Despite youth and injuries, Florida baseball team rights itself as postseason approaches

With a wealth of talent exiting his program for the majors, Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan knew this would be a challenge, but he never envisioned it being this difficult.

After cruising to three straight College World Series berths, the Gators suffered a six-game losing streak early this season and did not get back to .500 until a month ago. A relatively young and inexperienced roster made an abundance of mistakes. The most diplomatic way O’Sullivan could describe it was “this year’s team has been very coaching-oriented.”

“We’ve had a lot of one-on-one meetings with players to keep them afloat when things haven’t been going as well as they wanted,” he said. “We’ve had to mix and match a lot with the lineup and the pitching. It’s been a work in progress.”

But it is coming together.

After stumbling to 11-16 in late March, the Gators won 14 of their next 17 games. That included a three-game sweep ofSouth Carolina, which won the CWS championship in 2010 and 2011 and was runner-up last year.

With a little over a week remaining before the SEC tournament, a season once feared lost is full of hope. Florida is 27-23 (12-12 in conference) and remains in contention for the NCAA tournament as it heads into this weekend’s series against Auburn (28-19, 9-15).

“All of us were really confident, and everyone thought we’d be really great,” pitcher Justin Shafer said. “We just had a tough time at the beginning. We knew eventually it would turn around.”

The offense, which racked up 22 runs in a win over Florida A&M on Monday, has been critical in redirecting the season. The Gators hit .292 during their run of 14 wins in 17 games.

They have eight regulars hitting .280 or higher. Seven of those players are freshmen or sophomores.

“A lot of the younger players stepped up when we needed them,” said freshman outfielder Harrison Bader, who is batting .297. “The rough start wasn’t reflective of the way we could really play, and as the season progressed, everyone came together.”

The brightest spot in the lineup is catcher Taylor Gushue, who leads the team in batting average (.306), home runs (five) and RBIs (32). Gushue, who is from Boca Raton, is hitting exactly 100 points higher than he did as a freshman last season.

In addition to their top five hitters from last season leaving for Major League Baseball, the Gators’ best starting pitchers — juniors Hudson Randall and Brian Johnson — also left.

O’Sullivan planned to use Jonathon Crawford, from Okeechobee High School, and Karsten Whitson as his top two starters, followed by Keenan Kish. That plan crumbled, however, when Whitson and Kish suffered season-ending injuries. Whitson, a top-10 MLB draft pick coming out of high school, was ruled out prior to the season with shoulder problem. Kish made three appearances before a hip issue sidelined him.

“Injuries happen, so that’s not an excuse, but that’s put us in a position where other guys have to step up,” O’Sullivan said.

Some have. Danny Young, a freshman out of St. Andrew’s, is 3-4 with a 3.89 ERA, which is the best among UF pitchers with at least five starts. Palm Beach Central High School product Bobby Poyner, a sophomore, is 3-2 with a 3.98 ERA. Poyner gave up one hit in six innings Tuesday as the Gators rolled past Florida Atlantic 7-1.

Those are the types of breakthroughs O’Sullivan, a Jupiter High graduate, hoped to see. Even as the Gators slumped through February and March, he steadfastly believed they had the potential to grow into a quality team.

“You’ve got to stay positive — if we start showing doubt, the players will see that,” he said. “No one cares about injuries or youth. No excuses. This is the University of Florida and we expect to be in the postseason every year. We never doubted this thing would get turned around.”