Nelson Maldonado leads Florida in hitting entering the Gainesville Super Regional against Wake Forest. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Super Regional Primer: Gators vs. Wake Forest
Friday, June 9, 2017 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Game 1 of the best-of-three series is Saturday afternoon at McKethan Stadium.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Like everyone else who has taken a close look at the Florida-Wake Forest matchup in this weekend's Gainesville Super Regional, UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan noticed a specific detail about the Demon Deacons.
"The thing that sticks out about them is obviously their offensive numbers,'' O'Sullivan said Thursday.
Yep.
The Deacons are one of the top hitting ballclubs in the country, highlighted by a school-record 100 home runs.
Wherever you look in Wake's lineup, the numbers jump out. The Deacons have a .311 team batting average and 229 of their 663 hits on the season are for extra bases.
Meanwhile, the Gators enter the super regional batting .264 with 47 home runs. Florida's road to Omaha is paved with pitching.
Starters Alex Faedo (7-2, 2.70 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings), Brady Singer (7-5, 3.48 ERA, 97 Ks) and Jackson Kowar (12-0, 3.72 ERA) anchor one of the country's top rotations, and closer Michael Byrne (3-4, school-record 16 saves, 1.55 ERA) has emerged as one of the dominant relievers in college baseball.
When dissecting what might happen at McKethan Stadium starting Saturday with a berth in the College World Series on the line, a good place to start is a storyline as old as the game itself.
"They can hit, but we can pitch,'' O'Sullivan said. "So, we'll see. It will be your classic matchup. It will be very interesting."
A key difference for Wake Forest this weekend will be the ballpark. David F. Couch Ballpark, where the Deacons call home, is 310 feet down the left field line, 370 to left-center, 400 to center, 367 to right-center and 300 down the right field line. McKethan Stadium plays larger at 326 down the left field line, 365 to left-center, 400 to center, 375 to right-center and 321 down the right field line.
For a closer look at the matchup, here is our Gainesville Super Regional Primer:
*****
FLORIDA
Record: 45-17
Regular season: 40-15 (first in SEC East)
Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan, 10th year (441-206, .682)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 101-70 (0-1 vs. Wake Forest)
CWS Appearances: 10 (1988, '91, '96, '98, 2005, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16)
CWS titles: None
Noteworthy: The Gators are vying for a third consecutive trip to the College World Series, which would match the school record (2010-12) … Five of Florida's 10 trips to the CWS have come since O'Sullivan took over the program in 2008 … Florida's 22 saves – 16 from Byrne – eclipsed the previous school record of 20 in 2014 … Senior OF Ryan Larson, who missed the regional after getting hit in the head by a pitch in the SEC Tournament, is cleared to return according to O'Sullivan … The Gators hit just .228 (31-for-136) in four games during the regional but limited opponents to 14 runs (10 earned) over 39 innings to advance with wins over Marist, USF and Bethune-Cookman … Larson's return could boost the UF offense; he is second on the team in hitting (.318) behind OF Nelson Maldonado, who is hitting .320 with six home runs and 31 RBIS … Nick Horvath, who replaced Larson in the lineup, hit a team-high .308 (4-for-13, two RBIs) in the regional … Florida is 25-6 since April 9, a run that has them two wins away from another trip to Omaha … Junior C/1B JJ Schwarz, who hit a three-run homer in the win over Marist, is batting .326 (26-for-86) with six HRs and 26 RBIs in 22 career NCAA Tournament games … Faedo has tossed 37 2/3 career innings in the NCAA Tournament, limiting opponents to a .182 average; Faedo has 49 strikeouts and 11 walks in six career tournament starts …
