ChompTalk.com

After Florida baseball threw away game one of its doubleheader against No. 15 Ole Miss last night, just like it had against Florida State in the midweek, few would’ve expected the Gators to collect their first conference win of the year before the weekend’s end.

But with an 11-8 comeback victory in the series finale, the worst conference skid of the Kevin O’Sullivan era is over — but Florida is far from where it wants to be. Falling out of the D1Baseball Top 25 and dropping to No. 33 in the RPI, the Gators are on the wrong side of the postseason bubble at the moment.

“I think that everybody is a bit frustrated at this point, but we did battle,” O’Sullivan said.

Here’s what the Gators need to do to continue picking up conference wins and build a playoff resume:

Healthy hurlers

Liam Peterson’s return in game one Saturday was a huge boost for the Gators, even with the bullpen collapse after his day was over. Florida’s ace tossed 4.1 innings, letting up five runs and striking out six. It’s far from his best outing ever, but having Peterson back after he missed time with elbow soreness is a big boost.

The next step is Pierce Coppola. The left-hander hasn’t thrown since March 1 against Miami when he was pulled early on by O’Sullivan and a trainer. He’s supposedly been throwing again, but O’Sullivan hasn’t updated his condition in some time.

If Coppola can split Peterson and King, Florida’s starting rotation will be in a secure spot. It’ll also allow a struggling bullpen to get back in rhythm and come into games with more leverage.

Swinging in sync

Junior catcher Luke Heyman had his best series of the year against Ole Miss. He homered three times on the way to a 6-for-9 weekend and five RBIs in the double header.

“It was probably the best weekend he’s had all year long,” O’Sullivan said.

Other Gators’ bats like Brendan Lawson, Landon Stripling and Colby Shelton stepped up in big moments as well. But the Gators are very noticeably missing two producers in their lineup: Bobby Boser and Brody Donay. The pair of sluggers were Florida’s best headed into conference play but have completely disappeared.

If those two can get back in sync, and the rest of the lineup keeps up, the Gators will be back on track.

Florida continues SEC play when it hosts No. 14 Vanderbilt this weekend.