Same story for Florida baseball as mistakes pile up in series loss to Texas A&M

It was a disappointing déjà vu weekend for Florida baseball.

The Gators opened their top-25 series against Texas A&M with a win, but despite the final score, failed to respond, dropping back-to-back games reminiscent of the weekend against Auburn.

“It was pretty typical in the way we’ve been losing games this year,” said Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan after the 5-1 loss on Sunday to Texas A&M. “It was disappointing.”

The last four of the Gators series have come down to rubber matches, in which Florida is 1-3.

The main issue has been its infield defense, coupled with the fact that UF’s lineup has not gotten the job done, as the Gators have hit .237 in conference play, which ranks fourth-to-last in the SEC.  

The tell for the ugly hitting was the fact that Florida faced Texas A&M’s final two pitchers of the series earlier on the weekend.

“We got beat by a fastball for five innings from two pitchers that we had seen this weekend,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m disappointed in the fact that we only had four hits in the last five innings on fastballs.”

Analyzing infield errors

Florida has now committed 49 errors in 45 games this season, as the .969 fielding percentage ranks fourth to last in the SEC.

To break it down further, the Gators have committed at least one error in 25 games, with 15 featuring multiple errors.

The majority of the errors have come from the left side of the field, as shortstop Brendan Lawson is tied for second in the conference with 10 errors. However, he holds a .903 fielding percentage in 39 games.

However, issues at third base continue to unravel as a trio of Sam Miller, Kolt Myers, Colton Schwarz and Ethan Surowiec have combined for 14 errors this season.

Favorable stretch?

Despite the ugly weekend, the final month of the season has a chance to go Florida’s way.

The Gators, who have been better on the road, will face Oklahoma next week, which has had similar struggles compared to UF in conference action.

UF will then host struggling Kentucky at Condon Ballpark and then close out the season against an LSU team that could miss the NCAA tournament.

“I’m not looking at anything favorable, honestly,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m just worried about our team and how we can improve. I’m not looking at it any other way. I’ve watched Oklahoma, and they are going to be a handful. They can pitch. They can play defense, and they run the bases extremely aggressively. We’ll have a lot of work to do this week to prepare for that.”

Injury updates

Florida was without Lawson, who missed the game due to an ongoing sinus issue, according to O’Sullivan.

Colton Schwartz missed the final game against Texas A&M with an oblique, while Surowiec is playing through an injured thumb.

Outfielder Cash Strayer, who broke his hand last month, could return for the upcoming weekend against Oklahoma, but the goal is for the Kentucky series. Reliever Jackson Barberi is also hoping to return for the series against the Wildcats.

Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Same story for Florida baseball as mistakes pile up in series loss to Texas A&M

Reporting by Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun

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