Oregon State and Florida are set to square off at 4:00 PM PT in the winners bracket of the Gainesville Regional. The Gators are 43-15 overall and they went 22-8 in SEC play. Their home record is 29-3, and they were 12-8 on the road.
TALE OF THE SEASON:
The Gators emerged victorious in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. They're a high caliber club who has beaten a lot of good teams, and they haven't lost a series since the end of March.
NON-CONFERENCE PLAY:
Florida played a three game series with Miami earlier in the year before SEC play. Florida was able to win the opener and come back to win the rubber game after Miami won the second game of the series 7-1. Miami is currently hosting the Coral Gables Regional, the winner of which will play the team that emerges from the Gainesville Regional.
The Gators have played Florida State on four separate occasions throughout the season, all mid-week contests. Florida went 1-2 this season against their in-state rival, only beating them back on March 16. Florida State is currently the one-seed in the Norwich Regional.
SEC SEASON:
Like Florida Atlantic, the Gators only lost one conference series. The series loss came at the hands of Ole Miss early in the season, but it came after a sweep of Mississippi State to begin SEC play. Florida then won the next eight series in commanding fashion, and swept LSU and Georgia.
SEC TOURNAMENT:
Florida, the regular season champions of the SEC, lost their opener in the conference tournament 10-6 to LSU. They rallied back through the loser's bracket to beat Arkansas and Vanderbilt, but couldn't get by Alabama to earn a spot in the championship game. LSU would go on to win the tournament.
LAST NIGHT:
Four runs in the second inning propelled Florida to a 7-3 win over Bethune-Cookman in the opening night game of the Gainesville Regional. Florida freshman Hudson Randall pitched seven and one third innings, allowing six hits and striking out ten. Bethune-Cookman starter Ali Simpson struggled, giving up six hits before being removed in the fourth inning. Florida recorded twelve hits in the game, with five players each having multiple hit games. Leadoff man Nolan Fontana and center fielder Matt den Dekker went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. After the four run burst in the second inning, den Dekker got the Gators going again with a triple that drove in two in the sixth inning. Florida would wind up scoring their other three runs in that inning. Bethune-Cookman managed to score a run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, but couldn't muster a big enough rally to get back into the game.
--Jake | (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)