McMahon Makes Return to Jacksonville
Wednesday, April 3, 2002 | Baseball
Florida head coach Pat McMahon returns to his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla. when No. 6/5/7 Florida travels to Alexander Brest Field for a 7 p.m. baseball matchup with Jacksonville University Wednesday evening.
It is the first time McMahon has competed in his hometown since the 1991 Sun Belt Tournament held in Jacksonville while he served as head coach at Old Dominion (1990-94). Jacksonville University and Old Dominion were both members of the Sun Belt Conference. In 1991, McMahon's ODU squad lost its first game 13-0 vs. UAB but battled all the way back to the conference title game with three straight wins and lost 3-2 to UAB in the championship.
Wednesday marks his first game back in Jacksonville since becoming the head Gator baseball coach. He is 7-7 all-time vs. Jacksonville U.
McMahon graduated from Bishop Kenny High School and later coached at his alma mater from 1977-80, posting a 95-25 record and leading the school to two state final appearances. He has also recruited extensively out of Jacksonville.
In addition to McMahon, two other Gators will be making a "homecoming" in Jacksonville Wednesday evening including UF assistant coach and Palatka native Ross Jones, who graduated from and coached at the University of North Florida as an assistant and redshirt freshman Pat Rumble who is a graduate of Bishop Kenny High School.
Jacksonville will be UF's sixth game against an in-state squad. The Gators enter the game 3-2 vs. in-state competition.
This weekend, Florida (24-6 overall, 6-3 in the SEC) travels to Tuscaloosa for a three-game SEC weekend series against No. 11/9/5 Alabama. Game times are 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, 5 p.m. ET on Saturday and 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Gators enter the week's contests after winning 13 of their last 16 games. Florida's first nine Southeastern Conference games were played against ranked teams and UF is 6-3 in those games. At the conclusion of the weekend, Florida will have played its first 12 SEC games against four teams ranked among the nation's top-25. The Gators are a splendid 8-5 on the season vs. nationally ranked teams and 6-4 overall against the nation's top-10. Also, for the second week this season, Florida is ranked among the nation's top-10 in all three college baseball polls.
--UF--
