ChompTalk.com

Fresh off a fourth-straight weekend series win and with a matchup against the No. 1 team in the country looming, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan opted to take stock on his bullpen arms, cycling through nine pitchers Tuesday against USF. To his dismay and worry, they put up a poor showing, and without any run support, Florida spoiled its perfect home midweek record.

The Gators (33-17, 11-13 SEC) fell to USF (25-21, 12-9 AAC) 7-1 Wednesday night in a loss that dampened Florida’s momentum headed into a road bout versus Texas. Florida gave up 13 hits to the Bulls and could only get three itself.

“It was just one of those nights,” said O’Sullivan, who seemed mostly unfazed by the loss.

Right-handed sophomore Matthew Jenkins got the start on the mound for the Gators. The Santa Fe transfer hadn’t made an appearance since March 19 against Florida A&M due to a shoulder injury. He had an excellent outing in his return, striking out seven of 10 batters faced.

After walking his second batter of the night with two outs in the second and eclipsing his 45-pitch cap, O’Sullivan pulled Jenkins in favor of righty Caden McDonald.

Florida outfielder Hayden Yost got the first knock of the day for either team on a leadoff single in the bottom third. The Gators would work around the order to Bobby Boser with a runner at second. He hit a ball into right field that just stayed in the field of play and kept the score at 0-0 through three.

USF responded quickly, hitting three straight singles in the top fourth to go up 1-0. Right-handed redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez took over for McDonald to secure the third out.

It wouldn’t take long for Florida to even things out. Freshman Brendan Lawson led off the bottom fourth with a double before stealing third. An error on the throw allowed him to round the base and touch home plate.

Florida was able to put two runners on with no outs in the bottom fifth, prompting USF to pull its starter. The Gators then hit into a double play and struck out to end the inning with the score still tied at 1-1.

Alex Philpott took over for Rodriguez with two outs in the fifth and returned for the next frame. He’d give up three-straight hits without an out and allow the Bulls to take a 2-1 lead. Right-handed sophomore Luke McNeillie took over and gave up a trio of RBI singles himself.

Junior righty Billy Barlow took over for McNeillie, inheriting two runners, two outs and a 5-1 deficit. He would be the one to finally get the third out for the Gators. He’d be replaced in the eighth by right-hander Carson Montsdeoca, the first freshman to make an appearance on the night. He gave up a single and a double and was quickly swapped for righty Blaine Rowland.

After another 2 RBI single, Rowland secured the third out. Florida went 1-2-3 through the bottom frame and trailed 7-1 after eight innings.

The Gators entered the ninth needing six runs to tie the ballgame. They went 1-2-3 and went out quietly with the loss.

“We’ve been playing so well for the past month,” said O’Sullivan. “Everything’s in front of us.”

Florida heads to Austin to take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns this weekend. First pitch Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU.