Florida baseball’s pitching staff struggled mightily on Sunday. The Gators surrendered eight runs on 11 hits in the season finale after only giving up three in the previous two games that allowed the Kentucky Wildcats to the take series finale, 8-1, at Condron Ballpark.
O’Sullivan named pitcher [autotag]Ryan Slater[/autotag] the Sunday starter. He entered the weekend rotation after ace [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] was ruled out indefinitely on April 20 with elbow discomfort. Slater only went 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits and four earned runs.
Kentucky’s third baseman Chase Estep kicked off the ball game with a single to center field. He advanced to third after a ground out and a wild pitch and was then driven home on a sacrifice fly.
First baseman Jacob Plastiak then doubled the Wildcats’ lead when he blasted a Slater pitch to center field. The Florida starter ran into more trouble in the fourth inning. He allowed a lead-off single, and then center fielder John Thrasher went yard to increase the Wildcats’ lead to 4-1.
O’Sullivan’s bullpen then imploded in the final innings allowing four more runs, letting Kentucky dodge the series sweep and win 8-1.
The Gators will host South Florida on Tuesday at Condron Ballpark at 6 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.
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