The Gators celebrate winning the first national title in school history on Monday night in Omaha. (Photo: Courtney Culbreath/UAA Communications)
Champs At Last: Gators' Quest for First National Title is Over
Wednesday, June 28, 2017 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has taken six teams to Omaha in the past eight years, but arguably the most unlikely to claim the program's first national title delivers.
OMAHA, Neb. – On a June day 10 years ago, a couple of months after Billy Donovan led the UF men's basketball team to the second of its back-to-back national titles, 38-year-old Kevin O'Sullivan was introduced as Florida's new baseball coach.
His task was the same as Donovan's a decade prior – take an inconsistent program and turn it into a national title contender on a regular basis.
O'Sullivan got to work and led the Gators to the College World Series in his third season, the first of their six trips to Omaha since the former All-ACC catcher at Virginia unleashed his intense personality on building a champion.
On a warm June night at TD Ameritrade Park on Tuesday, O'Sullivan finally got to lift that elusive national championship trophy as Florida capped a sweep of LSU in the best-of-three CWS Final. Florida's 6-1 victory was full of twists and turns, but when second baseman Deacon Liput fielded a ground ball by Beau Jordan and threw to first baseman JJ Schwarz for the final out, a celebration unlike any in the program's history ensued.
The Gators had their first national championship. Goodbye to so close, hello to we're champs.
"We've been working so hard to get to this point,'' O'Sullivan said.
Now 48, O'Sullivan has patches of gray hair and two young children – 6-year-old daughter Payton and 4-year-old son Finn – that he didn't have when he first arrived at UF as a first-time head coach.
There's been highs and lows along the way, but as he hugged players, took pictures with family and signed caps for fans in the aftermath of career win No. 448, you sensed relief and satisfaction pumping through his veins. O'Sullivan has brought more talented teams to Omaha, teams with more future big leaguers and more impressive batting averages, but those teams never left the Cornhusker State with the ultimate prize.
This one did, and in the same fashion that got them here.
"It's an amazing feeling," senior outfielder Ryan Larson said. "It's the best way to go out. This group, we learned early on that we had to battle. I think that really helped us take that next step to be national champions."
The Gators overcame injuries, getting swept at Auburn to start the Southeastern Conference schedule, hitting slumps and more to win on the biggest stage and make UF the only school in the last 50 years to win national titles in football, men's basketball and baseball.
No surprise to anyone who has followed this team closely, it didn't come easy on Tuesday.
The Gators turned to freshman right-hander Tyler Dyson to start Game 2, only his second start of the season, and he limited the Tigers to just three hits and one run over six innings. When Dyson's night was over, closer Michael Byrne faced a first-and-third, no-out jam in the seventh after LSU trimmed the lead to 2-1 on Josh Smith's RBI double.
The pro-LSU crowd of 26,607 roared, fully expecting a comeback to force Game 3 on Wednesday with All-American starter Alex Lange scheduled to pitch.
Instead, Byrne got Michael Papierski to ground into a double play and the Gators got the kind of break they have been on the other end of in Omaha. Smith had to return to third instead of scoring the tying run when second-base umpire Steve Mattingly ruled LSU's Jake Slaughter interfered with shortstop Dalton Guthrie by not sliding directly toward the bag in an attempt to break up the double play.
Per NCAA rules, Smith could not advance on the interference play and as he stood on third representing the tying run, Beau Jordan lined out to center fielder Nick Horvath to the end the threat.
Still, the drama was not over.
In the eighth, O'Sullivan replaced Byrne with Jackson Kowar, schedule to start Game 3 if necessary. O'Sullivan didn't want any part of a third game.
"The biggest factor is I didn't want to see Alex Lange,'' O'Sullivan said. "That situation was probably not going to work in our favor. He's very competitive. He's an older kid."
It appeared the Gators might see him anyway when Kowar took over with runners at the corners and one out. This time, the Gators made the plays they had to, the biggest when Schwarz fielded a ground ball from Greg Deichmann and threw home to nail Kramer Robertson at the plate for the second out. Zach Watson then flew out to center to end the inning.
"A lot of people counted us out,'' Kowar said.
