Here's hoping the boys will play like the number 1 seed. They've been kind of shaky at the end of the season.
Charlie
--Gators receive No. 1 seed for NCAA Tournament
McKethan Stadium is the host site for this weekend's NCAA Gainesville Regional.
Matt Stamey/The Gainesville SunPublished: Monday, May 30, 2016 at 2:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, May 30, 2016 at 2:10 p.m.
Florida was the No. 1 team in college baseball for the majority of the season.
On Monday, the Gators were rewarded as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Division I tournament.
As the top seed, Florida (47-13) will host Bethune-Cookman (29-25), the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champions, in the Gainesville Regional on Friday at 6 p.m. at McKethan Stadium. The Gainesville Regional also includes second-seed Georgia Tech (36-23) and third-seed UConn (37-23), which won the American Athletic Conference Tournament. UConn and Georgia Tech will begin regional play Friday at 1 p.m.
Florida is opposite Florida State (37-20) in its Super Regional bracket, setting up the possibility of a rematch between the two rivals. Last year, Florida swept FSU in two games in the Super Regional to advance to the College World Series for the ninth time in school history. Florida defeated the Seminoles in all three meetings this season.
The Gators are coming off a 12-5 loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament final Sunday in Hoover, Ala., and are 4-4 in their last eight games. But Florida was seeded first by virtue of a stellar 25-1 record against non-conference opponents. In addition to taking three straight against FSU, Florida also won two of three against national number three seed Miami and three of four against number four national seed Texas A&M.
"We have had a good year up to this point," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said Sunday. "We won 47 games, and I think RPI is up to No. 1. We have had a lot of expectations throughout the year. I think we have answered the bell so to speak. I'm proud of my team and the way they battled."
Florida also has played the past three weeks without leading hitter and starting first baseman Peter Alonso, who was out with a broken hand. Alonso is expected to return for this weekend's regionals.
"It's definitely been a grind," Florida junior pitcher Shaun Anderson said on ESPNU during the selection show. "We've been strong all year. We've finished strong. We definitely deserve the number one national seed."
Florida and Bethune-Cookman have played once this season, with the Gators winning 7-1 on May 3 at McKethan Stadium.
"We've played Bethune-Cookman, so we are somewhat familiar with them," O'Sullivan said. "UConn won their conference tournament, so they're obviously playing very well. We played them back in 2014 so we've got a little bit of information on them. As far as Georgia Tech's concerned, they play in one of the best conferences in the country so they'll be battle tested. I don't think this is going to be a very easy regional in any stretch of the imagination. It will be challenging for us, but we're looking forward to playing at home."
The rest of the national seeds include Louisville (2), Texas Tech (5), Mississippi State (6), Clemson (7) and LSU (8). The SEC ended up with a record four national seeds, while the ACC has three.
Notes: Florida is the number one seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. The Gators were last a top seed in 2012. … UF is making its 32nd regional appearance and school-record ninth in a row under O'Sullivan. … Florida holds a 30-0 advantage in the all-time series with Bethune-Cookman, with 29 of the wins coming in Gainesville. O'Sullivan is 10-0 against the Wildcats. … the Gators are 17-1 against in-state competition this year (FGCU 3-0, Miami (2-1), UCF (2-0), North Florida (2-0), Florida State (3-0), Florida Atlantic (1-0), Jacksonville (2-0), Bethune-Cookman (1-0) and South Florida (1-0). … the Gators are 29-4 at McKethan Stadium this season.
Tickets: Call the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683 or toll free (800) 344-2867), visit the Gator Ticket Office, located at Gate 1 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, or order online at FloridaGators.com/tickets.
Texas targeting O'Sullivan
With the announcement of Augie Garrido stepping down at Texas, the Longhorns may look to the Sunshine State for their next coach.
O'Sullivan is considered one of the candidates to replace the legendary Garrido, who led Texas to eight CWS appearances and two national titles in 20 seasons, according to an Austin American-Statesman report, which also mentions Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin, TCU's Jim Schlossnagle and Tulane's David Pierce as possible candidates.
O'Sullivan has led the Gators to a 391-186 record and four College World Series appearances in nine seasons. Per terms of his contract obtained by The Sun through an open records request, O'Sullivan is due to make $665,000 in salary and bonuses this season, including a $25,000 longevity bonus if he stays at UF beyond this season. According to reports, Garrido has an annual salary of more than $1 million.
Contact Kevin Brockway at 352-374-5054 or kevin.brockway@gvillesun.com. Also check out Brockway's blog at Gatorsports.com.
Sent From Shane's iPhoneGo Gators! & Skål Vikes!ALPCA #8756Europlate #1045
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GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007)
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