The saying “it’s all about getting hot at the right time” is the theme for the University of Florida baseball team entering this weekend at Condron Family Ballpark.
The Gators (39-19) have won 10 of their last 12 games entering regional play and their offense has been a big reason why. In the last 12 contests, Florida is batting .324/.430/.629 for a 1.059 OPS with 32 home runs and 30 doubles while outscoring opponents, 117-58.
“I think (Brendan) Lawson’s gotten hot, I think Ethan’s (Surowiec) been probably one of our most consistent hitters the entire year, you insert (Caden) McDonald there in the middle of the lineup and he’s given us a boost, (Karson) Bowen’s been consistent with his at-bats, (Hayden) Yost with his emergence at the bottom half gives us length, I think there’s a lot of factors,” O’Sullivan said at Thursday’s pre-tournament press conference. “I think as a collective group they have all pretty much have done their job and I think Blake Cyr might be one of the most underrated hitters in our lineup…boy he’s been really good for us for a long period of time for us this year.”
Florida, which owns the longest-active streak in the nation with its 18th straight NCAA Division I tournament appearance under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan, will host the Gainesville Regional today through Monday (if necessary).
Florida State (1978-2022) and Miami (1973-2016) are tied for the most consecutive appearances in college baseball history with 44 consecutive seasons.
The Seminoles (38-17) will be hosting the Tallahassee Regional, while the Hurricanes (38-18) will be in Gainesville and could meet the Gators in a winners’ bracket game on Saturday.
Florida, which is the No. 8 overall seed, will open against Rider (33-18) at 1 p.m. on Friday (ESPN+).
The Gators will rest their ace as right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer will get the start. The junior from Tampa has a 3.91 earned run average (ERA) in his 11 starts with a 3-1 record, a .236 batting average against, and 48 strikeouts and only 11 walks.
He returns after being struck by a line drive to the mound against eventual SEC champion Georgia (46-12) in the second inning of last Saturday’s game. Florida lost to Georgia, 8-7, in the SEC semifinals.
“When I watched him pitch on Saturday, that was as good of an inning and a half that he’s thrown all year long, stuff-wise, command-wise,” O’Sullivan said. “I watched his pen on Tuesday and he looked really crisp.”
The Bulldogs, who are hosting the Athens Regional, are the No. 3 overall seed.
“Georgia had a great season but to get one of those top eight national seeds is a tremendous compliment, which means if we’re able to get through this regional, which is not going to be easy, we’ve got an opportunity to play at home the following weekend, so we’re excited about that,” O’Sullivan said.
As the No. 8 national seed, if Florida wins the Gainesville Regional then the Gators will host a Super Regional next weekend against the winner of the Hattiesburg Regional, which is hosted by Southern Mississippi.
Should the Gators advance, they would enter next weekend having won nine-straight Super Regionals under O’Sullivan since 2010. The only loss during his tenure was to Southern Miss in his 2009 Super Regional debut.
Florida has made 14 trips to the College World Series, including nine of the last 15.
Rider is the No. 4 seed in the Gainesville Regional.
The Broncs, who won their third MAAC championship in the last six years, will counter with right-handed pitcher P.J. Craig (9-3, 3.39 ERA).
This will be the first meeting between Florida and Rider since 1992.
The winner will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday against either No. 2 seed Miami (38-18) or No. 3 seed Troy (32-29), who play at 6 p.m. on Friday. The losers will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“To start with Troy, they’re old, they’re really old,” O’Sullivan said. “They’ve got seniors up and down the lineup. I think they have six left-handed hitters. They’re left-handed heavy in the bullpen, and they got rewarded for playing a really tough schedule.”
Florida has dominated Miami (45-19 record for a .703 winning percentage) since O’Sullivan took the reins in 2008. The Gators, winners of 11 of the last 12 series against the Hurricanes, including five in a row, have won seven of the last eight series in Gainesville against the ‘Canes.
“As far as Miami is concerned, I’m not surprised,” O’Sullivan said. “It seems like every year, every other year, they’re in our regional, so it’s just part of it. I’ve got no control over who goes where so whoever they put in front of us we play, and it’s really that simple.”
Game times are noon and 5 p.m. on Sunday with an “if necessary” Game 7 on Monday (TBD).
Gainesville Regional (Gainesville, Florida)
Friday:
Game 1: No. 8 Florida vs. Rider, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2: Troy vs. Miami, 6 p.m. (ACC Network)
Saturday:
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 1 p.m. (TBD)
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 6 p.m. (TBD)
Sunday:
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 12 p.m. (TBD)
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 5 p.m. (TBD)
Monday:
Game 7 (if necessary): Rematch Game 6, TBA (TBD)