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After returning from Tuscaloosa with an SEC sweep under their belt, the eighth ranked Gator baseball team saw its six game winning streak end in a 4-2 loss to 24th ranked Mercer. The loss was Florida’s third consecutive one in midweek games.
Both teams went scoreless through three innings, until freshman Charlie Madden drew first blood with a two-out RBI single in the fourth for the Bears.
Senior Sasha LaGarde brought in the second run for Mercer with another two-out RBI single in the fifth.
The Gators’ offense showed a sign of life in the sixth, tacking on its first run of the game on a fielder’s choice by junior Taylor Gushue that scored Richie Martin who led off the inning with a single.
However, Mercer’s Michael Massi sent a two-run bomb into the left field bleachers in the seventh to make the score 4-1. Florida would score a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Zack Powers but that’s all the runs the Gators would score. Florida is now 33-16 on the year while Mercer improves to 35-11.
“We have to turn the page pretty quick,” Gator freshman John Sternagel said. “On Thursday, we have to focus on Vanderbilt and put our work in. Our team, we practice hard. On off-days, we have guys up here all the time hitting on the field. We are always pushing and always working hard. We are going to keep working hard and that’s about all we can control.”
Now, Florida prepares to welcome No. 10 Vanderbilt for its final three-game series at home. The Gators and the Commodores are set to play on Thursday starting at 8:30 pm.
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