Tickets For UF-FSU Baseball Game In Tampa Now Available
Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | Baseball
For the first time in history, four Florida universities will meet at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa to compete in "The Florida Four" on Tuesday, March 2.
For this inaugural event, the University of South Florida (USF) and University of Miami (UM) will go head-to-head at 4 p.m., while the University of Florida (UF) and Florida State University (FSU) will face each other at 8 p.m. The game between the Seminoles and Gators marks the first of four meetings between these intra-state rivals in 2010.
“We've been working with the Yankees for a few years now to bring another premier event to our community,” said Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission Rob Higgins. “We hope it serves as launching pad to Omaha for the four programs. This is a story that will start in March and we hope continues on to June.”
“On behalf of the World Champion New York Yankees, it is with great pleasure and pride that we welcome The Florida Four Baseball Classic to George M. Steinbrenner Field. As a past collegiate coach, it was George Steinbrenner's dream to create this event for Tampa,” said Felix Lopez, Senior Vice President of the New York Yankees. “We welcome the great schools of Florida to our facility and look forward to continuing this event for years to come.”
Now in his third year at the helm of the Gator baseball program, head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has engineered a quick turnaround and begun to leave his personal stamp on the Orange and Blue. Under his direction, Florida has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and secured a pair of top-three finishes in the rugged Southeastern Conference. The Gators among the top 10 of the four major collegiate baseball polls: 7th in Baseball America, 9th in both Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' and 10th in the NCBWA.
Last spring, UF was 42-22 overall and claimed the SEC's Eastern Division title for the first time since 2005, finishing one game behind LSU and Ole Miss for the league crown. UF reached the 40-win plateau for the 18th time in school history, captured the NCAA Gainesville Regional and advanced to Super Regionals for the first time in four years.
“We are looking forward to participating in the Florida Four Tournament against top-notch competition. It should be a great opportunity for our fans to see two quality games in a professional stadium and the players will be excited to be part of a tremendous environment,” said UF Head Baseball Coach Kevin O' Sullivan. “It should be a great night of baseball that showcases the state of Florida.”
Since the Atlantic Coast Conference's inception of divisional play in 2006, the Seminoles have captured three Atlantic Division crowns, including three-straight from 2007-09. FSU will open the 2010 campaign ranked as a consensus top 10 in five preseason polls, including a high of No. 5 by ESPN/USA Today. The Seminoles return seven position starters and eight pitchers who saw playing time in 2009, including all three arms from last year's weekend rotation.
“This is a great plus for the Florida State baseball program to be involved with the New York Yankees in this capacity and certainly to play the University of Florida down in Tampa will create a lot of interest,” said FSU Head Baseball Coach Mike Martin. “I'm sure that the Seminole fans in the Tampa Bay area will be excited to see their Seminoles, and I'm sure the same will be true with the Gators. We could very well draw a capacity crowd because of the interest in baseball in this great state of Florida.”
Individual tickets are now on sale at the Steinbrenner Field Box Office or at www.Ticketmaster.com. For more information, please call the Steinbrenner Field Box Office at (813) 875-7753. Fans can also purchase tickets by clicking on the following link: Buy Tickets Here!
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