OMAHA, Neb. — For a lot of Florida athletic fans who don’t like to even mention the opposition’s name, it is known as “SOW” (School Out West). Monday at 4:30 p.m., the Florida Gators hope to reap big dividends with what they “SOW” against Florida State and put an end to the Seminoles’ baseball campaign. Of course, the Seminoles are thinking about doing the same to Florida’s season.
For legendary Hall of Fame coach Mike Martin’s Seminoles and third-year coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s Gators, it’s a case of Rosenblatt Stadium Deja Vu, if you will. This will be the fourth meeting between the two teams here in college baseball’s Mecca and Florida has won the previous three and twice eliminated FSU in 1991 (5-0) and 1996 (6-3). The other victory (5-2) came in the opening game for both in the 1996 CWS.
Away from Omaha, however, the Seminoles (47-19) have dominated over the years as their 119-96-1 record will certainly attest. This will be the fifth meeting between two of Florida’s three major collegiate baseball powers, and this year, Martin’s Tallahassee Laddies own a 3-1 lead in the four games the teams played in Tampa (W, 10-5 on March 3), Gainesville (L, 5-8 on March 16), Jacksonville (W, 7-2 on March 30) and finally Tallahassee (W, 3-2 on April 13).
A victory Monday afternoon, of course, would wipe away a lot of that discomfort for the Gators (47-16).
This showdown that determines who stays and who goes home seemingly was destined almost from the time the 64-team bracket was announced back on May 31. Both Florida, seeded third, and Florida State were listed on the right side of the bracket, and to get to Omaha, they had to withstand some pressure moments in the regionals and Super Regionals.
Florida hardly broke a sweat in beating Bethune-Cookman, Oregon State and Florida State in Gainesville, but things were a little different in the best-of-3 Super Regional a week later at McKethan when the Gators overcame a late home run by Miami by tying the game in the ninth and winning 4-3 in the 10th. Florida State, meanwhile, was sent to Norwich, Conn., to begin its tournament run. The Seminoles went unbeaten by beating Central Connecticut State and Oregon twice, but the Super Regional they hosted was a different story. After winning the opener, 9-8, Florida State lost to Vanderbilt, 6-2, in the second game before holding on to win the deciding game 7-6 for the Seminoles’ 20th trip to Omaha under Martin.
The teams will rely on two pitchers with whom the two are well acquainted. Florida sends freshman right-hander Hudson Randall (8-3, 2.95 ERA, 68/19 strikeouts/walks, .266 OBA) against sophomore left-hander Brian Busch (5-2, 3.97 ERA, 70/30 strikeouts/walks, .230 OBA).
Randall pitched in three of the previous games, starting in the March 16 victory but leaving after four innings after allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits with one strikeout. Nick Maronde (2 innings) and Kevin Chapman (3 innings) each had three strikeouts and combined to allow one hit as Florida rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win 8-5. Randall took over for Mike DeSclafani during Florida State’s 7-run bottom of the first on March 2 at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa and pitched three innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs with two strikeouts as Florida State prevailed 10-5. Randall also relieved in FSU’s 7-2 victory at Jacksonville, allowing just one hit and one earned runs while striking out two in 2.1 innings.
Busch, meanwhile, pitched 2.2 hitless innings in relief of winning pitcher Geoff Parker at Tampa, striking out four. Busch again relieved starter Parker at Jacksonville, going the final 4.1 innings, allowing three hits and striking out six to improve his record to 4-0.
Preston Tucker (.333), Josh Adams (.294) and Matt den Dekker (.294) each had five hits against the Seminoles in the four games for Florida, which batted .254 as a team to Florida State’s .288. Stephen Cardullo batted .400 (6 of 15), Tyler Holt .368 (7 of 19) and Stuart Tapley .357 (5 of 14) for the Seminoles. The Seminoles out-homered the Gators 4-3. Mike McGee had a home and a team-high five RBI and also a save (he’s the FSU closer when he isn’t patrolling right field).
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES / Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium / Omaha, Neb.
GAME 5: FLORIDA GATORS vs. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
Records: Florida 47-16, Florida State 47-19
First pitch: 4:40 p.m. EST
At stake: Survival. Loser goes home, winner plays the loser of Texas Christian-UCLA game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in another elimination game.
Starting pitchers: Florida, Hunter Randall, freshman RHP (8-3, 2.95 ERA, 94.2 innings, 98 hits, 35 runs-31 earned, 68 strikeouts, 19 walks, .266 opponents’ batting average) vs. Florida State, Brian Busch, sophomore LHP (5-2, 3.97 ERA, 77.0 innings, 63 hits, 40 runs-34 earned, 77 strikeouts, 30 walks, .230 opponent’s batting average)
TV: ESPN2HD/ESPN3.com
VISITING TEAM: FLORIDA GATORS / Gainesville, Fla. / Record: 47-16
Head coach: Kevin O’Sullivan (Virginia 1991), third season, 123-62 (overall, same).
