Florida Gators
South Carolina
Gators and MSU ready for another SEC showdown, first meeting since 2011 Gainesville Super Regional
Friday, May 11, 2012 | Baseball, Men's Swimming & Diving, Scott Carter
Photo: Florida celebrates a Game 3 win over Mississippi State in last year's Gainesville Super Regional.
In my 20 months on the job documenting Gator sports for GatorZone.com, few days have matched the intensity of June 12, 2011.
I'm still wiping sweat off my forehead from the heat of that afternoon at McKethan Stadium. Rather than rehashing what happened, here is the column I wrote that day from Florida's 8-6 come-from-behind win over Mississippi State in the Gainesville Super Regional.
The victory earned the Gators their second consecutive trip to the College World Series.
Why bring this up now? Don't worry, there's a good reason: Mississippi State is back in town for a three-game series that starts tonight.
The stakes aren't as high, but there is still plenty on the line for both teams with the SEC Tournament approaching.
“It's really important,'' Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said Thursday. “Obviously when you go down the stretch, you want to be playing your best baseball. Mississippi State has a great ballclub. They are pitching extremely well. It's just one of those weekends, and we'll say the same thing next weekend when we go to Auburn.
"We're in position to be in the hunt and that's what we hoped for when we set out in February.”
The Gators (36-13, 14-10 in SEC) faced the Bulldogs (30-18, 12-12) seven times last season, including an 18-0 win in Starkville that seemed to spark a renewed rivalry.
Florida won five of seven, including two of three in the Gainesville Super Regional. This is the first time the teams have met since that 95-degree day last June ended when O'Sullivan unleashed some lively Gator chops to inspire the crowd at the end of the game.
His counterpart, Mississippi State coach John Cohen, is suspended for Game 1 tonight for unsportsmanlike conduct in Sunday's game against Alabama.
Florida's memorable win over the Bulldogs last June featured a postgame verbal exchange between O'Sullivan and Cohen.
The Bulldogs have only one regular starter from last year's team, but they sound ready for another intense visit to Gainesville.
"On-the-field wise, a lot of guys don't like them – with the way they carry themselves and the coaches carry themselves," Mississippi State shortstop Adam Frazier told the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger on Thursday, admitting he has friends on Florida's roster. "I guess it's about their swagger. They know they're good and they come and play. You can't really hate them too much for that.
"When you're as good as they are and play like they do, you can't really hold that against them too much."
When a reporter asked Florida outfielder Daniel Pigott on Thursday if the Gators had "bad blood" against the Bulldogs, Pigott downplayed that perception.
"I don't think so. They are another great team in the SEC and we're ready for the challenge," Pigott said. "I think it was a hard-fought weekend. Teams get excited in big games and big situations. I don't think it was anything beyond that.”
Cohen agreed and doesn't expect any lingering hostility to surface this weekend.
The first game is tonight at 7 and features one of the best pitching matchups the SEC has to offer: Gators starter Hudson Randall (5-1, 3.53 ERA) vs. Bulldogs right-hander Chris Stratton (9-0, 2.19 ERA).
One player Randall won't have to face is former Bulldogs shortstop Nick Vickerson, who torched the Gators in the Super Regional highlighted by a walk-off home run in Game 2 that caused O'Sullivan a sleepless night.
Vickerson is now a minor-leaguer in Texas' farm system.
With only seven regular-season games remaining, O'Sullivan wouldn't mind if the Gators pulled out more magic against the Bulldogs as the postseason approaches.
“We're 36-13 and we're only one game off of where we were last year,'' O'Sullivan said. “I like where we're at. We just have to play well these last two weekends.
"To be perfectly honest, I think we have not played our best baseball yet,'' O'Sullivan said. “I think that's the think that we keep hanging our hat on. It's probably the biggest motivating thing for our team."
