Kevin O’Sullivan guided his Florida baseball program to the doorstep of a national title this season. Unfortunately, those hopes fell apart as LSU stormed past the Gators 18-4 in the decisive game of the College World Series Finals.

After the conclusion of the season, O’Sullivan stepped to the podium to discuss the loss in the final game of the season. He admitted Florida’s pitching staff did not have an answer for the LSU offense as 6 Gator pitchers surrendered 18 earned runs in the loss.

“Congratulations to LSU. They certainly earned it today. A really good team that played one of their best games all year at the right time. And tip your cap to them,” said O’Sullivan. “Offensively, we didn’t really have an answer for them on the mound today.”

In terms of the final series of the season, O’Sullivan also acknowledged Florida did not get enough from its starting pitchers as required:

“I think these last three games, you know, we didn’t get as much as we probably needed to out of our starters,” O’Sullivan explained. “We put a little bit too much pressure on our bullpen early in games, and we were probably playing with fire the last couple of games. And obviously it got to us today.”

Two-way star Jac Caglianone surrendered 6 earned runs and faced just 11 batters in Monday’s game. Brandon Sproat held LSU to 2 earned runs in Game 1 but he lasted just 4 innings due to 5 walks and 111 pitches thrown. The Gators rolled in Game 2, but starter Hurston Waldrep lasted just 2.1 innings with 6 walks before being lifted for the bullpen.

Despite the loss, O’Sullivan praised his team and said one final game will not define everything that went into 2023. As Florida heads into the offseason, the head coach also proclaimed an expectation to be back in a similar position playing for a national title in 2024.

“So we had a great season. One game is not going to define the hard work and all the accolades that our team has gotten, both as a team, as individuals,” said O’Sullivan. “Certainly right now it’s very disappointing, but it’s certainly not going to take away from the accomplishments that these guys to my left and everybody else that’s in the locker room right now.

“It’s a hard pill to swallow right now, but glad we had an opportunity to come back, play for a national championship. And I would expect us to be in the same spot next year.”