Despite ending with a 5-2 loss to Arkansas at the College World Series on June 22, the Florida Gators’ 2018 season shouldn’t be overshadowed by the team’s failure to repeat as national champions.
UF finished with a 49-21 record, winning all but one of its in-conference series en route to an SEC regular-season title. Florida also produced four All-American selections in junior third baseman Jonathan India, junior starting pitcher Brady Singer, junior relief pitcher Michael Byrne and senior catcher/first baseman JJ Schwarz.
The Gators opened the season against Siena with a 7-1 win. Singer’s season debut was notable as he torched the Saints to the tune of seven innings, two hits, no earned runs and eight strikeouts.
India also introduced himself to the national spotlight, jacking a home run deep to left field in the win.
With shortstop Deacon Liput sidelined due to an undisclosed suspension, freshman Brady McConnell got the nod at short and uncorked a home run to left field to ice the game at 7-1.
UF went on to win six more games before finally dropping its first loss to in-state rival Miami on Feb. 25.
Florida went on another winning streak after the defeat, this time of five games before running into UCF.
In a two-game series against the Knights beginning on March 6, Florida lost back-to-back games for the first of only four instances all season.
After the second game against UCF, UF strung together five more wins.
During this stretch, India started one of the most memorable hitting streaks in program history.
The third baseman recorded a hit in 24 straight games, just five shy of the school record. During the streak, he hit eight home runs, recorded 21 RBIs, had 16 multi-hit games and carded an absurd batting average of .513.
The Gators lost a game to South Carolina to end its aforementioned five-game win streak. Three games later, it lost again to Arkansas before rattling off nine-straight wins, the largest stretch of the campaign.
The streak featured victories over Arkansas, Florida State, Tennessee, FGCU and Vanderbilt.
Only once during the nine contests did Florida score fewer than five runs.
UF hit a low point on April 24 in a 6-4 loss to Mercer. Bears reliever Robert Broom shut out the Gators in the final six innings, striking out 12 and only allowing four hits.
The team bounced back the following contest with a win against the first-overall pick of the 2018 MLB Draft, pitcher Casey Mize, and the Auburn Tigers.
Singer commanded seven innings with only four hits and one run to go along with eight strikeouts. India recorded his only hit in the first inning, a two-run bomb to left field. Florida went on to win 3-1, a foreshadowing of the Gainesville Super Regional later in the season.
After losing its first weekend series of the season at Mississippi State, the Gators limped into the Gainesville Regional, where they got a much-needed boost from Singer, who returned from injury.
They opened the postseason with a 13-5 win over Columbia before eking out a win over Jacksonville. The Dolphins gave UF all it could handle, but the combination of India and right fielder Wil Dalton proved too much for the losing team. In the fourth inning, the duo launched back-to-back home runs to get the offense going.
Catcher Jonah Girand also registered a solid Regional campaign and launched a solo shot in the top of the seventh. The run was much needed, as UF won 3-2.
Florida then faced off against Florida Atlantic and needed just a win to advance to the Super Regional.
After dropping one against the Owls, UF faced them in a do-or-die, winner-take-all contest. The freshman pitching duo of Jack Leftwich and Tommy Mace carried the Gators to a 5-2 win and a Super Regional berth.
Florida drew Auburn in the Gainesville Super Regional, setting up an epic rematch between Singer and Mize. Again, Singer came out on top, only giving up two runs in 6.2 innings of work. Mize couldn’t figure out his opponent, lasting five frames and allowing six runs.
The Gators wasted a great outing from starter Jackson Kowar in Game 2 to force an elimination Game 3.
Again, the freshman combo of Leftwich and Mace carried the team to victory. It went all the way down to the ninth frame though, as left fielder Austin Langworthy launched a home run that barely made its way over the right-center fence for a walk-off home run, sending them to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, with a 3-2 victory.
“Right when I hit it, I knew it had a chance,” Langworthy said.
Florida drew Texas Tech and its potent offense in the first game of the CWS. The Red Raiders got hot against Singer, and a slew of mistakes and errors by Florida helped TTU to a 6-3 win.
Every game from then on was an elimination game for the Gators.
The first was against Texas. UF snuck out a 6-1 win on the back of Kowar. He gave up no runs in 6.2 innings of work along with a career-high 13 strikeouts.
Florida faced Texas Tech again, and this time it didn't waste its opportunity.
In a 9-6 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated, Leftwich went 6.1 frames and allowed two runs on seven hits.
In the last game before the College World Series final, UF faced SEC opponent Arkansas.
Singer, pitching on short rest, couldn’t put the team on his back one last time, giving up four runs on seven hits in five innings during a 5-2 loss, ending its season.
Arkansas starter Isaiah Campbell quieted the Gator bats, going 5.1 innings and allowing two runs on two hits with eight strikeouts.
It was a tough end for a Florida team with the potential to win the title, but that shouldn’t be what it's remembered for.
Instead, this team should be remembered for India’s hitting streak. Or Singer’s 12-3 season. Or the nine-game winning streak. Or never going below No. 2 in the national rankings. Or, most importantly, several of its members getting drafted to different MLB teams. India, Singer and Kowar went in the first round, and several other Gators in later rounds.
O’Sullivan is building a dynasty in Gainesville, as his team has now made the College World Series in three-straight seasons. Although UF is losing many upperclassmen, it has a great incoming recruiting class and lots of young talent to bolster next year’s squad.
You can follow Chris O'Brien on Twitter @THEChrisOB or contact him at cobrien@alligator.org.
Third baseman Jonathan India was taken fifth overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2018 MLB Draft. He led the SEC in on-base percentage (.497), slugging percentage (.717) and home runs. India was selected as the conference's Player of the Year.
