February 20, 2009

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? After all it has been through the last month, Florida breathed a giant sigh of relief when it stepped on the field and beat Louisville 6-3 Friday night.

The team was even more pleased with senior right-handed pitcher Patrick Keating.

Almost a month ago, the Gators were dealt a surprise when senior pitcher Stephen Locke was arrested in Gainesville for suspicion of DUI. The resulting penalty from coach Kevin O'Sullivan was Locke's banishment from the team.

Following Locke's dismissal, the Gators' knew they'd need Keating even more. The senior right-hander is off to a good start.

"Yeah, there's definitely more pressure on me this season, but I try not to look at things that way, we have to move forward," Keating told Rivals.com. "There's certainly some pressure on me, but overall, I still very comfortable out there."

Without Locke in the weekend rotation, the Gators now must start a pair of freshmen, Alex Panteliodis and Nick Maronde. Though talented, O'Sullivan and the Gators realize it's a lot to ask of first-year players.

That made Keating's performance Friday night even more important.

Keating had a banner night against No. 17 Louisville, scattering four hits and allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of work. Most important, though, the talented right-hander recorded a career-high seven strikeouts for 11th-ranked Florida.

"He was just awesome, that's the best I've seen him in awhile," Florida second baseman Josh Adams said. "I'm sure we'll go in the locker room and give him a handshake. And I'm sure we'll see that type of performance all season long."

While much of Florida's pitching success hinges on Keating finding success as the Friday starter, O'Sullivan approaches the situation in smart fashion.

The coach knows his freshmen will experience growing pains on Saturday and Sunday, but doesn't plan to put extra pressure on Keating. The second-year coach wants Keating to throw his game, and expects all the chips will fall the right way.

Perhaps in a month that has been filled with drama, it's best to lay off the theatrics and stick to a laid-back approach to the weekend rotation.

"Honestly, I talked to Keating earlier in the week about not doing anymore than he's capable, not doing more than usual," said O'Sullivan. "We were hoping to get five innings out of him on a 75-pitch count, but he gave us seven innings on a 75-pitch count. We'll take it."

Keating's next outing will be against a Miami lineup that has several holes to fill. But SEC play will begin soon.

That's when Keating needs to be at his best.

In the meantime, Louisville coach Dan McDonnell is now a believer.

"Keating just looked like a solid Friday night guy. He came right at us," McDonnell said. "He makes a living throwing the ball into the strike zone and he did a great job of keeping the ball around the knees and pitching inside."

Keating passed his first test of the season in impressive fashion.

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.