Ricky Reeth for over a month due to a shoulder injury, while freshman infielder Colton Schwarz has not played since the Arkansas series, during which he suffered an apparent back injury.

Barberi's injury also comes at a crucial time for Florida as the Gators battle inconsistency in its latest stretch. After sweeping Alabama on the road, the Gators won four straight games, including a road sweep at No. 4 Arkansas, before dropping a home midweek contest against Jacksonville and a home series, 2-1, against Ole Miss.

It also has not helped that Florida has had inconsistent pitching from the bullpen in lefty Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, former Sunday starter Cooper Walls and star closer Joshua Whritenour.

"I’ve always believed that talk is cheap," reliever-turned-starter Russell Sandefer said after Saturday's loss. "You’ve got to go out there and do it. What it really comes down to is that we need some guys to step up and just lay it out on the line. This team is very talented, but at times we lack toughness, unfortunately. I think today was one of those days."

However, Florida appeared to take a big step forward in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Florida State, with Walls striking out five batters in 3 1/3 innings, Caden McDonald only allowing one hit in 2 2/3 innings and Whritenour striking out four in 1 2/3 innings to stave off the Seminoles' comeback attempt.

Whritenour, specifically, garnered praise from O'Sullivan after the win.

"Especially coming off an outing like that on Saturday, he's more disappointed than anybody else, right?" O'Sullivan said, via 247 Sports' Hunter Delauder. "But to see him bounce back a couple of days later and do this, in this environment, I think, is just a huge testament to his work ethic and his mental toughness."

Cooper Walls received praise from Kevin O'Sullivan after the win over Florida State. | Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Walls, relegated from the Sunday starter to a midweek starter/weekend reliever, also garnered praise after recent struggles.

"I told him after the game on Saturday, I'm starting you against Florida State because we're not going to get to where we want to get to without him pitching the way he's capable of pitching," O'Sullivan said. "Whether that be as a starter, or whether that be out of the pen."

Now, Florida turns its attention to a key road series at Georgia, hoping for a bounce-back effort from Friday starter Liam Peterson and carried-over dominance from Saturday starter Aidan King and Sunday starter Sandefer, especially as O'Sullivan considers flipping King and Peterson in their respective roles.