Quote of Note: "It's more about playing for your team at this point. It's playoff baseball. This is what you come to college for, to play in games like this. That's the main thing on my mind." – Gators SS Dalton Guthrie on mentally weighing NCAA postseason and MLB amateur draft
*****
WAKE FOREST
Record: 42-18
Regular season: 38-17 (second in ACC Atlantic)
Coach: Tom Walter, eighth year (238-216, .524)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 43-27 (1-0 vs. Florida)
CWS Appearances: 2 (1949, '55)
CWS titles: 1955
Noteworthy: The Demon Deacons are in the super-regional round for the first time since 1999 … Wake won the only previous meeting with Florida in the NCAA Tournament, a 7-1 victory in 1962 in Gastonia, N.C. … Wake advanced by sweeping the Winston-Salem Regional with a victory over UMBC and two wins over West Virginia … The Deacons hit .365 in the regional with 14 extra-base hits … Prior to Virginia's win in the College World Series in 2015, Wake was the only Atlantic Coast Conference program to win a national title … Five Demon Deacons have hit 10 or more home runs, led by 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior 1B Gavin Sheets, who is hitting .322 with 20 homers and 81 RBIs … Wake leads the nation with 100 home runs, the first team to reach 100 homers in a season since new bats were introduced by the NCAA in 2011 … Eleven of Wake's home runs are grand slams … OF Stuart Fairchild is a multi-talented threat. Fairchild is hitting .359 with 17 HRs, 67 RBIs and 20 stolen bases … Senior right-hander Parker Dunshee (9-1, 4.14 ERA) is projected to start Game 1 on Saturday. Dunshee has 103 strikeouts in 95 2/3 innings and is 28-10 with a 3.25 ERA in four seasons at Wake … The Deacons are no stranger to success this season in the Sunshine State; Wake took 2 of 3 on the road at ACC foes Miami and Florida State during the regular season … Deacons closer Griffin Roberts (2-4, 8 saves, 2.15 ERA in 50 1/3 IP) throws in the mid-90s and has what O'Sullivan calls a "power slider" to match his impressive fastball.
Quote of Note: "We feel like it's a good challenge for us. But at the same time, we're ready to go. We think we're the more talented team, not being cocky. That's the way we see it and the kind of confidence we have." – Wake Forest 3B Johnny Aiello, hitting .329 with 18 HRs
"The thing that sticks out about them is obviously their offensive numbers,'' O'Sullivan said Thursday.
Yep.
The Deacons are one of the top hitting ballclubs in the country, highlighted by a school-record 100 home runs.
Wherever you look in Wake's lineup, the numbers jump out. The Deacons have a .311 team batting average and 229 of their 663 hits on the season are for extra bases.
Meanwhile, the Gators enter the super regional batting .264 with 47 home runs. Florida's road to Omaha is paved with pitching.
Starters Alex Faedo (7-2, 2.70 ERA, 123 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings), Brady Singer (7-5, 3.48 ERA, 97 Ks) and Jackson Kowar (12-0, 3.72 ERA) anchor one of the country's top rotations, and closer Michael Byrne (3-4, school-record 16 saves, 1.55 ERA) has emerged as one of the dominant relievers in college baseball.
When dissecting what might happen at McKethan Stadium starting Saturday with a berth in the College World Series on the line, a good place to start is a storyline as old as the game itself.
"They can hit, but we can pitch,'' O'Sullivan said. "So, we'll see. It will be your classic matchup. It will be very interesting."
A key difference for Wake Forest this weekend will be the ballpark. David F. Couch Ballpark, where the Deacons call home, is 310 feet down the left field line, 370 to left-center, 400 to center, 367 to right-center and 300 down the right field line. McKethan Stadium plays larger at 326 down the left field line, 365 to left-center, 400 to center, 375 to right-center and 321 down the right field line.
