There was a uniqueness about the way it ended.
No dogpile. No semblance of celebration. No way a team could lose by 13 Friday and turn around and win by 16.
As strange as it was, Florida will gladly take it.
For the second time in school history and first time since 1981-82, the No. 6 Gators baseball team captured back-to-back Southeastern Conference titles with a blowout win Saturday at McKethan Stadium.
"These championships don't come around very often," coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I don't ever remember this league being this tough. You've got three teams in the East that have been ranked in the top five, and we all ended up with the same record and all the teams feel like they accomplished something this year."
A day after Kentucky (25-30, 8-22 SEC) hung a touchdown in a single inning, Florida (41-15, 22-8 SEC) returned the favor, and some, smashing the Wildcats 19-3.
"We knew if we hit well today we would win," senior second baseman Josh Adams said.
UF knocked around Kentucky's freshman southpaw Corey Littrell, clubbing their way to a three-way tie for the conference crown behind three long balls and a season-high 25 hits.
The Wildcats actually took a one run lead in the first, but the Gators plated 19 unanswered runs, including a monster seven-run fourth inning.
Florida got major contributions from SEC Player of the Year candidate Mike Zunino (4 for 4, four runs and an RBI), right fielder Preston Tucker (career-high five hits including two doubles), first baseman Austin Maddox (3 for 6 with two jacks and six RBIs) and Adams (3 for 4, four RBIs).
Trailing 1-0 in the second, Brian Johnson (3 for 4) tied the game with a solo shot to right, drilling the brick scoreboard column.
While the Gators were scoring runs ad nauseam, freshman Karsten Whitson (7-0, 2.47 ERA) was thwarting the Wildcat bats. The right-handed fireballer pitched five solid innings, scattering seven hits.
Although Whitson had just four strikeouts, he mixed his pitches effectively, using his deceptive breaking ball to escape several jams.
"He's extremely poised as a freshman," Zunino said. "He made pitches when he needed too."
Whitson said he came into the game focused on throwing his slider for strikes, not just getting swings and misses.
He tossed just a single 1-2-3 frame, but the freshman showed improved damage control while pitching out of the stretch most of the afternoon.
In the fourth, Florida's momentum swelled after the righty struck out two straight Wildcats with runners on first and third and one out.
"I thought that was the turning point in the game," O'Sullivan said. "He gave our team a lot of confidence."
In the bottom half of the inning, UF exploded for seven runs on seven straight hits.
A routine error by Kentucky's shortstop opened the floodgates, as Adams (RBI double), Johnson (two-run single) and Maddox (two-run bomb out of the stadium in dead left) led the merry-go-round inning for the Gators.
The hitting outburst didn't stop, as Florida relentlessly tacked on insurance runs.
UF plated four runs in the fifth — three when Maddox golfed out a slider — two in the sixth and three more in the eighth.
While the Gators' bats significantly stood out Saturday, Florida's defense boasted several highlights too, including a pair from Adams that surely would've made ESPN's Web Gems.
In the fifth, Adams made a diving stop to his right and tossed the ball behind his back for a force-out at second. Later, he nearly jumped out of his cleats for a double play, snaring a liner headed for the right-center gap and then doubling the runner off at second.
