OMAHA, Neb. — Ray Tanner can tell a story. But if he turns out to
be a distant relative of Nostradamus, Florida fans will dance in
the streets.
“Last year, when we got home, I got a nice note from Mr. [Jeremy]
Foley, very, very nice note congratulating us,” South Carolina’s
coach said. “I wrote back and said, ‘Your team is outstanding,
your coach is the best and you will win a national championship in
baseball sooner rather than later.’”
Then he paused and joked, “Be careful what you say.”
We’ll see.
In
a Southeastern Conference grudge-match, the Gators (53-17) and the
defending national champion Gamecocks (53-14) will square off
tonight at 8 p.m. on ESPN in the best-of-three championship series
at the College World Series.
For
the third straight season, baseball’s championship trophy will find
itself back in football country.
LSU
captured the crown in 2009, while the Gamecocks won it last season,
but with a new engraving on the 2011 trophy, the Gators hope
they’re the one’s to bring it home.
“There’s going to be a team at Florida that wins it for the first
time. Hopefully this is the one,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
“It would be awfully special to be the first team at Florida to win
the national championship in baseball.”
The
Gators and Gamecocks both endured rollercoaster seasons with the
bulls-eye squarely on their backs, but despite it all, the Eastern
division rivals reached the title round, thanks in large part to a
grueling conference slate.
“It's kind of ironic that two SEC teams get a chance to go
head-to-head here in Omaha,” O’Sullivan said. “But all year we felt
like the SEC is certainly the best conference in the country. I
think playing the SEC schedule has certainly prepared us for this
opportunity.”
Tanner agreed saying, there’s no easy weekends because “everybody
is good.”
“I
think one of the coaches coined it a long time ago… I’ll never
forget he said, ‘Our league is tremendously exciting but very
dangerous.’ And that’s what it is.”
The
recent history between Florida and South Carolina has been riddled
with excitement, as the Gators dogpiled in Columbia last season
after winning the SEC regular season, only to see the Gamecocks
close out Rosenblatt Stadium with an even rowdier celebration.
“We
were able to go up there and take two out of three from them, but
they got the last laugh,” UF catcher Mike Zunino said. “They got to
hold up the championship trophy.”
In
late March, the Gamecocks stole the series in Gainesville,
sandwiching a pair of victories between Hudson Randall’s (11-3,
2.24) — tonight’s Game 1 starter for Florida — trilling complete
game.
“I
see him in my sleep a lot,” Tanner said. “He’s special. He’s fun to
watch.”
The
Gamecocks will start freshman Forrest Koumas (6-1, 3.07), who made
his first career start against the Gators and tossed six sharp
innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits.
Entering tonight, both teams are confident, hitting their strides
at the right time of the year.
O’Sullivan said the turning point for Florida was hurdling the
mental hump of a devastating Super Regional loss to Mississippi
State.
THe
Gamecocks, who won the title with a walk-off hit a season ago, have
continued their flair for the dramatics, winning two more contests
at the CWS in the last at-bat variety.
“It's swag versus swag,” O’Sullivan said. “Both teams are playing
very well.”
Florida baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan, left, and South Carolina coach Ray Tanner pose with the College World Series trophy. The Gators and Gamecocks will play a best-of-three championship series starting Monday at 8 p.m.
