Gators have 'a big thing in Hoover coming up'
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 | Baseball, Scott Carter
The celebration was subdued when the Florida baseball team capped the regular season late Saturday afternoon with a victory over Kentucky, clinching a share of the SEC title with South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
The Gators shook hands, slapped backs and smiled a lot, but nothing compared to the on-field celebration of a year before when Florida won the SEC regular-season title at South Carolina. These Gators are older and wiser, battle-tested following a season that opened with a No. 1 national ranking by Baseball America for the first time in school history.
“We've got a big thing in Hoover coming up,'' sophomore catcher Mike Zunino said.
So you'll have to forgive the Gators if they seemed all-business after winning back-to-back SEC titles for only the second time in school history. They have bigger things in mind.
“To be honest, it's been a huge grind,'' Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. “To go out there every night and to have your team expected to play flawlessly and you're not supposed to lose and to have a lot of expectations, for these guys to respond and play the way they have throughout the year, is a huge accomplishment.''
Once the players cleared the field Saturday, O'Sullivan huddled them up in the dugout for a postgame talk. The topic immediately turned to the SEC Tournament and the start of the postseason.
The No. 3-seed Gators (41-15) face No. 6-seed Mississippi State this afternoon at 2 p.m. in Hoover, Ala. Gators right-hander Tommy Toledo (3-3, 3.10 ERA) is facing Mississippi State's Evan Mitchell (5-1, 3.48 ERA).
You can check out Florida's game notes here and Mississippi State's game notes here for more on the matchup. Florida is seeking to end a four-game losing streak in the first round of the SEC Tournament and its first tournament title since 1991.
With such high expectations from the start, the Gators tried to remain steady through the highs and lows of a three-month season. For the most part, the Gators played consistently, winning eight of 10 SEC series and posting a 34-7 record in weekend series.
The emergence of Zunino, named SEC Player of the Year on Tuesday, played a huge role in Florida matching expectations and entering the postseason as a serious contender to win the College World Series.
Zunino's presence behind the plate and his blossoming production at the plate helped the Gators offset any production lost offensively from the impact of new bat specifications to make the game safer.
Equally important is Zunino “came out of his shell'' and turned into a team leader according to O'Sullivan, as did others.
“We are starting to develop some real team leaders,'' O'Sullivan said. “The guys are taking as much ownership in this program as the coaches, and that's ultimately what you need.''
Zunino sounded like a seasoned veteran on Saturday as he spoke about what was ahead for the Gators. Back-to-back SEC titles are nice, but it's time to truly play ball now.
“We've got more goals in mind,'' Zunino said. “We don't want to celebrate too early. I feel real comfortable with where the team is at now. We're ready to get to postseason and get it going and hopefully make a run.
“We battled through this year. It's time to refocus on the SEC Tournament and our goal to get to the College World Series.''
