Florida baseball head coach Kevin O’Sullivan praised both teams’ pitching staffs after Florida and South Carolina battled to a 1-0 Gators win in 10 innings on Friday night.
O’Sullivan said it was the best start of Liam Peterson’s career with Florida, and that the ace had earned the right to work through trouble in the sixth. Jackson Barberi, Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and Joshua Whritenour all pitched well, according to Sully. Whritenour needed a mound meeting to calm down, but the Florida coach gave him kudos for getting through it.
Kyle Jones hit a leadoff double in the 10th to start the game-winning rally. South Carolina pitched around Brendan Lawson and Karson Bowen, while Ethan Surowiec laid down a bunt. O’Sullivan walked through that inning and the coaching mentality required. Cash Strayer delivered the walk-off sacrifice fly, earning some praise for his poise in a clutch situation as a true freshman.
Here’s everything O’Sullivan said after the win.
Kevin O’Sullivan on Liam Peterson’s outing
“I mean, honestly, that’s as sharp as he’s looked for me in his career here. I know he only gave up one hit. His line looks great, obviously, but his stuff was crisp from the first pitch to the end. His breaking ball seems to be getting sharper and sharper.
“Instead of having that slider at 88, 89 with just a high velocity fastball, that curveball is a really good pitch for him because of the difference in velocities. He threw some good changeups tonight, too.”
O’Sullivan on the bullpen’s performance
“I thought all of our guys did good. I thought Jackson Barberi came in and did outstanding again. Ernie (Lugo-Canchola) comes in, gets his out and keeps him to seven pitches.
“The thing with Josh (Whritenour) — obviously, he struggled with his command tonight — but for him to be able to get through that and not give in speaks volumes of where he’s at mentally because he’s been so good for us. Sometimes when you don’t have it a certain night, and certainly in a game like this, you have a bases-loaded situation.
“He should feel good about himself. Obviously, he’s going to throw better with his command, but he got through it.”
O’Sullivan on the decisive extra-inning sequence
“Their pitching staff did equally as good a job. Sometimes it’s an advantage when you’re the home team.
“Kyle (Jones) led off there in the 10th and got a hit and stretched it into a double. Then they walked Lawson, which I knew they were going to do. Told the team at the end — Ethan (Surowiec), that’s probably the first bunt you’ve ever had in your life where it was executed perfectly.
“Then they walked Bowen, which I understood to face cash as a freshman. But what an unbelievable at-bat to hang in there. We’re fortunate that we had KJ at third because centerfield does have a good arm.”
O’Sullivan on Colton Schwarz’s defensive play
“We used the whole bench, it seems like. What gets lost sometimes in these types of games — the play Schwarzy made up the middle was a game-saver, honestly. That ball is firmed up, hit hard, and he stayed with it. Obviously, it was the third out of the inning.
“If he doesn’t make that play, I’m not quite sure I’m sitting here telling you guys we won the game.”
O’Sullivan on the pitching duel
“It was a great baseball game. Three hits between both teams, we make three errors. They don’t cost us. Both teams leave nine runners on. It was just a different night. It was just dominant pitching on both sides.”
O’Sullivan talks with Whritenour to calm him down
“Yeah, I think, when he gets in trouble, he spins off a bit. He doesn’t stay through his catcher as well as he should. It’s a 1-0 game, a high-leverage situation, the first conference game he’s pitched in; he probably had some nerves a little bit.
“But, like I said, he got through it. Kudos to him.”
O’Sullivan on Liam Peterson working ahead in counts
“His stuff has always been the same, but he was ahead in the count just about the whole night, and he had all four pitches going for himself. If we can get consistent performances like that on Friday nights from him, I feel good about it. He was simply outstanding tonight.”
O’Sullivan on freshmen like Cash, Colton delivering in big moments
“In order to play as a freshman at this level, number one, you gotta be talented enough, but your baseball IQ has got to be high and you have to be very mature. Most of the time, when they have success as freshmen, they’re very even-keeled. They don’t get too high, don’t get too low, and they have instincts.
