Florida Opens Season 8-0 for First Time Under Kevin O'Sullivan
Completing a three-game road weekend sweep of the No. 1 Miami Hurricanes (4-3), the No. 2 Florida Gators (8-0) simply look unstoppable.
Florida's sweep against Miami pushed the Gators to their first 8-0 record to start a season under 13-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, ending in a 5-3 victory over the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon.
Freshman RHP Hunter Barco (1-0) enjoyed his first win with Florida in his second start, striking out seven and giving up only two hits and one run across 5.1 innings in Coral Gables.
Left fielder Jacob Young and shortstop Josh Rivera both posted multi-hit days against Miami on Sunday. Rivera sent two of Florida's five runs home, including a solo shot in the top of the second inning. Center fielder Jud Fabian also nailed a solo home run, his lone hit on four plate appearances.
Facing respectable pitching, Florida slowed down from their previous 10.2 runs per game in its first five contests to averaging 4.66 runs per game against Miami. Though, the Gators still own a commanding swing across their entire lineup, as Florida is averaging .287 across 296 at-bats this season.
Next, the Gators will face Florida A&M in a one-game contest this Tuesday at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, prior to a quick away game at Stetson (6-1) on Wednesday night and a three-game home series against Troy (7-1) next weekend.
At this point, looking at Florida's schedule, it's hard to see the Gators' win streak coming to an end any time soon. Over the next 11 games, Troy and No. 12 Florida State (6-1)present the best possibility to knock Florida off of its roll, and even the Seminoles feel like an unlikely candidate given their current 10-game losing streak to Florida.