Not those in the home dugout. The Gators scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow the game open and in the ninth, Kowar put away the Tigers to spoil their bid for a seventh national championship.
Schwarz, who finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs, expected nothing less than a nail-biting game.
"Knowing how our season has gone, it wouldn't felt right if it wasn't a close game," Schwarz said. "We've been in so many of those, it just felt right."
As soon as Schwarz squeezed Liput's throw for the final out, the Gators dogpiled between the mound and first base. One of O'Sullivan's most difficult seasons ended unlike any other in the program's 103-year history.
"I'm still kind of numb,'' he said more than 30 minutes later. "It's hard to describe in words."
The scene that unfolded on the field was full of joy and emotion.
Assistant coach Brad Weitzel, who along with assistant Craig Bell has been with O'Sullivan from the start, stood alone at shortstop while the players raced around in a moment they will never forget. Weitzel needed a moment to reflect.
"I made my mark at shortstop,'' said Weitzel, who played the position at Georgia in college. "That's where it all started for me. This is special."
Soon, family members of the players and coaches joined the on-field party. And then fans came down from the stands and shared in the moment.
The 2017 Gators were champions, perhaps the most unlikely team of O'Sullivan's tenure to claim that distinction. Others may have written them off, but they never did.
"This team proved you don't need the odds in your favor to win,'' said reliever Frank Rubio, who along with Larson are only seniors on the team. "You just have to believe in it. We needed luck to win it and we got it."
They were lucky and good.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri took over the Tigers the year before O'Sullivan took charge of the Gators. He won a national title in his third season. He knew it was only a matter of time until the Gators broke through.
"Kevin does a phenomenal job,'' Mainieri said. "He's had several teams that maybe were even better than this team. He finally got his championship."
How did they do it?
"I think what made our team so special is you never knew who that person [to step up] was going to be,'' Liput said. "We have a lot of heart."
They played with heart. They won with pitching and defense. They produced just enough offense when it mattered most.
This Florida team was never dominant. But it was good. That was enough.
The Gators woke Wednesday – those who slept at least – as national champions. The skipper pushed all the right buttons until the end.
"I think Florida baseball is in great shape right now,'' O'Sullivan said.
His task was the same as Donovan's a decade prior – take an inconsistent program and turn it into a national title contender on a regular basis.
O'Sullivan got to work and led the Gators to the College World Series in his third season, the first of their six trips to Omaha since the former All-ACC catcher at Virginia unleashed his intense personality on building a champion.
On a warm June night at TD Ameritrade Park on Tuesday, O'Sullivan finally got to lift that elusive national championship trophy as Florida capped a sweep of LSU in the best-of-three CWS Final. Florida's 6-1 victory was full of twists and turns, but when second baseman Deacon Liput fielded a ground ball by Beau Jordan and threw to first baseman JJ Schwarz for the final out, a celebration unlike any in the program's history ensued.
The Gators had their first national championship. Goodbye to so close, hello to we're champs.
"We've been working so hard to get to this point,'' O'Sullivan said.
National Championship highlights are the best highlights!
— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 28, 2017
Check out everything from the 6-1 win, and all the celebration after! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/YwbyOClmOT
Now 48, O'Sullivan has patches of gray hair and two young children – 6-year-old daughter Payton and 4-year-old son Finn – that he didn't have when he first arrived at UF as a first-time head coach.
There's been highs and lows along the way, but as he hugged players, took pictures with family and signed caps for fans in the aftermath of career win No. 448, you sensed relief and satisfaction pumping through his veins. O'Sullivan has brought more talented teams to Omaha, teams with more future big leaguers and more impressive batting averages, but those teams never left the Cornhusker State with the ultimate prize.
This one did, and in the same fashion that got them here.
"It's an amazing feeling," senior outfielder Ryan Larson said. "It's the best way to go out. This group, we learned early on that we had to battle. I think that really helped us take that next step to be national champions."
The Gators overcame injuries, getting swept at Auburn to start the Southeastern Conference schedule, hitting slumps and more to win on the biggest stage and make UF the only school in the last 50 years to win national titles in football, men's basketball and baseball.