“Obviously, I’ve known Colton since he was this big (gestures the height of a young child). Cash comes from Plant High School. Their coach, Dennis Braun, does an unbelievable job. Every single hitter we’ve gotten out of Plant has hit. Every single one.
“When he calls me and says, ‘Hey, Sully, this guy can really hit,’ — obviously we’re going to see him — but it’s like okay, he’s good enough to play here.”
O’Sullivan on letting Peterson pitch through the sixth
“I didn’t think his stuff dropped off. Sometimes you get to a point where he earned the opportunity to get out of a situation because of the way he pitched. If I bring somebody else in and inherited runners score, it’s not fair to him. If the stuff is trending downward, yeah.
“A lot of times, you watch how much hard contact pitchers are getting and pay attention to the pitch count. He earned the right to get through that.”
On opposing teams, pitching around Brendan Lawson
“They’re going to start pitching around LAwson, maybe, but Ethan stung two balls tonight. If the wind isn’t blowing the way it is, it might have been two home runs. We’ve got some length. And getting back Blake (Cyr), I feel good about that. I’ll feel really good when we get back Cade (Kurland).
“The other thing is having that next catcher, AJ (Malzone). He got his stitches out yesterday, I believe. He’s starting to swing the bat and is on the 34-man roster this week. I’m anxious to see what he can do. He had a good fall and a good preseason, behind the plate and offensively. It’s another left-handed bat we can use.”
O’Sullivan on Cade Kurland
“It’s really unfair of me. I probably shouldn’t have put a time on it, because this oblique thing is something you have to take care of. If you don’t, it can become recurring. It’s a really difficult injury. It’s not season-ending by any means, but you do have to be careful.
“One swing and he could be back out again, and it’s another couple of weeks. The next time we get him back in the lineup, we’ll be rest assured he’ll be 100%.”
O’Sullivan on running more
“We’re trying to not just steal more bags, but balls in the dirt. We’re being more active in trying to steal third, too. I think Blake Cyr is one of the best on our team at that. Brendan Lawson’s running better. We put him in motion quite a bit. We’re trying to do things.
“Tonight’s one of those nights when you’re not hitting, and the wind is blowing in. I know Blake tried to attempt a drag bunt a couple of times. Those are the things, hit-and-runs, drags, but we didn’t get a whole lot of leadoff men on.”
O’Sullivan on the depth of SEC pitching
“You’re going to run into stuff like this. It’s the SEC, and it’s Friday nights. We always had to put out the probables on Thursday for the weekend. When I start looking at some of these names, I’m like, yeah, this league is extremely deep on the mound and some quality left-handers too. That’s why getting Cade back is so important.”
O’Sullivan on Lawson’s physical development
“He’s running way better. I kind of compare it to Wyatt Langford. He came back in his sophomore year and was chiseled. A lot of it is, he’s a tremendous athlete, played hockey growing up. Our strength coach Shawn (Burke) does a tremendous job. Our nutrition staff does a tremendous job.
“I’ve always taken pride in our team — and you don’t really realize it until Opening Night when you line up — I’m saying, ‘Boy, these guys are in good shape.’ You start comparing them to other teams. Our staff does a great job.”
O’Sullivan on starting SEC play with a win after last year’s struggle
“I don’t think about it like that. Last year is last year. I have to mentally, I can’t let myself get to that point where we’re 1-11. For me to go through my day and be the best coach I can be, I have to focus on the 14-4 start, or I can get frustrated with myself, and players don’t need to see that.
“You’re playing at home, you had to use your closer for 44 pitches, that (loss) would have stung a little bit. It’s only one of 30, but you cannot throw away pitching performances like that and not win. There’s going to be times when we’re going to win 9-7 or 8-5.
“But when you get performances like Liam gave us tonight, we’ve got to cash in. We can’t let those starts get away from us because they are few and far between, especially in SEC play.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Kevin O’Sullivan talks Florida baseball’s walk-off win over USC
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
