After No. 3 Florida walloped Kentucky in the weekend’s series finale to capture a share of the Southeastern Conference crown, coach Kevin O’Sullivan could finally breathe easy, at least for a little while anyways.
“I’m looking forward to taking a deep breath tonight,” he said. “This year has been a little bit of a grind.”
The Gators won back-to-back SEC titles for just the second time in school history, but their season has been far from a cakewalk.
Florida entered the 2011 campaign as preseason favorites and the top-ranked team in the country, but as expectations swelled, so did the burden to live up to the lofty pressure.
In a moment of delirium, after doing something no Gators team had done since 1981-82, UF’s manager finally admitted the stress of the season.
“Not a little bit actually, it’s been a huge grind to be honest with you. To go out there every night and your team is expected to play flawlessly. You’re not supposed to lose. And to have a lot of expectations, and for these guys to respond and play the way they have over the course of the year is a huge accomplishment.”
A year after an early exit from the College World Series, the Gators returned their entire weekend rotation and five Freshman All-Americans. They added a top-rated recruiting class including the number nine pick in Major League Baseball’s June Draft.
From day one, a target has been on their backs.
“It’s different from last year,” O’Sullivan said. “A year ago we had a whole lot of freshmen and not a lot was expected.”
In 2011, UF has faced growing expectations all year, but despite the pressure, the team played well most of the season.
Winning a conference championship was one of just several goals the Gators set before the season, but after capturing a major accomplishment Saturday, the team felt relieved.
“We don’t take these things for granted,” sophomore Austin Maddox said. “They don’t come around much.”
The Gators shared the SEC title with No. 1 South Carolina and No. 4 Vanderbilt as each team won two games over the weekend.
“I don’t ever remember this league being this tough,” O’Sullivan said. “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.”
On Wednesday, the pressure will be revved up again as Florida opens the SEC tournament against Mississippi State. After an intense regular season, senior Josh Adams was asked if the team will be ready for a titillating postseason, and the second baseman responded confidently, “We’ll see.”
