North Florida takes down No. 1 Florida 10-5

Falling to 4-4 over their last eight games, all of which were played on the road, No. 1 Florida Gators baseball (24-5) put together what head coach Kevin O’Sullivan described as the team’s worst performance of the season in a 10-5 loss to the North Florida Ospreys (18-13) on Tuesday night in Jacksonville, FL.

Florida sophomore right-handed pitcher Karsten Whitson took the mound for the first time since Feb. 26 and flashed his brilliance by retiring North Florida’s first three batters on eight pitches including a pair of strikeouts.

However, Whitson was pulled after his one inning of work and his replacement, freshman left-hander Bobby Poyner (1-1), imploded by giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits without recording a single out in the second inning.

The Gators brought out six other relievers over the duration of the contest with the first four giving up six more runs (four earned). UF’s defense was equally as poor as the pitching with the team committing three untimely errors. The Ospreys plated at least one run in six-straight innings, and UNF did a good job making sure their opponents never got too close on the scoreboard.

Florida actually held a 1-0 lead on North Florida through 1.5 innings, using consecutive singles from senior centerfielder Daniel Pigott (3/4, RBI, 2 R, BB) and freshman second baseman Casey Turgeon (3/5, R) to help them get on the board in the opening frame. UF never reestablished an advantage for the remainder of the evening.

Entering their extended road trip on a school-record 18-game winning streak, the Gators have dropped four of the eight games they have played away from home since March 22. UF lost to ranked opponents in South Carolina and Ole Miss (twice) before dropping their first game of the season to an unranked opponent on Tuesday.

Despite their three previous losses, Florida maintained their season-long No. 1 ranking in three of the four new top 25 polls released on Monday. The Gators will return to Gainesville, FL for a three-game homestand against LSU to cap off the week.