O'Sullivan, Lawson talk Florida baseball's walkoff win over High Point
· Yahoo Sports
Florida narrowly avoided a sweep from High Point this weekend with a walk-off, 12-11, win on Sunday.
A rain delay forced starter Cooper Walls out early, and Florida had to turn to its bullpen after the third. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan discussed his strategy with the pitching staff after the delay, choosing to focus on the good rather than the bad. He acknowledged that Florida needed a better start from Walls, but it was a weird weekend for the entire staff — one that "exposed" some holes in the defense and pitching approach.
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O'Sullivan praised his offense's resiliency and ninth-inning approach that led to three straight bases-loaded walks to win the game. Shortstop Brendan Lawson also noted the unselfishness of the guys who hit in the ninth after he started the rally with his second home run of the day.
Both Lawson and O'Sullivan viewed this series as a lesson for the team on becoming complacent while still tipping their caps to High Point.
Here's what they said.
Kevin O’Sullivan on the pitching and defensive performance
"With Coop, we obviously didn’t help him defensively or some of the other guys today, which is uncharacteristic because we’ve been playing pretty good defense. The thing with Coop is he has given up three in the first against Kennesaw and four today. That’s seven runs in the first inning.
"We’ve got to get him going. I told him after the game you can’t get into a mindset where you’re pacing yourself. You can lose a game in the first inning just like you can in the ninth. They all count the same.”
On Cooper Walls' early struggles
“I took a mound visit and got on him a little bit, and the next fastball he threw was 95. Arguably, coming into the season, he was our second most consistent pitcher behind Liam. He just hasn’t found his groove yet, but I still have a tremendous amount of trust in him pitching on Sundays. He’ll get there. But he does have to understand that when he comes out of that bullpen, he has to be ready from the first pitch.”
On pitching after the rain delay
"Eli came in and did a nice job and got a big out after the rain delay. I don’t really have the answers yet. We’re going to talk about it as a staff tomorrow. Historically, we haven’t played well after rain delays. Maybe it’s preparation, or maybe we need to stretch as a group together. I got them right by the coach's box at first base and talked to them and told them we need to get out and be ready to go."
On the bullpen usage
"Eli came in and got a big strikeout and settled things down. Billy didn’t throw the ball as well as he wanted to.
"I didn’t want to go to Ernie that early, but Florida State is pretty heavy right-handed, so I felt like if we could keep it close in the middle of the game with the wind blowing the way it was, we’d have a chance.
"Russ came in and did his thing. We didn’t want to use him long because he’s coming off the injury, so he threw about 10 pitches.
“Jackson Hoyt was good again. Just trying to get him in and get him out and not leave him out there too long. He was very effective. Only 22 pitches over 1 1/3 innings.
"Josh didn't put in because we were behind all weekend. Only threw 17 pitches and threw the ball really well, so he'll be available for a couple of innings on Tuesday.”
On the offense responding
“It was just a different day, offensively. We had a chance to start (Justin) Nadeau, and he got the first pitch for a home run, which got everybody excited. I was really pleased with how we responded with two in the first and four in the second. Brendan Lawson has continued to swing the bat great. (Ethan Surowiec) is starting to swing better. Karson (Bowen) had his first home run. It was good to see Jacob Kendall back in the lineup.
"We've got some things to clean up, obviously, behind the plate. Landon (Stripling) had a big home run and two hits. We got some production up and down the lineup.”
On injuries affecting the lineup
“You can kind of see how valuable Blake Cyr is. He jammed his thumb earlier in the week, so we’re hoping he’ll be ready for Florida State, but most definitely for South Carolina.
"AJ Malzone has the hamate issue, and playing with only two catchers makes it really dicey. Karson has played a bunch of first base at TCU, but if we DH him and something happens to Cole, we lose the DH spot. It's the only way to do it for right now, until we get AJ back.
“You can see not having Ricky Reeth this weekend, how valuable he’s been. He just has a little shoulder soreness. It’s nothing serious. When we get Cade and Cyr back, put them back in the middle of the lineup; it should strengthen things a little more, and get Ricky back in the bullpen; that will strengthen us a lot.”
