Takeaways From Gators Ugly Series Loss to Ole Miss

The Florida Gators came up short on the diamond this weekend against the Ole Miss Rebels, losing 5-2 in the finale following a five-run ninth inning, costing them the series. They now sit at 24-9 overall and 7-5 in the SEC.

Here are three takeaways from the series.

Sandefer Making the Final Spot in the Rotation His

If there is anything to take away from the series, it is that righty Russell Sandefer has taken over the final spot in the weekend rotation.

The right-hander dominated in Game Three of the series, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out 11 batters along the way. He also only gave up two hits and one walk on 93 pitches.

After the game, Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan praised his starting pitcher despite the team losing the contest.

“I thought Russ was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said. “I mean, as good as Aidan (King) was last night… I don’t want to take anything away from Russ, because he threw the ball outstanding tonight.”

Walks Come Back to Bite Again

In the two games Florida lost to Ole Miss in the series, the Gators' pitching staff issued 12 walks and hit three batters. Moreover, eight of those walks came from the bullpen.

The walks haunted them in the finale, too. Despite holding a 2-0 lead entering the ninth, the Gators surrendered five runs in the final frame to lose it. Three of those runs were a result of walks or hit batters.

Following the loss, Florida’s head coach simplified his response to one thing: disappointment.

“Not much to say. It’s disappointing,” O’Sullivan answered.

It is always hard to win in the SEC and even more so when the pitchers that you rely upon cannot throw strikes.

Offense Starting to Lack the Firepower

Despite being in every game in the series, the Gators’ offense managed just eight total runs across 27 innings. Additionally, the offense tallied 36 strikeouts across that same span.

It does not help either that in all three games the Gators had the same amount or more hits than the Rebels. The reason that did not matter is because of how the offense handled situations with runners in scoring position, hitting 3-for-20 in those situations.

There were injuries to Blake Cyr and Brendan Lawson, handicapping the offense in a couple of the games. However, the offense cannot rely upon just two players to carry the load.

In Game One, Florida got production from outfielder Kyle Jones and third baseman Ethan Surowiec, but five other starters went hitless. Then, in the third game of the series, another five went hitless, including Jones, Surowiec and catcher Karson Bowen, all hitting 0-for-4.

Those numbers will never cut it against conference opponents.