“We saw some really good pitching this week,” he said, “which should help us moving forward.” Its six runs boosted its tournament total to 19, which resulted in a 6.3 per-game average for the event.Īnd while they left several runs on the table, including two in the top of the eighth who made it into scoring position and would have trimmed the Gators’ deficit to three, O’Sullivan said it was still a strong learning opportunity ahead of NCAA postseason play. “The number of comeback wins we've had this year is kind of just a testament to what we believe in as a team and what we know we can do going into the postseason,” Langford said.Įven during Florida’s 11-6 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday, it showed promising signs with the bat. The homer marked Florida’s ninth grand slam of the year, the most by an SEC team since 1998. That victory seemed to set the tone for Florida as gritty offensive production was a constant theme.Īfter the shocking win over the Crimson Tide, the Gators took a 2-2 tie into the seventh inning against Vanderbilt on Thursday before Riopelle again gave his team a lead it wouldn’t relinquish, smashing a grand slam to left-center field. “All in all, we've had very exciting games,” O’Sullivan said, “and the Alabama game was one that I'll never forget as far as how we came back.” The blast capped off a four-run 11th inning, propelling Florida to an improbable 7-6 victory and cementing it as the first team in SEC Tournament history to win despite trailing by three or more runs in extra innings. Then it was catcher BT Riopelle who pulled off the extraordinary: a historic three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. Of course, the most glaring example of Florida’s ability to overcome a late deficit occurred in its first game of tournament play on Wednesday when it took on Alabama in what turned into an extra-inning pitching duel.įlorida starter Hurston Waldrep limited the Crimson Tide to three runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work before giving way to Florida’s top relievers, Ryan Slater, Philip Abner and Brandon Neely, who combined to offer 4.1 scoreless innings before an over-extending Neely surrendered three in the 11th. “But I think everybody has seen it, that we feel like we can come back regardless of the deficit that we're in.” “I think that's one of the biggest things we'll take away from just this week is we have an identity now offensively, which we've had the entire year,” O’Sullivan said. We can get back in this.' But when you do it numerous times throughout the year, it becomes real."Īnd after a week in Hoover that saw Florida secure one very late comeback win as well as a victory in a contest that stayed tied until the bottom of the seventh inning, Florida is seemingly as confident as ever in its ability to remain a factor in games it appears to have no chance to win. "It's one thing to sit there as a coaching staff to sit there and say, 'We can do this. “We do feel like every time we flip the lineup over that we do have a chance to put some runs on the board,” O’Sullivan said. It’s a skill the Gators value greatly as they prepare for the start of the NCAA postseason If nothing else, Florida has proven exceptionally resilient this season, earning comeback victories in 18-of-58 games, a total that ranks among the most in recent program history.
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