On High Point’s performance
“I tip my cap to High Point. They get on a bus and drive nine hours down here and nine hours back. They battled. I’ve got nothing but respect for their team and their coaches. Their infield defense was airtight, and their center fielder was phenomenal. Their kid from Jesuit, Clark, turned around on 98 from Josh and had a great weekend at the plate.
" I could see them winning a lot of games. They’re pesky and tough outs. They’re tough to strike out."
On the team’s pitching moving forward
“I still think we have one of the better pitching staffs in the country. We got exposed a little bit, but I’m confident Aidan will bounce back next week and Coop will bounce back. Our bullpen is starting to come together, and getting Jackson Hoyt out there gives us another left-hander that can help us.”
On the ninth-inning comeback
“Obviously, we got helped there in the ninth inning. It showed the depth we have. We went to some right-handed hitters and put some good at-bats together. It just goes to show that free passes usually lead to big innings, and we were fortunate in the ninth.
"We got some good at-bats and didn’t chase. The only guy we really chased was the lefty they brought in. Obviously, we don't see many of them throughout the year. I thought we chased him and hit a lot of fly balls today. The wind was blowing out, and it was just an offensive day."
On salvaging the series
“I was checking last night, and we're tied with maybe a few teams at 17 games, and we still had a rainout. I think that may have taken a toll on our team/ They might be a little bit tired, and we played a team that was energetic and played their tails off.
"We've got a lot of things to work on that we did not handle very well. I don't think we handled the adversity very well this weekend. It seemed like High Point was the aggressor. But, a win is a win. You certainly feel better about yourself. Like I told the team at the end, when you're playing well, you're really not as good as you think you are. When you're playing poorly, you're not as bad as you think you are.
"This is a long season. It's a 56-game schedule. I thought our fans got a really good chance to see a good brand of baseball from High Point this weekend. Their two starters were really good."
On defensive errors
"I think Karson rushed the one. That's a tough play to his right, and he just lost his footing on the other one. But it's not like we haven't been hitting him a ton of groundballs.
"He's the one who actually came up to us and said, 'Coach, I played a bunch of first base at TCU.' I said I knew that, but I didn't know he played as many as he did. I think it was like 49 games in two years. I felt comfortable with him over there, but having two catchers handcuffs you a little bit."
On avoiding the sweep
"If we get swept at home, that’s a bad feeling. Am I pleased with how we played? No. Am I pleased with how we handled adversity? No, not in the least bit. Am I pleased with how we started the game after being beat soundly yesterday? No.
"We need a better start from Coop; we need better defense. We don't need to be giving up a four-spot in the top of the first, and here we go again. But a win is a win and a loss is a loss. I feel a whole lot better sitting here with a win than getting swept at home.”
Brendan Lawson on the importance of salvaging the series
“I think it’s huge. They’re a really talented team and they played well all weekend. To be able to battle back and show that resilience is something we can carry into Florida State on Tuesday.”
On moving forward after a tough series
“I think we’ve got to have a short memory. It’s better that we kind of get this out of the way early and just move forward. Every day is a new day. If we can take the momentum from those last few minutes and keep it rolling into SEC play, that’ll be really big for us.”
On his success at the plate
“I think I’m just trying to start early and stick to my approach — look for good pitches and try to hit the ball hard. I’m not really trying to hit home runs. When I’m on time, good things just happen.”
On what the team learned from the series
“We learned we need to have the same attitude every day and be consistent. We can’t just turn it on when adrenaline is high like the Miami series, and then not bring it when we’re playing at home. We’ve got to keep the same energy and approach.”
On High Point’s pitching and defense
“I think their pitchers did an excellent job. Their first two starters filled up the zone and threw their off-speed for strikes. And their fielders were running around like their hair was on fire. Their outfielders were vacuuming everything, and their infield was solid.”
On dealing with defensive frustration as an offense
“It’s frustrating when you feel like you’re doing the right things and putting the ball in play. But you can’t control the outcome. If they make great plays, that’s just what happens.”
On the ninth-inning rally
“Guys were taking selfless at-bats. Nobody was trying to be the hero and hit a home run. We were just grinding out at-bats and trying to wear their pitcher down.”
On the team’s approach in the final inning
“It was just go out there, grind it out, work the pitcher, and make him throw strikes. I think we did a really good job of that.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball quotes Kevin O'Sullivan, Brendan Lawson vs High Point