UF Baseball To Open Team Practice On Friday
Friday, January 28, 2011 | Baseball
Under the direction of fourth-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, the University of Florida baseball team will hold its first team practice and scrimmage on Friday as preparations continue for the upcoming campaign. The full team workout is scheduled to start around 2:45 p.m. at McKethan Stadium and is open to the public.
"We are excited to have everyone on the field in one group," O'Sullivan said. "With our season opener exactly three weeks from today, the players have been working hard in the weight room and during individual workouts to get ready. There is a lot of competition for spots and playing time that should help us prepare for the season opener."
The Gators will begin the 2011 regular season on Friday, Feb. 18, by hosting USF in the opener of a three-game series at 7 p.m. O'Sullivan's squad returns a total of 22 players, including 11 pitchers and eight position starters. The Orange and Blue has 11 newcomers, nine freshmen, one junior and one sophomore, on its roster as well.
Last spring, Florida was 47-17 overall and claimed the SEC's regular-season title for the first time since 2005 on its way to the program's sixth appearance at the NCAA College World Series. Under the guidance of O'Sullivan and his staff, Craig Bell, Brad Weitzel and Don Norris, UF reached the 40-win plateau for the 19th time in school history and captured both the NCAA Gainesville Regional and Super Regional for the first time in five years en route to a consensus top-eight final ranking in the collegiate baseball polls.
Preseason practices and scrimmages will be held between Tuesday and Friday starting at 2:30 p.m., then Saturday and Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. The schedule can be subject to change depending on weather or other events held on campus. Within the preseason rankings, the Gators are No. 1 in Baseball America, No. 2 in Collegiate Baseball and No. 3 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.
