Kevin O'Sullivan talks Florida baseball's Friday loss to Auburn

TL;DR

The Florida Gators lost to the Auburn Tigers 5-3 in a closely contested game on Friday night. Despite strong pitching from Florida, the offense struggled to deliver timely hits.

Key points

Florida Gators lost to Auburn Tigers 5-3
Liam Peterson pitched five innings, allowing one earned run
Auburn hit three home runs in the game
Kevin O'Sullivan addressed the media post-game

Florida GatorsAuburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers evened up the weekend series with the Florida Gators on Friday night with a 5-3 victory at Condron Family Ballpark.

It was a hard-fought matchup between two SEC foes. Florida's Liam Peterson only allowed one earned run in five innings, but reverted to his inefficient ways with 96 pitches over that stretch; fortunately, Luke McNeillie was able to provide four frames of one-run ball, but the offense simply could not break through with a timely hit in the end.

Auburn earned the win behind some superb pitching as well as some slick defense, plus three home runs, which made the difference in the final score.

After the game, coach Kevin O'Sullivan spoke with the media about what transpired that evening on his home turf. Here is what he had to offer.

What are your thoughts on the pitching tonight?

"You look at the box score — he gave up one earned run over five, and I thought he pitched good. I thought he pitched really good. And I thought Luke McNeillie did outstanding too. So you know, we only gave up two runs over nine innings.

"We faced two really good lefties today. We knew that they were going to go to Sanders there at some point. You know, both those guys, the starter, and Sanders, their numbers are outstanding, and they did a really nice job today."

How frustrating are some of the field issues this late in the season?

"I think we've been playing pretty good defense as of late. It's just one mistake that cost us, you know, that fourth inning."

How much do you credit Auburn's lineup and their pitchers?

"I thought we started to have better bats against Sanders, honestly. I thought towards the end of the 7th, he was getting a little bit tired. I thought our bats, obviously in the 8th and 9th, were good. We just didn't get that one big hit.

"But the good thing about it is we got a chance to win the series tomorrow, and we need Russ to bounce back from his start from last week, and our bullpen's fresh. So we'll just have him ready to play."

Q&A

What was the final score of the Florida vs Auburn baseball game on Friday?

The final score was 5-3 in favor of the Auburn Tigers.

Who was the starting pitcher for Florida in the game against Auburn?

Liam Peterson was the starting pitcher for Florida, allowing one earned run in five innings.

What did Florida baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan say after the loss to Auburn?

Coach Kevin O'Sullivan discussed the team's performance and the challenges they faced during the game.