Image Credit: ESPN Images
The woes in Omaha, Nebraska, continued for Florida Gators baseball, which got swept out of the 2016 College World Series via consecutive losses to Coastal Carolina (2-1) and Texas Tech (3-2).
Florida went winless in CWS play for the third time in five appearances over the last seven seasons and became just the third No. 1 seed in CWS history to fail to win a game. UF is also fourth team with 10 or more CWS appearances to never win a national title, joining Florida State, Clemson and Northern Colorado.
The three runs scored by the Gators over their two games marked their lowest scoring output over two contests this season, which was of particular disappointment considering how it wasted tremendous starts from a pair of right-handed pitchers in junior ace Logan Shore and sophomore Alex Faedo. UF went just 13-61 (.213) at the plate over two games.
Compounding Florida’s offensive woes was strangely inconsistent defense, particularly in the top of the ninth on Tuesday when two costly errors on a single play allowed Texas Tech to score an insurance run that became the difference in the game. (UF also gave up a run-scoring opportunity earlier in the contest when junior JJ Schwarz was called for base-path interference.)
Junior first baseman Peter Alonso rocketed a two-run homer out of the park in the bottom of the ninth that otherwise would have tied the elimination game; instead, the extra run on the scoreboard clinched a win for the Red Raiders.
The Gators will look to regroup in the offseason despite losing a large portion of its talent — including its Friday and Saturday starting pitchers, top reliever, best hitter and best defender — to the pros.
OnlyGators.com will update this story shortly.
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Fire the coach…can’t win a championship in this many try…leave
Will Sully do what it takes to fix this? We shall see.
This is a highly embarrassing performance by this quality Gators team that had multiple players drafted in the top MLB rounds. And the burden is on the head coach. I can list multiple mistakes by the coach in this game but the bottom line is that this remarkable group of young men came up empty in Omaha… yet again under this coaching staff. The team looked tight in both games and lost to lesser opponents.
Any idea how much the rest of the college baseball world is enjoying the SEC pratfalls? And after all the work the rigged committee did to insure SEC victories across the board. What fun this is!
Certainly one of the more dissapointing finishes in Gator Baseball History. In retrospect, this team did not bring home any hardware at all. No SEC crown, no SEC Tournament Championship and they went 0-2 and BBQ in Omaha.
Out CWS play has been abysmal and the offensive woes will be even worse next year with Alonso departing. Furthermore, with the departure of Shore, Dunning and Puk our pitching staff is in trouble.
Going to be a rough 2017 for baseball. I hope that Sully recruits some kids that have the ability to hit the ball.
I am embarrassed that the 5 posts from above come from the same fan base as me. Sully is one of the best coaches at the college level. He has been more successful than any UF baseball coach in my lifetime. Sometimes that’s just how it goes in baseball… teams get hot at the right time, a ball goes your way, whatever. Every single team that made it to Omaha (including the Gators) had to win a lot of games in the tournament just to get here.
Calling for the coach’s head after 2 losses reflects poorly on you and the rest of the fan base.
Not calling for Sully’s head but he made key mistakes in this game. Not bunting in third inning after Reyes single with no outs and low scoring the norm in Omaha- Maldonado first pith hitting into DP. Pitching to Gutierrez TT power hitter with an open base– inside pitch no less. No attempt to play small ball and scratch out run or two. Overall, team seriously under performed and looked tight. Mike Rivera was gassed– playing every game down the stretch in hot weather and getting banged up several times. Not playing Vasquez- a solid left handed batter against right handed pitchers. I could go on but bottom line- they lost two straight to lesser opponents. It was a embarrassing. This was their year…
At no point in my post did I request the diismissal of Sully.
The reality is this team did not perform when it mattered most; sorry that you cannot absorb the truth.
Real simple SEC was inferior to the Big 12.
That was a sad end for both baseball and softball. Both were the best teams in the country all year, and best in UF history. But none of that mattered in the end. Very draining as a fan as I kept up with every game and couldn’t wait for post season. I won’t be putting that much time and energy into keeping up with these teams next year. There is a post season curse with all UF athletics lately (besides outdoor track). Ugh! Hope football can pick up the slack this fall. Go Gators!
It doesn’t matter Gator fans your coach is leaving for Texas anyways
Possibly but all signs say otherwise.
This was a great group of young men to watch this year. They played hard and smart for the most part. Won a bunch of games against excellent teams. We need to be a more aggressive at the plate and we will be fine. Some excellent talent coming up with the underclassmen. Sully will get this fixed. I have great confidence in our coach and support him and what he is doing 100%. Could not he happier with this coach and staff.
UF, update that stadium! And Gator fans, show up at the games! Some excellent baseball is being played in Gainesville right now. Do not take all of these trips to the CWS for granted. Very hard to get there. Tip of the hat to CC and TT. Good teams that played great against us.
I’ll take consistent trips to the CWS for now. That in itself is hard enough these days. Given the parity of college baseball, the incredibly nuanced process of re-building a team every year, and the challenges of tournament baseball, I’m happy with where we’re at right now as a program. Sure, I’d rather have at least one CWS trophy. But I was proud of how this team played all year and especially loved how they fought back against FSU. Did they fall short? Sure, but the odds were that they wouldn’t win–no matter how talented they were. Regardless, they’re a great bunch of guys and Sully has shown the ability to get this team where it needs to be.