Florida shortstop Brendan Lawson and two-way player Caden McDonald says the Gators are looking to carry over the good while flushing the bad before the Gainesville Regional final.
Sunday’s 16-11 loss against Troy was the result of yet another poor showing from Florida’s pitching staff, but McDonald, who will likely pitch on Monday, says they trust everyone to get the job. McDonald chalked up the struggles to a rough weekend overall, and the ball has been flying for all teams in Gainesville.
Florida is responsible for 16 of the 35 homers hit at Condron Family Ballpark this weekend, which is a bit of a double-edged blade. The Gators’ offense feels hotter than ever, but the pitching staff remains vulnerable. With Aidan King and Liam Peterson likely unavailable on Monday after starting each of the last two games, Florida must rely on its up-and-down bullpen.
Here’s what the players said after the loss:
McDonald on message to pitching staff for Monday
“Just get ahead of guys and don’t fall behind in counts. We’ve obviously seen that Troy can hit, and we’ve just got to be confident in our stuff and really execute with two strikes. Seems like that was our issue. They were getting a lot of two-strike hits. We trust everybody, and we know how good our pitching staff is, and we’ve just got to go out there and dominate tomorrow.”
McDonald on pitching woes in regional
“I think it’s just one of those weekends. I mean, nothing in particular. Some guys have thrown the ball well and gotten hit, and then, obviously, some guys just have been uncharacteristic of them with walking people and all that. I think all that’s going to matter is how we bear down tomorrow and how we come back from this game.”
Lawson on home run surge at Condron Ballpark
“Home runs are fun. I mean, not when they’re hit against you, obviously, but it’s cool to see guys leaving the yard. Like you said, it doesn’t really fly traditionally here, but it’s cool.”
McDonald on offensive pressure when pitching is struggling
“I feel the same pressure as always. Like, there’s really not any. The pitching staff has picked us up all year, and then baseball’s a complementary game. We’ve had a couple days where the offense has picked it up, but tomorrow our pitching could throw a shutout, and then we’re having a different conversation. It’s just a complementary game, and there’s no pressure. Every game is different, so we’re going to come out with the same mentality tomorrow.”
Lawson on message to team after loss
“I think the message was just to shake it off. We have another game tomorrow, a new day, and just to come out with aggression and get after them from the start.”
McDonald on locker room leadership, experience
“Not yet, but we’ll probably hear some tomorrow because obviously we had no intention of losing this game. Some guys who have been there are going to step up tomorrow, I’m sure, and probably put out a good message, and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
McDonald on offensive output creating confidence
“A lot of confidence. Our offense has just been rolling, and regardless of how many runs our pitching staff gives up, the offense is still just going to do what it’s been doing. I mean, we go down 11, and then we still score six, so there’s a lot of fight in this team. We’re just going to try to take that in tomorrow.”
McDonald on the potential of pitching tomorrow
“I mean, I feel good. Just going to do the same thing that I’ve been doing all year: just pound the strike zone and try to keep guys off balance.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball’s Lawson, McDonald talk first regional loss