CWS appearance: Sixth. Year (finish) record / Overall record:1988 (T5) 1-2; 1991 (T3) 2-2; 1996 (T3) 2-2; 1998 (T7) 0-2; 2005 (2) 3-3; 2010 (TBD) 0-1. / 8-12 .400.
Conference: Southeastern (won Eastern Division and regular-season championship with 22-8 record; 2-2 in SEC Tournament).
Road to Rosenblatt: At-large berth, No. 3 national seed; Won Gainesville Regional (d. Bethune-Cookman, 7-3; d. Oregon State, 10-2; d. Florida Atlantic, 15-0); Won Gainesville Super Regional (d. Miami, Fla., 7-2; d. Miami, Fla., 4-3, 10 innings).
At Rosenblatt: Lost to UCLA, 11-3, Saturday night.
2010 record vs. field: 3-4 (2-1 vs. South Carolina, 1-3 vs. Florida State).
All-time vs. field: 3-2 vs. UCLA ; 96-119-1 vs. Florida State; 0-0 vs. Texas Christian; 28-36 vs. South Carolina; 0-0 vs. Oklahoma; 18-12 vs. Clemson; 1-3 vs. Arizona State.
RPI: No. 4. Rankings: No. 4 Baseball America (May 31); No. 3 Collegiate Baseball (June 14); No. 5 USA Today/ESPN coaches (May 31); No. 6 National College Baseball Writers Association (May 31).
Team offense: .298 batting average / .379 on-base percentage / .476 slugging percentage; 434 runs / 642 hits / 109 doubles / 15 triples / 82 home runs / 403 runs batted in; 249 walks / 440 strikeouts; 94 stolen bases-128 attempts / 51 hit batters
Team pitching: 4.06 earned run average / .271 opposition batting average / 18 saves / 557.0 innings / 590 hits / 282 runs (251 earned) / 449 strikeouts / 132 walks / 49 home runs allowed / 50 wild pitches / 70 hit batters
Team defense: .978 fielding average / 53 errors / 50 double plays / 34 stolen bases-53 attempts / 11 passed balls / 2 catcher’s interference
Starters (BA / OBP / SLG; 2B / 3B / HR / RBI; BB / SO; SB-ATT)
1. Nolan Fontana, fr.-ss (.283 / .434 / .415; 15 / 2 / 3 / 23; 52 / 29; 11-16)
2. Matt den Dekker, sr.-cf (.355 / .432 / .567; 7 / 3 / 13 / 49; 29 / 49; 23-30)
3. Preston Tucker, so.-1b (.333 / .440 / .554; 16 / 2 / 11 / 46; 43 / 28; 8-8)
4. Austin Maddox, fr.-3b (.332 / .362 / .591; 16 / 0 / 17 / 71; 7 / 42; 0-1)
5. Brian Johnson, fr.-dh (.405 / .458 / .631; 5 / 1 / 4 / 21; 9 / 15; 0-0)
6. Mike Zunino, fr.-c (.269 / .317 / .480; 7 / 1 / 9 / 41; 9 / 37; 8-11)
7. Josh Adams, jr.-2b (.227 / .317 / .397; 12 / 0 / 9 / 42; 29 / 52; 6-9)
8. Tyler Thompson, so.-lf (.299 / .358 / .493; 4 / 3 / 6 / 28; 9 / 52; 6-10)
9. Daniel Pigott, so.-rf (.272 / .333 / .388; 10 / 2 / 1 / 22; 12 / 22; 4-9)
Bench (BA / OBP / SLG; 2B / 3B / HR / RBI; BB / SO; SB-ATT)
Jonathan Pigott, sr.-lf (.250 / .352 / .391; 5 / 1 / 2 / 12; 10 / 28; 3-4)
Bryson Smith, jr.-rf (.257 / .339 / .362; 2 / 0 / 3 / 22; 13 / 22; 7-9)
Cody Dent, fr.-3b (.241 / .353 / .241; 0 / 0 / 0 / 2; 4 / 11; 2-2)
Ben McMahan, so.-c (.329 / .350 / .447; 3 / 0 / 2 / 11; 3 / 19; 4-4)
Starters (Record / ERA / OBA; innings / hits / runs-earned; SO-BB)
Alex Panteliodis, so.-lhp (11-3 / 3.51 / .234; 100.0 / 86 / 40-39; 82-23)
Hudson Randall, fr.-rhp (8-3 / 2.95 / .266; 94.2 / 98 / 35-31; 68-19)
Brian Johnson, fr.-lhp (6-4 / 3.97 / .289; 70.1 / 82 / 36-31; 48-14)
Bullpen (Record / saves / ERA / OBA; innings / hits / runs-earned; SO-BB)
