Florida State baseball head coach Kevin O’Sullivan praised both teams’ pitchers after Florida State and South Carolina defeated the Gators 1-0 in 10 innings on Friday night.
O’Sullivan said it was the best start to Liam Pietersen’s career at Florida, with the ace earning the right to overcome the odds in the sixth frame. Sully said Jackson Barberi, Ernesto Lugo-Canciola and Joshua Whitnour all performed well. Warrit Noor needed a mound meeting to cool off, but Florida State’s coaches praised him for getting through it.
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Kyle Jones hit a leadoff double in the tenth inning to start the game-winning rally. South Carolina pitched around Brendan Lawson and Carson Bowen, while Ethan Surowitz had a bunt. O’Sullivan went through the innings and the coaching mentality required. Cash Strayer completed a walk-off sacrifice fly and earned some praise for his composure down the stretch as a true freshman.
Here’s everything O’Sullivan had to say after his win.
Kevin O’Sullivan on Liam Pietersen’s outing
“I mean, honestly, that’s as sharp as you’d expect in his career here. I know he’s only given up one hit. Obviously, his line looks great, but his stuff is crisp from the first pitch to the end. His breaking ball seems to be getting sharper and sharper.
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“The curveball is a really good pitch for him because of the velocity difference, as opposed to just an 88, 89 slider with a high-speed fastball. He threw some good changeups tonight, too.”
O’Sullivan discusses bullpen performance
“I thought all our guys did a great job. I thought Jackson Barberi came in and did a great job again. Ernie (Lugo Canciola) came in, got him out and held him to seven pitches.
“The Josh (Waritnow) thing – obviously, he struggled with his command tonight – but for him to be able to get over it and not give in, that says a lot about his mental state because he’s been so good for us. Sometimes when you don’t do that on a night, certainly in a game like this, you get into a bases-loaded situation.
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“He should feel good about himself. Obviously, he’s going to take better shots with his command, but he overcame it.”
O’Sullivan on the decisive overtime sequence
“Their pitching does a great job as well. Sometimes when you’re the home team, that’s an advantage.
“Kyle (Jones) led off the 10th inning, got a hit and extended it into a double. And then they walked Lawson, which I knew they were going to do. Tell the team at the end – Ethan (Surowitz), this is probably the first time in your life that a bunt is executed perfectly.
“Then they walked Bowen, and I knew Bowen was going to be facing cash as a freshman. But what an unbelievable hit to hold on to. We’re lucky that we have KJ at third because he does have a good arm in center field.”
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O’Sullivan on Colton Schwartz’s defensive performance
“It looked like we used the whole bench. Something is lost sometimes in these types of games – Schwarzi’s play in the middle was a game-saver, honestly. That ball was solid, hit hard and he held on. Obviously, it was the third innings.
“If he hadn’t played like that, I’m not sure I would be sitting here telling you we won the game.”
O’Sullivan talks about pitching duel
“It was a good baseball game. Both teams had three hits and we committed three errors. They didn’t cost us. Both teams left nine runners on base. It was just a different night. Both teams dominated.”
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O’Sullivan talks to Verritno to calm him down
“Yeah, I think, when he got into trouble, he spun a little bit. He didn’t get through receivers like he should have. It was a 1-0 game, a high-leverage game, his first conference game; he was probably a little nervous.
“But, like I said, he got through it. Hats off to him.”
O’Sullivan on Liam Pietersen leading in count
“His stuff has been the same, but he was leading the count almost all night long, and all four of his pitches did a good job for himself. If we can get a solid performance like that out of him on Friday night, I feel good. What he did tonight was just outstanding.”
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O’Sullivan talks about the performance of Cash, Colton and other freshmen at important moments
“To play at this level as a freshman, number one, you have to be talented enough, but your baseball IQ has to be high and you have to be very mature. Most of the time when they have success as freshmen, they’re very even. They’re not too high, they’re not too low, and they have instincts.
“Obviously, I’ve known Colton since he was his age (gesturing at a kid’s height). Cash came out of Plant High School. Their coach Dennis Braun did an unbelievable job. Every hitter we sent out from Plant hit. Every one of them.
“When he called me and said, ‘Hey, Sully, this guy can really hit,’ — obviously we’re going to see him — but it doesn’t matter, he’s good enough to play here.”
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O’Sullivan talks about letting Peterson play through the sixth game
“I don’t think his stuff is going to go down. Sometimes you’re going to get out of trouble because of the way he pitches. It wouldn’t be fair to him if I brought in other guys and inherited the runner’s score. If things are going to go down, yeah.
“A lot of times, you look at the intensity of contact a pitcher gets and pay attention to the pitch count. He’s earned the right to get through it.”
Pitching around Brendan Lawson on the opposing team
“Maybe they’ll start pitching around Lawson, but Ethan hit two pitches tonight. If the wind wasn’t blowing, probably a couple of homers. We’re some distance away. Getting Blake (Seal) back, I feel good about it. When we get Cade (Courland) back, I’m going to feel really good about it.”
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“The other thing is having the next catcher, AJ (Malzone). I believe he was seamed up yesterday. He’s starting to swing the bat and will be on the 34-man roster this week. I’m interested to see what he can do. He’s had a good fall, a good preseason, good behind the plate and offensively. That’s another left-handed bat we can use.”
O’Sullivan on Cade Curran
“It’s really unfair to me. I probably shouldn’t have spent time on it because that slant thing is something you have to deal with. If you don’t deal with it, it can come back. It’s a very difficult injury. It’s not season-ending by any means, but you have to be careful.
“One hit and he could be back again, and that’s a few weeks away. The next time we get him back in the lineup, we can rest assured that he’ll be 100 percent.”
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O’Sullivan talks more about running
“Not only are we rushing the sack more, we’re rushing the ball more. We’re also more aggressive trying to rush third down. I think Blake Seale is one of the best players on our team. Brendan Lawson is a better runner. We’re getting him moving a lot. We’re working on some things.”
“Tonight was one of those nights where you don’t have a hit, and the wind is blowing in. I know Blake tried a couple bunts. Those are things, hit-and-runs, drag, but we didn’t get a lot of leads on.”
O’Sullivan talks SEC pitching depth
“You get things like this. It’s the SEC, and it’s Friday night. We always have to bring up possibilities on Thursday weekends. When I started looking at some of these names, I thought, yeah, the mound is pretty deep in this league and there are some quality left-handers. That’s why it’s so important to get Cade back.”
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O’Sullivan on Lawson’s physical development
“He’s running better. I compare that to Wyatt Langford. He came back as a sophomore and got chiseled. A lot of it is, he’s a great athlete, having played hockey growing up. Our strength coach Sean (Burke) does a great job. Our nutrition staff does a great job.
“I’ve always been proud of our team — you don’t really realize it until you’re in line on opening night — and I said, ‘Boy, these guys are in good shape.’ You start comparing them to other teams. Our staff does a great job.”
O’Sullivan talks last year’s struggles, starts SEC play with a win
“I don’t think so. Last year was last year. I have to be mentally, I can’t let myself get to the point where I’m 1-11. In order for me to get through the day and be the best coach I can be, I have to focus on starting 14-4 or I’ll get frustrated with myself and the players don’t need to see that.
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“You play at home and you have to pitch your closer 44 times, and that (losing) stings a little bit. It’s just one of 30, but you can’t give up a pitching performance like that and not win. Sometimes we win 9-7 or 8-5.
“But when you get a performance like what Liam gave us tonight, we’ve got to deliver. We can’t let those starters go away from us because they’re few and far between, especially in SEC games.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball quotes Kevin O’Sullivan after SEC opener win over USC