No surprise to anyone who has followed this team closely, it didn't come easy on Tuesday.
The Gators turned to freshman right-hander Tyler Dyson to start Game 2, only his second start of the season, and he limited the Tigers to just three hits and one run over six innings. When Dyson's night was over, closer Michael Byrne faced a first-and-third, no-out jam in the seventh after LSU trimmed the lead to 2-1 on Josh Smith's RBI double.
The pro-LSU crowd of 26,607 roared, fully expecting a comeback to force Game 3 on Wednesday with All-American starter Alex Lange scheduled to pitch.
Instead, Byrne got Michael Papierski to ground into a double play and the Gators got the kind of break they have been on the other end of in Omaha. Smith had to return to third instead of scoring the tying run when second-base umpire Steve Mattingly ruled LSU's Jake Slaughter interfered with shortstop Dalton Guthrie by not sliding directly toward the bag in an attempt to break up the double play.
Per NCAA rules, Smith could not advance on the interference play and as he stood on third representing the tying run, Beau Jordan lined out to center fielder Nick Horvath to the end the threat.
Still, the drama was not over.
In the eighth, O'Sullivan replaced Byrne with Jackson Kowar, schedule to start Game 3 if necessary. O'Sullivan didn't want any part of a third game.
"The biggest factor is I didn't want to see Alex Lange,'' O'Sullivan said. "That situation was probably not going to work in our favor. He's very competitive. He's an older kid."
It appeared the Gators might see him anyway when Kowar took over with runners at the corners and one out. This time, the Gators made the plays they had to, the biggest when Schwarz fielded a ground ball from Greg Deichmann and threw home to nail Kramer Robertson at the plate for the second out. Zach Watson then flew out to center to end the inning.
"A lot of people counted us out,'' Kowar said.
Not those in the home dugout. The Gators scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to blow the game open and in the ninth, Kowar put away the Tigers to spoil their bid for a seventh national championship.
Schwarz, who finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs, expected nothing less than a nail-biting game.
"Knowing how our season has gone, it wouldn't felt right if it wasn't a close game," Schwarz said. "We've been in so many of those, it just felt right."
As soon as Schwarz squeezed Liput's throw for the final out, the Gators dogpiled between the mound and first base. One of O'Sullivan's most difficult seasons ended unlike any other in the program's 103-year history.
"I'm still kind of numb,'' he said more than 30 minutes later. "It's hard to describe in words."
The scene that unfolded on the field was full of joy and emotion.
Assistant coach Brad Weitzel, who along with assistant Craig Bell has been with O'Sullivan from the start, stood alone at shortstop while the players raced around in a moment they will never forget. Weitzel needed a moment to reflect.
"I made my mark at shortstop,'' said Weitzel, who played the position at Georgia in college. "That's where it all started for me. This is special."
?? NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ??#GoGators pic.twitter.com/6IjXbVVtn9
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 28, 2017
Soon, family members of the players and coaches joined the on-field party. And then fans came down from the stands and shared in the moment.
The 2017 Gators were champions, perhaps the most unlikely team of O'Sullivan's tenure to claim that distinction. Others may have written them off, but they never did.
"This team proved you don't need the odds in your favor to win,'' said reliever Frank Rubio, who along with Larson are only seniors on the team. "You just have to believe in it. We needed luck to win it and we got it."
They were lucky and good.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri took over the Tigers the year before O'Sullivan took charge of the Gators. He won a national title in his third season. He knew it was only a matter of time until the Gators broke through.
"Kevin does a phenomenal job,'' Mainieri said. "He's had several teams that maybe were even better than this team. He finally got his championship."
How did they do it?
"I think what made our team so special is you never knew who that person [to step up] was going to be,'' Liput said. "We have a lot of heart."
They played with heart. They won with pitching and defense. They produced just enough offense when it mattered most.
This Florida team was never dominant. But it was good. That was enough.
The Gators woke Wednesday – those who slept at least – as national champions. The skipper pushed all the right buttons until the end.
"I think Florida baseball is in great shape right now,'' O'Sullivan said.
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