A Gators-Seminoles primer for their matchup tonight in Super Regional
Friday, June 5, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The NCAA Selection Committee has taken heat this week for some of the matchups in the Super Regionals.
If the committee re-seeded teams following regional play as many think it should, the Gators and Seminoles would not be meeting until Omaha if they both advanced. But as the system is, these two in-state rivals are playing a best-of-three series starting tonight at McKethan Stadium for a trip to the College World Series.
Regardless of your view, this matchup has diehards and casual fans talking about college baseball.
The series is sold out and will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
The Gators (47-16) lost twice in three meetings with FSU (44-19) during the regular season. Florida won 14-8 at home, lost 8-3 in Jacksonville, and then dropped a 4-3 decision in extra innings in Tallahassee.
This is just the second time the Gators and Seminoles have met in a Super Regional with a berth to Omaha at stake. Ten years ago Florida swept FSU.
The No. 4 overall national seed, Florida has a deeper pitching staff and a more balanced lineup than the ACC champion Seminoles, but FSU has proven its resiliency in the postseason. The Seminoles enter with a seven-game win streak.
So do the Gators, their longest of the season. In other words, two feisty rivals playing their best with a trip to Omaha on the line.
What else can you ask for?
Let's take a closer look at tonight's UF-FSU matchup:
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PLAYER TO WATCH:
FSU's DJ Stewart is always a difficult out. Stewart leads the Seminoles in average (.322), home runs (13), RBIs (55) and slugging percentage (.580). He also leads the team in walks (69) while striking out only 45 times.
Stewart is one of those natural hitters who is in his domain when he steps into the batter's box. The Gators will be careful in how they approach Stewart, a 6-foot, 230-pound left fielder who played at The Bolles School in Jacksonville.
Florida did have success against Stewart in the three regular-season games, holding him to only one hit in eight at-bats. However, Stewart walked six times as the Gators often pitched around him.
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PITCHING MATCHUP:
A pair of sophomore right-handers gets the nod in this one as Florida's Logan Shore (8-6, 2.64 ERA) opposes FSU's Boomer Biegalski (7-4, 2.80). Neither Shore nor Biegalski pitched in the three regular-season meetings.
Shore has looked extra sharp of late, throwing five scoreless innings against Florida A&M in the Gainesville Regional. Over his last four starts, Shore has allowed only 16 hits and five runs in 26 2/3 innings. He has walked six and struck out 20 over that span.
Meanwhile, Biegalski leads FSU in wins and has limited opponents to a .201 average. In 106 innings, he has struck out 119. However, Biegalski is prone to giving up the long ball.
Of the 78 hits Biegalski has allowed, 12 of those are home runs (15 percent). No other pitcher on FSU's roster has allowed more than six home runs.
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COACH CHATTER
Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan: “I want them to play relaxed. We're more focused on ourselves. With the fans and outsiders looking in, it's going to be a fun weekend, an interesting weekend matching up with one of your rivals. There's a lot of respect between both programs.”
FSU's Mike Martin: “We know we're going to a Super Regional that is in one of the toughest places to play. Playing a team that is the SEC champion, playing a team whose numbers are really, really impressive. But we're excited to be in the position that we're in.”
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NOTABLES: O'Sullivan said catcher Mike Rivera, who was hit on the knee and missed a game in the Gainesville Regional, is 100 percent ... The Gators won their 11th regional title in school history last weekend. Five of those have come with O'Sullivan at the helm ... This is the first Super Regional series at McKethan Stadium since the Gators faced N.C. State in 2012 ... Gators freshman catcher/designated hitter JJ Schwarz has a nine-game hitting streak, batting .500 (18-for-36) with five doubles, a homer and 12 RBIs ... Florida is 7-1 against FSU at home in O'Sullivan's eight seasons ... FSU is playing in its 38th consecutive NCAA Tournament and 14th Super Regional in 17 opportunities ... The Seminoles are 1-6 on the road in Super Regionals and have not played this round on the road since their 2005 trip to UF ... FSU's last trip to the CWS was in 2012, the same as Florida ... FSU first baseman Quincy Nieporte, whose 12th-inning walk-off home run defeated the Gators on April 14, became the first FSU player to drive in seven runs in a game since Buster Posey in 2007. He did it March 11 in a 15-11 win against UCF.
