Florida Gators

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida baseball team learned on Monday afternoon that it was awarded the No. 1 national seed for the 2018 NCAA Baseball Tournament that begins on Friday at McKethan Stadium.
 
The Gators are the first team ever to earn the No. 1 overall seed three times, having also done so in 2012 and 2016. Florida is the only team in the country to earn a national seed in each of the last five seasons.
 

No. 1 Florida	No. 2 Jacksonville	No. 3 FAU	No. 4 Columbia
42-15 (20-10 SEC)	39-19 (14-6 A-SUN)	40-17-1 (19-8-1 C-USA)	20-28 (13-8 IVY)
SEC Champions	At-Large Selection	At-Large Selection	Ivy League Champions

 
In a change for 2018, Florida will play the opening game on Friday to help lessen the impact of potential weather delays. In the last two postseasons alone, seven scheduled night games in Gainesville have been affected by rain or lightning delays. Several regional hosts in recent years have decided to play game one on Friday due to weather concerns.
 
In addition to avoiding potential weather issues, moving Florida's opening game of the NCAA Regional to the first game allows the team more time to recover before Saturday's second game.
 
With temperatures expected to be in the upper 80s, the UAA has arranged for several heat initiatives to help fans cool off. Misting fans will be set up on the first baseline, third baseline and behind home plate. Shade tents will also be in place down the first baseline. Free cups of ice and water will be available from stand-alone stations on the concourse.
 

2018 NCAA Gainesville Regional Schedule

Friday, June 1
Game 1: 12 p.m. - No. 4 Columbia vs. No. 1 Florida (ESPN3)
Game 2: 6:30 p.m. - No. 3 FAU vs. No. 2 Jacksonville (ESPN3)
 
Saturday, June 2
Game 3: 1 p.m. - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (ESPN3)
Game 4: 7 p.m. - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 (ESPN3)
 
Sunday, June 3
Game 5: 1 p.m. - Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 (ESPN3)
Game 6: 6 p.m. - Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5 (ESPN3)
 
Monday, June 4
Game 7: (if necessary) – 1 p.m. – Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (ESPN3)
 
Each of the 16 Regionals features four teams, playing a double-elimination format. The Regionals are scheduled to be conducted from Friday, June 1, to Monday, June 4 (if necessary). Selection of the eight Super Regional Hosts will be announced on www.NCAA.com/cws, Monday, June 4 at approximately 11 p.m. (ET).
 
The 72nd Men's College World Series begins play Saturday, June 16, at the TD Ameritrade Park Omaha in Omaha, Neb.
 

POSTSEASON NOTES:

• The Gators are making their 34th Regional appearance and school-record 11th in a row under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
• UF is a national seed for the ninth time under O'Sullivan – the highest amount in the country in that time frame. (No. 8 in 2009, No. 3 in 2010, No. 2 in 2011, No. 1 in 2012, No. 2 in 2014, No. 4 in 2015, No. 1 in 2016, No. 3 in 2017)
• Florida has reached the CWS 11 times: 1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017
• Last year, Florida won its first national title sweeping LSU in the CWS Finals
• The Gators are 108-72 (.600) all-time in NCAA Tournament action
• Four teams from the SEC – Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss - were selected as national seeds. The top eight national seeds are Florida, Stanford, Oregon State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, North Carolina, Florida St. and Georgia
• Ten SEC teams made the field of 64, tying the record set in 2014

 

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN

On earning a national seed again:
"At the beginning of the year our goal is always to earn a national seed for the NCAA Tournament, and now we've done it nine times in the last 10 years. That's incredible. We always have a difficult schedule and this year was no different. Being a top seed allows us the chance to play in front of our fans for both the Regionals and Super Regionals and that's a huge advantage in the postseason."
 
On where the team is heading into the postseason:
"Obviously we haven't played well lately, but coming home and having a full week of practice before the Regional will certainly help. We'll try to get healthy ahead of the weekend and get some guys back on track before we play Columbia on Friday. At the end of the day, everybody has a clean slate now and our guys will be as motivated as anyone to show everyone how good they are."
 
On the health of Brady Singer and JJ Schwarz:
"Brady threw a bullpen session on Saturday in Hoover and it certainly looks like he'll be ready to go this weekend. Tyler Dyson also looked good in his last bullpen and we look forward to getting him back out there. JJ is day-to-day still, he's working hard to get back and hopefully we'll know more later this week."