Kevin O'Sullivan explains what Florida must do to come back vs. LSU

Coming off of a dominant performance Sunday in Game 2 of the College World Series against LSU, Florida is getting a taste of its own medicine in Monday’s winner-take-all Game 3. The Gators currently trail the Tigers 10-2 and have given up 10 unanswered runs, including four in the fourth inning.

A lot of that has to do with errors made by the Florida pitching staff, which has so far walked four batters and hit three by pitch. The Gators have already rolled out four different pitchers as starter Jac Caglianone was pulled after only 1.1 innings.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan joined the ESPN broadcast midway through the fourth inning, where he explained how Florida can climb out of the hole it has dug itself into thus far.

“We’re just gonna have to try to put a couple of zeros on the board,” O’Sullivan said. “I think we had four walks and two hit by (pitch) in the first three innings and obviously they capitalized on it. This inning we had two outs and nobody on and ended up giving up four runs. Bottom line is, we’ve still got more than half a game left. We’ve just got to chip away.”

Things were looking good for the Gators after one inning, as they held a 2-0 lead. However, things began to go awry by the top of the second. Caglianone walked Gavin Dugas to lead off the inning before a wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. He then gave up a pair of singles, walked two more and hit another by pitch before being pulled after giving up three runs.

The damage wasn’t done after that, though, as the Gators surrendered three more runs after Cade Fisher entered in relief. Tyler Nesbitt is currently on the mound and has yet to give up a run so far through 2.0 innings.

However, Florida can’t get back in the game against LSU without some help from its hitters. After recording 23 hits on Sunday, they’ve yet to managed just two so far in Game 3, both of which came during the opening inning.

That’s something O’Sullivan also harped on, adding that there is plenty of game left.

“We were helped yesterday by some free passes as well and some defensive miscues on their end. Bottom line is, when we get opportunities to score, we’ve just got to chip away. Get a run here and two runs here. Just gotta get within striking distance at the end.”