Kevin Chapman, jr.-lhp (3-0 / 11 / 1.48 / .183; 42.2 / 28 / 9-7; 43-7)
Jeff Barfield, sr.-rhp (4-0 / 2 / 3.38 / .221; 37.1 / 31 / 15-14; 24-2)
Greg Larson, so.-rhp (3-1 / 3 / 5.75 / .305; 36.0 / 46 / 25-23; 30-4)
Steven Rodriguez, fr.-lhp (2-0 / 1 / 2.57 / .259; 28.0 / 28 / 9-8; 26-5)
Nick Maronde, so.-lhp (2-0 / 1 / 6.15 / .227; 26.1 / 22 / 25-18; 37-24)
Tommy Toledo, so.-rhp (3-2 / 4.39 / .311; 26.2 / 32 / 16-13; 27-8)
Anthony DeSclafani, so.-rhp (2-3 / 6.97 / .341; 40.0 / 58 / 33-31; 29-7)
Justin Poovey, so.-rhp (1-0 / 0 / 7.20 / .367; 20.0 / 33 / 17-16; 16-10)
Gator alumni: Bryan Augenstein, RHP (Arizona Diamondbacks); David Eckstein, INF (Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres); Mark Ellis, INF (Oakland Athletics); Josh Fogg, RHP (Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies); Mike Stanley, C (Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics); Al Rosen, 3B (Cleveland Indians); Darren O’Day, RHP (Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets); Brad Wilkerson, OF/1B (Montreal Expos, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays); Rob Murphy, LHP (Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins); Doug Corbett, RHP (Minnesota Twins, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles); Matt LaPorta, OF/INF (Cleveland Indians); Robby Thompson, INF (San Francisco Giants); Steve Lombardozzi, INF (Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros).
HOME TEAM: FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES / Tallahassee, Fla. / Record: 47-19
Head coach: Mike Martin (Florida State 1966). At FSU: 1,626-557-4 (31st season). Overall: Same.
CWS appearance: 20th. CWS (finish) record / Overall record: 1957 (T7) 0-2; 1962 (4) 2-2; 1963 (T5) 1-2; 1965 (T5) 1-2; 1970 (2) 4-2; 1975 (T7) 0-2; 1980 (T7) 0-2; 1986 (2) 4-2; 1987 (T5) 1-2; 1989 (T3) 2-2; 1991 (T7) 0-2; 1992 (T5) 1-2; 1994 (T5) 1-2; 1995 (T5) 1-2; 1996 (T5) 1-2; 1998 (T7) 0-2; 1999 (2) 4-2; 2000 (T3) 2-2; 2008 (T7) 0-2; 2010 (TBD) 0-1 / 25-39 .391.
Conference: Atlantic Coast 18-12 (tied with Clemson for Atlantic Division title; won ACC Tournament at Greensboro, N.C., as fifth seed (lost to No. 4 Miami, 9-3; d. No. 1 Virginia, 11-4; d. No. 8 Boston College, 12-2, to win bracket with 2-1 record; d. No. 7 North Carolina State, 8-3, to win tournament and automatic NCAA bid).
Road to Rosenblatt: Atlantic Coast Conference champion. Won Norwich, Conn. Regional (d. Central Connecticut State, 11-3; d. Oregon, 6-4; d. Oregon, 5-3); Won Tallahassee Super Regional (d. Vanderbilt, 9-8; lost Vanderbilt, 2-6; d. Vanderbilt 7-6).
At Rosenblatt: Lost to Texas Christian, 8-1, Saturday in Game 1.
2010 record vs. field: 3-4 (3-1 vs. Florida, 0-3 vs. Clemson).
All-time vs. field: 0-1 vs. Texas Christian; 119-96-1 vs. Florida; 0-0 vs. UCLA; 14-10 vs. South Carolina; 2-1 vs. Oklahoma; 63-53-1 vs. Clemson; 23-11 vs. Arizona State
RPI: 14. Rankings: No. 10 Baseball America (May 31); No. 7 Collegiate Baseball (June 14); No. 12 USA Today/ESPN coaches (May 31); No. 12 National College Baseball Writers Association (May 31).
