GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators made a grand return to Omaha on Monday night.
The Gainesville Super Regional against in-state rival Florida State was down to a decisive Game 3. A berth in the College World Series was on the line. Winner packs their bags for TDAmeritrade Park, loser stays home.
The No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators (52-14) fulfilled their season-long goal of making it back to Omaha, defeating the Seminoles 7-0. JJ Schwarz after his fifth-inning grand slam. (Photo: Madison Schultz for UAA)
Sophomore JJ Schwarz provided the grandest moment on a hot and muggy night at McKethan Stadium, belting a grand slam in the fifth inning to turn a close game into a 6-0 Florida advantage.
"I got one over the plate, one I liked, and got a good swing on it,'' Schwarz said. "I was so excited I don't even remember touching the bases. Omaha is so much fun. From our experience last year, we just really wanted to go back."
Ranked No. 1 nearly all season and projected as a CWS favorite from the start, the Gators were not going to be denied despite losing Game 1 on Saturday night as FSU's Drew Carlton threw a two-hit shutout. However, it was Florida's pitching that dominated the rest of the best-of-three series, tossing 22 consecutive shutout innings.
The Seminoles (41-22) did not score another run in the series after a pair of fifth-inning runs in Game 1 and had their season come to an end in Gainesville for the second year in a row.
"We hope, and pray, we never have to come down here again for a Super Regional,'' FSU coach Mike Martin said after his team's season ended in Gainesville the second consecutive year. "We're disappointed, certainly, but we don't look at it like a failure. Obviously, when you don't get to Omaha, it's a disappointment, but we're not taking anything away from what this ballclub accomplished."
Simply put, the Gators were the better team. Florida is making its fifth trip to Omaha in nine seasons under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
The sailing wasn't all smooth for the Gators on Monday.
Florida starter A.J. Puk survived six walks, a wild pitch and hit batsmen in 3 1/3 shaky innings. Puk's line had a bit of everything except a run allowed. Puk was replaced by Dane Dunning and he quieted any FSU scoring opportunities with 4 1/3 scoreless innings before turning it over to closer Shaun Anderson in the ninth.
A first-round pick in last week's MLB amateur draft, Dunning provided O'Sullivan with a true rarity. Not many coaches can take out the No. 6 overall pick in the draft (Puk) and hand the ball to the 29th pick (Dunning) with the season on the line.
"This group, from day one, has talked about winning a national championship,'' O'Sullivan said. "The last six innings we were really good today. If we can play in Omaha like we played the last six innings or the way we played Sunday, we've got as good a chance as anybody. I'm just happy for the players. They earned it."
The Gators scored in the first inning for the second consecutive game, taking a 1-0 lead when Dalton Guthrie scored on a wild pitch by FSU starter Cole Sands.
Peter Alonso added a solo homer in the third and then Schwarz delivered the knockout punch with his seventh career home run against FSU in 11 games. The Gators' lineup, after two hits in the opener, scored 12 runs and had 23 hits in the final two games.
The Gators next face Coastal Carolina on Sunday (8 p.m. ET). They finished third a year ago in the CWS. What they want next is the program's first national championship.
"We're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason,'' outfielder Buddy Reed said. "If you look at our record, we're 52-14, so that pretty much speaks for itself. We play to win every game. If we lose one, so what, and obviously in this situation we lost the first, so we had to come back and win two. The message was let loose, play hard and have fun."
They'll pack that same message for their return to Omaha.
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Postgame Notes
· Florida advanced to the NCAA College World Series for the 10th time in school history
· Florida has won all three NCAA Super Regional meetings with Florida State in Gainesville: 2005, 2015, 2016
· UF limited FSU to seven runs and 2-for-52 (.038) with RISP in six games this season
· UF posted a 34-5 (.852) record at McKethan Stadium, matching most wins (2011 club was 34-7)
· O'Sullivan improved to 12-2 against Florida State at McKethan Stadium
· The Gators own three of FSU's four shutouts this season
· Five Gators posted multi-hit nights tonight: Guthrie, Reed, Alonso, Schwarz, India.
· After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, Florida is now 37-6 on the season when scoring first
· Alonso's postseason success: 13-for-25, 10 R, 4 2B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 2 BB
