Gainesville Super Regional Primer: Florida vs. Florida State
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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In-state rivals meet for second consecutive season with trip to Omaha at stake
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators took care of business in the Gainesville Regional, easing past Bethune-Cookman in the opener, edging a pesky UConn team in the second game, and then turning to starter Alex Faedo to shut down Georgia Tech on Sunday night in the final.
Faedo pitched a gem -- eight shutout innings, 10 strikeouts – to clinch the region crown and move the Gators to within two wins of their second consecutive trip to Omaha.
All that stands in the way is that school that calls Tallahassee home.
Florida State smashed its way to the Tallahassee Regional title and returns to McKethan Stadium starting Saturday night for a rematch of the 2015 Gainesville Super Regional. This marks the third time the Gators and Seminoles have met in a super regional, and the Gators would prefer history to repeat itself. (Schedule, TV and ticket information).
The Gators celebrate last year's super regional win over FSU. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Florida swept FSU in 2005 and 2015 to advance to the College World Series.
"I feel good about all of our starters,'' O'Sullivan said Wednesday. "I think we've got some interesting options, and I really don't think it's that big of a deal who throws 1 and who throws 2."
There are no secrets when these two teams meet. Florida swept the regular-season series, outscoring FSU 17-4 in the three games.
"We don't have to scramble for scouting reports, neither do they,'' O'Sullivan said. "I don't care if we won three mid-week games. It doesn't mean anything this weekend. It's all about matchups and how you handle those matchups."
Five Southeastern Conference schools remain alive in the NCAA Tournament, and all five (Florida, LSU, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and South Carolina) are hosting super regionals.
But none of those matchups have the flavor of a Gators-Seminoles showdown. McKethan Stadium will be alive come Saturday night.
Let's take a glimpse at the matchup:
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FLORIDA Record: 50-13 Regular season: 44-11 (second in SEC East) Coach:Kevin O'Sullivan, ninth year (394-186, .679) All-Time NCAA Tournament: 96-66 (12-4 vs. FSU) CWS Appearances: 9 (1988, '91, '96, '98, 2005, '10, '11, '12, '15) CWS titles: None Noteworthy: Gators host FSU in rematch of 2015 Gainesville Super Regional in which UF swept to advance to Omaha; UF outscored FSU 24-9 in the two games … Florida swept regular-season series against Noles, winning in Gainesville, Jacksonville and Tallahassee … In last year's Game 1 win, UF starter Logan Shore pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings to earn win; Shore is 16-0 with a 2.43 ERA in his last 21 starts (122 IP, 102 H, 36 R, 33 ER, 20 BB, 104 SO) … Gators' biggest advantage in best-of-three series is pitching and defense; UF has a 3.02 team ERA compared to FSU's 3.70, and has committed 31 fewer errors (43 in 63 games) than Noles (74 in 60 games) … 1B Pete Alonso (8-for-14, three homers, eight RBIs) was named Gainesville Regional MVP after returning from an injury to his left hand … Sophomore JJ Schwarz was 5-for-7 with three HRs and five RBIs in last year's Super Regional against FSU … UF closer Shaun Anderson (3-0, 1.05 ERA, 13 saves) will set single-season school record with another save … Gators enter Super Regional for first time in program history with 50 wins, reaching that mark Sunday with 10-1 win over Georgia Tech for Gainesville Regional title. Quote of Note: "It's a story I'll tell forever. I mean, talk about a selfless act. Let's do everything we can and get back and help our team win. He put his team first before the draft." – Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan on Alonso's return from a broken bone in his left hand
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FLORIDA STATE Record: 40-20 Regular season: 34-19 (second in ACC Atlantic) Coach: Mike Martin, 37th season (1,897-669-4, .739) All-Time NCAA Tournament: 183-119 (4-12 vs. UF) CWS Appearances: 21 (1957, '62, '63, '65, '70, '75, '80, '86, '87, '89, '91, '92, '94, '95, '96, '98, '99, 2000, '08, '10, '12) CWS titles: None Noteworthy: FSU won Tallahassee Regional in dominant fashion, outscoring Alabama State, Southern Miss and South Alabama 43-14 … FSU has won six of seven in postseason after dropping six of eight to close regular season … Noles had 46 hits in the three wins, including six home runs in 18-6 win over South Alabama in final … 1B Dylan Busby went 8-for-17 with two homers and eight RBIs in regional; Busby is hitting .328 with team-high 14 HRs and 55 RBIs … 3B JohnSansone is a tough out, hitting .374 with 25 doubles, nine homers and team-leading 65 RBIs; Sansone has flaws defensively with team-high 17 errors … FSU is hitting .300 as a team and has outhomered Gators 57-50 … Sophomore starter Drew Carlton (7-3, 4.36 ERA) leads team in wins and innings (84 2/3) … Freshman RHP Cole Sands and freshman LHP Tyler Holton have bolstered rotation … Noles 35-0 when leading after seven innings with 6-foot-7 RHP Jim Voyles (6-1, 2.50 ERA, 2 saves) consistently solid in 24 appearances. Quote of Note: "Very hard to even dream that you're going to score anywhere close to this number of runs in Gainesville. The University of Florida has been ranked No. 1 in the country, I'd say 75 percent of the year. We know that we have a strong challenge. It's one that we know we have to play an awful lot better than we have played down there in the past.'' – FSU coach Mike Martin following Tallahassee Regional title
