Gators Drop Final Midweek Matchup of Season

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was a tough watch for the fans of the Florida Gators (33-17) at Condon Family Ballpark Tuesday night as they watched the Gators drop their final midweek game of the season to the USF Bulls (25-21), 7-1. 

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for Florida and snapped a four-game midweek winning streak.

The biggest moment of the game came during the sixth inning, where the Bulls took a 5-1 lead after entering the inning tied, 1-1.

Relief pitcher Alex Philpott gave up three hits that resulted in one run. Then, righty Luke McNeillie was called from the pen and gave up three hits to the next four he faced after recording an out, which brought three additional runs. 

USF did tack on two more runs in the eighth as well to make it 7-1 to finalize the scoring.

Despite the loss, the Gators did leave the ballpark with one positive with the return of right-handed pitcher Matthew Jenkins. 

Jenkins was strong in his return, striking out seven in 2 ⅔ innings of work. He did walk two, but that’s not too surprising given that he hasn’t pitched since March 19 against Florida A&M. 

“That's one of the bright moments of the game, you know, to get him back out there,” Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He was good tonight.”

However, as good as Jenkins was, the hitters for the Gators were the total opposite. 

Florida mustered up just three hits in this contest compared to the 13 from their opponent. Additionally, the only run they scored on the night came on an error from the Bulls pitcher trying to catch infielder Brendan Lawson stealing third base, but it led to him crossing home plate instead thanks to an errant throw. 

Next up for the Gators is a road trip to Austin, Texas, where they’ll take on the No. 1 Longhorns for a three-game series beginning Friday. 

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