Takeaways from Florida's Season-Ending Loss to Troy

The Florida Gators came up short in a regional for the second year running, with the Troy Trojans blitzing the Gators in the winner-take-all final in the Gainesville Regional on Monday at Condron Family Ballpark, 10-2.

Here are three takeaways from the disappointing, season-ending defeat for the Gators.

Coaching Decision Come Back to Bite

Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan made the decision to pull righty Caden McDonald in the sixth inning after he threw his 48th pitch and recorded the first out of the frame. Although it may have been the correct move to go to another pitcher, O’Sullivan’s next two choices from the pen might not have been the right ones.

The veteran head coach opted for Friday’s starter, Russell Sandefer, who looked tired and did not pan out well for the home team. Sandefer faced just three Trojans, walking all three before being pulled.

Then, to try to rectify the situation, left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola had his number called. And, much like Sandefer, it tumbled real quickly. While he managed to record two outs and close the frame, the Troy hitters recorded three base knocks to blow the game wide open. Troy tallied five runs in the inning to push the Trojans’ advantage to six runs.

Troy had already faced Lugo-Canchola on Sunday, in which they chased him out of the game in quick fashion. As for Sandefer, he clearly did not have his stuff, and putting him in to face the heart of Troy’s lineup did not pan out.

Florida could have turned to Joshua Whritenour or Luke McNeillie in place of these two. It may have panned out the same, but maybe not.

Bats Quiet at the Wrong Time

Florida's offense, after posting 41 runs in the previous three contests, was ice cold in the regional finale. It had seven hits, two walks, and one hit batter across the nine innings, resulting in just two runs.

The only Gators to provide a meaningful impact with a bat were outfielder Kyle Jones and second baseman Cade Kurland. The duo collected four of the team’s seven hits. Additionally, Jones had the only two RBI on the night.

In the biggest game of the season for the Gators, it was the one time the offense could not afford to go missing.

Bullpen Blunders Kill the Season

While it is O’Sullivan’s decision who he went to in the game, the pitchers to choose from did not make things easy for him. Of the relievers to step onto the mound on Monday, only one did not surrender a run to the Trojans, and that was McDonald.

Sandefer, Lugo-Canchola and Whritenour combined to allow eight runs. Moreover, the trio gave up five hits, five walks and one hit batter. That is never going to work against a lineup like Troy’s.

However, this is not a one-off. Instead, it's been this way for the Gators' bullpen throughout the final portion of the season. Mistake pitches, walks and the inability to get batters out.

Whatever the solution is, O’Sullivan’s first focus this offseason needs to be on bringing in consistent arms to fix the pitching staff’s problems.

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