For a closer look at the matchup, here is our Gainesville Super Regional Primer:
*****
FLORIDA
Record: 45-17
Regular season: 40-15 (first in SEC East)
Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan, 10th year (441-206, .682)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 101-70 (0-1 vs. Wake Forest)
CWS Appearances: 10 (1988, '91, '96, '98, 2005, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16)
CWS titles: None
Noteworthy: The Gators are vying for a third consecutive trip to the College World Series, which would match the school record (2010-12) … Five of Florida's 10 trips to the CWS have come since O'Sullivan took over the program in 2008 … Florida's 22 saves – 16 from Byrne – eclipsed the previous school record of 20 in 2014 … Senior OF Ryan Larson, who missed the regional after getting hit in the head by a pitch in the SEC Tournament, is cleared to return according to O'Sullivan … The Gators hit just .228 (31-for-136) in four games during the regional but limited opponents to 14 runs (10 earned) over 39 innings to advance with wins over Marist, USF and Bethune-Cookman … Larson's return could boost the UF offense; he is second on the team in hitting (.318) behind OF Nelson Maldonado, who is hitting .320 with six home runs and 31 RBIS … Nick Horvath, who replaced Larson in the lineup, hit a team-high .308 (4-for-13, two RBIs) in the regional … Florida is 25-6 since April 9, a run that has them two wins away from another trip to Omaha … Junior C/1B JJ Schwarz, who hit a three-run homer in the win over Marist, is batting .326 (26-for-86) with six HRs and 26 RBIs in 22 career NCAA Tournament games … Faedo has tossed 37 2/3 career innings in the NCAA Tournament, limiting opponents to a .182 average; Faedo has 49 strikeouts and 11 walks in six career tournament starts …
Quote of Note: "It's more about playing for your team at this point. It's playoff baseball. This is what you come to college for, to play in games like this. That's the main thing on my mind." – Gators SS Dalton Guthrie on mentally weighing NCAA postseason and MLB amateur draft
*****
WAKE FOREST
Record: 42-18
Regular season: 38-17 (second in ACC Atlantic)
Coach: Tom Walter, eighth year (238-216, .524)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 43-27 (1-0 vs. Florida)
CWS Appearances: 2 (1949, '55)
CWS titles: 1955
Noteworthy: The Demon Deacons are in the super-regional round for the first time since 1999 … Wake won the only previous meeting with Florida in the NCAA Tournament, a 7-1 victory in 1962 in Gastonia, N.C. … Wake advanced by sweeping the Winston-Salem Regional with a victory over UMBC and two wins over West Virginia … The Deacons hit .365 in the regional with 14 extra-base hits … Prior to Virginia's win in the College World Series in 2015, Wake was the only Atlantic Coast Conference program to win a national title … Five Demon Deacons have hit 10 or more home runs, led by 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior 1B Gavin Sheets, who is hitting .322 with 20 homers and 81 RBIs … Wake leads the nation with 100 home runs, the first team to reach 100 homers in a season since new bats were introduced by the NCAA in 2011 … Eleven of Wake's home runs are grand slams … OF Stuart Fairchild is a multi-talented threat. Fairchild is hitting .359 with 17 HRs, 67 RBIs and 20 stolen bases … Senior right-hander Parker Dunshee (9-1, 4.14 ERA) is projected to start Game 1 on Saturday. Dunshee has 103 strikeouts in 95 2/3 innings and is 28-10 with a 3.25 ERA in four seasons at Wake … The Deacons are no stranger to success this season in the Sunshine State; Wake took 2 of 3 on the road at ACC foes Miami and Florida State during the regular season … Deacons closer Griffin Roberts (2-4, 8 saves, 2.15 ERA in 50 1/3 IP) throws in the mid-90s and has what O'Sullivan calls a "power slider" to match his impressive fastball.
Quote of Note: "We feel like it's a good challenge for us. But at the same time, we're ready to go. We think we're the more talented team, not being cocky. That's the way we see it and the kind of confidence we have." – Wake Forest 3B Johnny Aiello, hitting .329 with 18 HRs
We'll see everybody in Gainesville!! pic.twitter.com/Yt6jMQwDxn
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) June 8, 2017
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