HOOVER, Ala.– The Florida Gators baseball team on Saturday fell to Georgia, 8-7, in the SEC Tournament Semifinals despite leading 6-0 after the third inning.

Florida gave up four runs across the seventh and eighth innings and largely relied on relief pitching after starter Russell Sandefer exited the game in the second inning due to injury and fell victim to a rain delay, after which Georgia bounced back and took the lead.

Here’s everything head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said, via a transcript from ASAP Sports, after the loss. Florida now turns its attention to the NCAA Tournament, where the Gators have locked up a hosting bid for regional play but will have to see if they did enough to earn a top-eight seed.

Opening Statement

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN: Well, first of all, congrats to Georgia. They obviously played really, really well today. That’s what they do. They just chipped away. I thought our pitching was good today. It was unfortunate that Russ got hit with that line drive. But fortunately enough for us it’s not broken. That’s probably the best his stuff has looked all year long. 

Yeah, although it’s disappointing, I’m really proud of the way our team played this week. I think we maybe opened up some eyes to other people around the country that may not have seen us play. And we’ve come such a long way. I think this weekend kind of puts us in a position for our team to be ready for the postseason.  

Q. The importance of playing in the SEC tournament, some teams come in here and they don’t play their best guys, but to you, how does this tournament help you prepare for the rest of the tournament? 

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN: I think it goes back to, like, the ninth and tenth weeks of the year. Everybody’s playing for something, whether it be a top 8 national seed, be one of the top 16 seeds to host. Some teams are playing just to get into the tournament. We have never taken this tournament lightly. We’ve always stayed with our rotation. The only time I think we may have done that is if we had to play on a Tuesday and we couldn’t bring back our No. 1. 

But, no, we try to come here to win it. Every game’s important. Like I said, it was unfortunate today with Russ because that’s about as good of stuff as he’s had all year long. I’m looking at the board and he’s throwing 96, 97, and he’s throwing his fastball to both sides of the plate. That was the best he’s looked. So lucky enough for us immediately they got him an X-ray and they came in and, I said, You already got one? That’s awesome. It came back negative, so he’ll be ready to go next week. 

We got three good starters. Our bullpen’s healthy for the very first time. We’ve got our lineup pretty much set now, and we’ll see what happens with the draw. I know a lot of people asked if we should be a top 8 national seed. My answer every year is the same thing. It’s out of my hands. It’s in the committee’s hands. I do think that we are one of the top 8 teams in the country, but it’s not my decision to make.

Q. I know you talked about this before as far as Georgia goes, but speak to the length of their lineup and what that ability gives them with that offensive game they got. 

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN: Yeah, it’s almost like no matter how many runs you score you almost feel like it’s not enough. I thought that, you know, after the rain delay, there was a couple tough hops there at third, and they got things rolling there. I didn’t think Josh pitched poorly at all. I think he just left some balls out over the plate. We didn’t give it to ’em. It’s not like we walked a few guys and gave up a three-run homer or stuff. They just put some really good at-bats against one of the best arms in the country. I’m really pleased with how we played this weekend, or this week for that matter. I think it definitely prepares us for next weekend.

Q. Was there any thought to putting Jackson on in the 8th inning when he ends up getting the sac fly that gives ’em the lead? 

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN: No. You pick your poison. It’s like – and for me, the thought did cross my mind, but those are the opportunities — like, Josh needs to face Jackson in that spot. Like, if he comes out successful, boy, does he feel really good about himself. So those are the type of battles within the game that you go you know what? Let’s go mano-a-mano. Let’s go head-to-head and see what happens. And I think that’s important for players to go through that, and pitchers for that matter. 

Q. Every team you have is different in some way, shape, or form. What has been different about this Florida team that maybe people don’t see, don’t read about that kind of sets themselves apart, in your mind? 

KEVIN O’SULLIVAN: I think our resiliency. We got swept at Alabama, we turned it around. I’m really proud of the way we have improved offensively, how we improved pitching-wise, and defensively we’ve come a long way. And they have worked awfully hard. It’s a tight-knit group, and yeah, they’re disappointed that they lost. I flat-out told ’em in the dugout, “I’m proud of the way you guys played this week; we don’t need to hang our heads.” We’ll get back home, give ’em a day off tomorrow, practice early on Monday, get ready to watch the selection show, give ’em the rest of Monday off and then get ready for the regional.

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