Team offense: .298 batting average / .411 on-base percentage / .492 slugging percentage; 528 runs / 662 hits / 144 doubles / 21 triples / 81 home runs / 479 RBI / 395 walks / 475 strikeouts / 60 hit batters / 96 stolen bases-114 attempts
Team pitching: 4.45 earned run average / .262 opponents’ batting average / 19 saves / 580.2 innings / 576 hits / 340 runs-287 earned / 531 strikeouts / 262 walks / 58 hit batters / 37 wild pitches / 59 home runs allowed
Team defense: .971 fielding average / 73 errors / 56 double plays / 50 stolen bases-82 attempts / 12 passed balls / 4 catcher’s interference
Starters (BA / OBP / SLG; 2B / 3B / HR / RBI; BB / SO; SB-ATT)
1. Tyler Holt, jr.-cf (.351 / .467 / .622; 26 / 3 / 12 / 46; 57 / 47; 30-33)
2. Sherman Johnson, so.-3b (.332 / .444 / .515; 15 / 1 / 9 / 57; 45 / 37; 7-10)
3. Mike McGee, jr.-lf (.326 / .440 / .579; 14 / 1 / 15 / 68; 44 / 51; 5-8)
4. James Ramsey, so.-rf (.290 / .434 / .520; 14 / 5 / 9 / 62; 49 / 45; 11-12)
5. Stephen Cardullo, sr.-ss (.273 / .396 / .462; 15 / 1 / 10 / 50; 47 / 43; 20-21)
6. Jayce Boyd, fr.-1b (.323 / .394 / .502; 13 / 1 / 8 / 36; 27 / 38; 4-6)
7. Stuart Tapley, jr.-dh (.269 / .413 / .435; 11 / 0 / 7 / 38; 43 / 60; 7-9)
8. Devon Travis, fr.-2b (.277 / .335 / .446; 8 / 4 / 3 / 22; 15 / 27; 5-6)
9. Rafael Lopez, jr.-c (.285 / .395 / .410; 10 / 1 / 2 / 24; 20 / 32; 0-0)
Bench (BA / OBP / SLG; 2B / 3B / HR / RBI; BB / SO; SB / ATT)
Ohmed Danesh, sr.-of (.238/ .373 / .333; 1 / 0 / 1 / 11; 9 / 15; 4-5)
Parker Brunelle, jr.-c (.207 / .283 / .378; 3 / 1 / 3 / 19; 8 / 15; 0-1)
Sean Gilmartin, jr.-of/p (.409 / .426 / .591; 6 / 1 / 0 / 11; 1 / 15; 0-0)
Justin Gonzalez, fr.-inf (.290 / .427 / .441; 4 / 2 / 2 / 21; 19 / 30; 2-2)
Stephen McGee, fr.-c (.333 / .556 / .667; 4 / 0 / 0 / 2; 6 / 3; 0-0)
Taiwan Easterling, so.-p/of (.130 / .130 / .130; 0 / 0 / 0 / 2; 0 / 8; 1-1)
Starters (Record / ERA / OBA; innings / hits / runs-earned; SO-BB)
Sean Gilmartin, so.-lhp (9-8 / 5.24 / .305; 111.2 / 134 / 73-65; 108-34)
Brian Busch, so.-lhp (5-2 / 3.97 / .230; 77.0 / 63 / 40-34; 77-30)
Geoff Parker, jr.-rhp (4-1 / 4.85 / .268; 78.0 / 79 / 47-42; 71-40)
Scott Sitz, fr.-rhp (5-0 / 3.86 / .210; 39.2 / 30 / 18-17; 27-14)
John Gast, jr.-lhp (7-3 / 5.53 / .297; 68.1 / 80 / 48-42; 61-27)
Bullpen (Record / saves / ERA / OBA; innings / hits / runs-earned; SO-BB)
Mike McGee, jr.-rhp (4-0 / 12 / 1.37 / .125; 26.1 / 11 / 5-4; 33-16)
Hunter Scantling, so.-rhp (3-2 / 0 / 4.30 / .254; 46.0 / 45 / 30-22; 42-13)
Robert Benincasa, fr.-rhp (2-0 / 0 / 5.32 / .270; 22.0 / 24 / 16-13; 16-18)
Tyler Everett, jr.-rhp (3-1 / 1 / 3.77 / .275; 45.1 / 49 / 25-19; 39-22)
Tye Buckley, jr.-lhp (0-0 / 0 / 2.70 / .209; 13.1 / 9 / 5-4; 8-14)
Daniel Bennett, jr.-rhp (5-1 / 3 / 3.22 / .254; 36.1 / 35 / 19-13; 40-14)
FSU alumni: Dick Howser, INF (Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals); Deion Sanders, OF (New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants); J.D. Drew, OF (St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox); Stephen Drew, ss (Arizona Diamondbacks); Terry Kennedy, c (St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants); Doug Mientkiewicz, 1b (Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers); Paul Wilson, rhp (New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cincinnati Reds); Luis Alicea, INF (Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox); Matt Diaz, of (Atlanta Braves); Johnny Grubb, of-1b (San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers); Rick Langford, rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays); Eduardo Perez, inf/of (California Angels, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners); Paul Sorrento, 1b (Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays); Jody Reed, inf (Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers); Marshall McDougall, inf (Texas Rangers); Tony La Russa, inf/manager (Kansas City Athletics, Oakland Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals); Randy Choate, lhp (New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays).