Third baseman Jonathan India and the Gators seek a return to form with the start of the Gainesville Regional on tap Friday. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gainesville Regional Primer: Gators Ready to Reboot
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Three consecutive losses at Mississippi State. Three games, two losses and a pair of suspended games due to weather at the SEC Tournament.
Home has never felt so good for the Gators baseball team.
Florida plays at McKethan Stadium for the first time in almost three weeks on Friday when it opens the Gainesville Regional against Ivy League champion Columbia.
For the reigning national champions, the end of the 11-day road trip and start of the NCAA Tournament couldn't come fast enough.
"Obviously, we haven't played well lately, but coming home and having a full week of practice before the regional will certainly help,'' UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "We'll try to get healthy ahead of the weekend and get some guys back on track. At the end of the day, everybody has a clean slate now and our guys will be as motivated as anyone to show everyone how good they are."
Let's take a closer look at the four teams in this weekend's regional:
1. FLORIDA
Record: 42-17, 20-10 in Southeastern Conference
Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan, 11th year (490-225, .685)
NCAA Tournament: 34th appearance all-time (11th consecutive)
Tournament record: 108-72 (11 trips to College World Series)
Season highlight: Ranked No. 1 in the national polls for most of the season, the reigning national champions breezed through the SEC until the final weekend. Florida won nine consecutive conference series until getting swept at Mississippi State to close the regular season. The Gators clinched a share of the conference title with a victory over Georgia on May 12 and then celebrated by gathering in the outfield for a photo op as "2018" was posted on the outfield wall. The Gators swept the league's major individual awards for the first time, as O'Sullivan was named SEC Coach of the Year, junior Brady Singer Pitcher of the Year and junior third baseman Jonathan India Player of the Year.
Player to watch: India is hitting .362 with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs. India is also one of the best defensive third basemen in the country. With senior catcher JJ Schwarz questionable for the Gainesville Regional, India's production in the lineup and leadership will be key as the Gators seek a school-record fourth consecutive trip to Omaha.
Buzz: Florida stumbles into the NCAA Tournament with six losses in its last seven games. Still, the Gators' impressive run through the toughest conference in the country earned them the No. 1 overall national seed for the second time in three seasons. Florida is the first school to earn the top overall seed three times (2012, '16, '18). The question they face entering the Gainesville Regional is whether their recent skid is a fluke or something more worrisome. Singer, who missed his final regular-season start and did not pitch in the SEC Tournament due to a hamstring injury, is expected to return to action in the regional. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Dyson, a key contributor in Florida's run to its first national championship a year ago, has been out since May 8 with shoulder soreness. Dyson is expected to be available in the regional as well. Even if Schwarz (hand fracture) is unable to play, Florida has ample weapons in the lineup to get out of the regional if the pitching staff performs the way it did until the final series of the regular season. Freshman Tommy Mace, who has pitched well in his first two career SEC starts, also could figure into the rotation this weekend, possibly in the opener against Columbia.
2. JACKSONVILLE
Record: 39-19, 14-6 in Atlantic Sun Conference
Coach: Chris Hayes, 2nd year (75-43, .636)
NCAA Tournament: 15th appearance all-time (first since 2011)
Tournament record: 11-28
Season highlight: The Bulls visited McKethan Stadium twice during the regular season, losing 10-3 on March 21. Less than a month later, the Dolphins knocked off the No. 1-ranked Gators, 8-4, as first baseman John Cassala went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs on April 17. Jacksonville strung together a pair of eight-game winning streaks during the regular season.
Player to watch: Sophomore shortstop Scott Dubrule earned first-team all-conference honors and leads the Dolphins with a .358 batting average. Dubrule has not homered this season but is second on the club with 52 RBIs. He is a product of Venice (Fla.) High, the same school that produced former Gators Dalton Guthrie and Mike Rivera.
Buzz: The Dolphins are making their fourth trip to the Gainesville Regional (1991, 2009, 2011) but have faced the Gators just once in the NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 loss 27 years ago. Despite back-to-back losses to Stetson and North Florida in the Atlantic Sun Championship, the Dolphins have won 17 of 23 overall. They are ranked 23rd nationally in RPI and are a No. 2 seed in a regional for the first time in school history. Hayes took over the program in 2017 and led Jacksonville to its most wins this season since 2006. Jacksonville's weekend rotation of Chris Gau (8-3), Tyler Santana (10-1) and Spencer Stockton (8-5) combined to go 26-8, with Gau limiting opponents to a .216 average. Meanwhile, freshman closer Chris Mauloni (3-2, 2.53 ERA, 32 IP, 48 SO) not only set a single-season school record for saves (20), but he is already JU's career saves leader.
3. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Record: 40-17-1, 19-8-1 in Conference USA
Coach: John McCormack, 10th year (357-220-2, .617)
NCAA Tournament: 11th Division I appearance all-time (first since 2016)
Tournament record: 18-21
Season highlight: The Owls advanced to the Conference USA Tournament championship game for the first time in school history last weekend when Jared DeSantolo cranked an RBI double for a 9-8, walk-off win in 10 innings against Rice. The game didn't end until 3 a.m. ET. The Owls lost to Southern Miss a few hours later in the title game but with an RPI that ranks 31st in the country, they are back in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six years.
Player to watch: Junior shortstop Tyler Frank was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. Franks isn't too shabby at the plate, either, leading the Owls with 19 doubles and 13 homers while driving in 34 runs. Frank is hitting .315 and sets the table for the lineup with 64 runs scored, 20 more than any other player on the roster.
Buzz: FAU is playing in the Gainesville Regional for the fourth time in program history (2003, '10, '15). The Owls visited McKethan Stadium in late February for a midweek game, losing 6-1 and leaving nine runners stranded. FAU defeated local rival Miami three times this season and split a pair of games against UCF. Senior outfielder David Miranda, a first-team all-conference selection, leads the team with a .321 batting average and sophomore Cody Wilson, who has 15 stolen bases in 16 attempts, has 12 homers and 35 RBIs. Starting pitcher Jake Miednik went 7-1 with a 3.05 ERA and had a team-high 87 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings. Miednik held opponents to a .226 average. All-conference closer Zach Schneider is 6-1 with 15 saves and a 2.08 ERA. Sophomore catcher Pedro Pages, who has started 40 games but has not played since April 14 following wrist surgery, is questionable. Pages is batting .312 with four homers and 31 RBIs.
4. COLUMBIA
Record: 20-28, 13-9 in Ivy League
Coach: Brett Boretti, 13th year (274-325, .457)
NCAA Tournament: Sixth appearance all-time (first since 2015)
Tournament record: 4-10
Season highlight: The Lions won the longest game in the history of the Ivy League Championship Series on May 23. Facing Yale in a best-of-three series, Columbia won the first game and then outlasted the Bulldogs in 15 innings in Game 2. Joe Engel's RBI walk-off sacrifice fly earned the Lions an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Player to watch: Junior first baseman Chandler Bengston is a first-team All-Ivy League performer who leads the Lions with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs. Bengston is hitting .257 and is susceptible to the strike out, fanning a team-high 59 times in 216 plate appearances.
Buzz: The Lions were a long way from the NCAA Tournament when they started the season 3-15, playing their first 18 games against nonconference competition away from home. They did take a game in a three-game series at USF in early March. Columbia opened the 2017 season at McKethan Stadium, losing three in a row to the Gators and getting outscored 22-6. Boretti, this year's Ivy League Coach of the Year for turning the team around in conference play, has brought respectability to a program whose long history includes Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Eddie Collins, and Gene Larkin, the hero of the 1991 World Series with a walk-off single to defeat the Braves in Game 7. The Lions put a scare into host Miami in their last trip to the NCAA Tournament, winning three of their first four games in the 2015 Coral Gables Regional before losing to the Hurricanes in the championship game. Columbia's pitching staff has a team ERA of 5.81 and opponents are batting .301. Left-handed reliever Lucas Hall (3-0, four saves, 1.80 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 20 innings) provides Boretti a quality late-game option.
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