It has been three years since the Gators have made the NCAA's field of 64. In 2005, they were one of the last two teams standing in the College World Series. This year, the road to Omaha winds through the home of their rivals.
The UF baseball team learned on Monday it will be sent to the Tallahassee Regional as the No. 2 seed.
It didn't matter where they were headed. For the Gators, knowing they will be playing in a regional was more than enough.
"I'm just really excited to be in," shortstop Cole Figueroa said. "Wherever we ended up, we were all going to be excited. It's the first time for a lot of us to be in a regional."
Only three current Gators - first baseman Brandon McArthur, designated hitter Bryson Barber and pitcher Stephen Locke - have seen NCAA regional play before, all during that magical 2005 run.
Excitement was the emotion and the catchword of the day for a team that many did not expect to see the postseason this year.
"We're excited to be in the field," coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I'm excited for the players. They've worked hard. No one really expected them to be here. They were picked to finish eleventh in the league, and they weren't ranked in any preseason polls or anything. We're excited, but I think we're proud to have earned it."
Of course, O'Sullivan and the Gators wouldn't have minded a home regional, but the Gators coach said he wasn't surprised by UF's draw.
"It makes sense," O'Sullivan said. "I figured if we weren't going to host at home, we were going to be a No. 2 seed somewhere.
"Whether we're playing at home as a host or whether we're playing [in Tallahassee] is irrelevant. Everybody's got an equal shot now. The road is a little more difficult when you have to go on the road, but we have enough talent that if we play well, we'll be okay."
Figueroa certainly wasn't disappointed with their regional destination. The sophomore, a Tallahassee native, was happy to be going home for a bit and his family didn't have a problem with the situation, either.
"They're excited," Figueroa said with a laugh. "They don't have to drive."
The shortstop's phone had been ringing off the hook since the announcement during Monday's NCAA Selection Show on ESPN.
"I've gotten about thirty phone calls so far [from friends and family]," Figueroa said. "Lots of phone calls and texts. They'll definitely come out and support us. Hopefully, we can give them a good show."
It won't be an easy road for the Gators (34-22), who will face No. 3 seed Tulane (37-20-1) Friday at 1 p.m. at Dick Howser Stadium.
While O'Sullivan tabbed junior Patrick Keating (8-1, 3.47 ERA) as his game one starter, Tulane will likely counter with Conference USA pitcher of the year Shooter Hunt (9-3, 2.45 ERA). Hunt ranks in the top five nationally with 119 strikeouts in 92 innings of work.
Figueroa faced Hunt while playing in the Cape Cod League last summer and knows the difficult task the Gators have in front of them.
"I just remember he was really good," Figueroa said. "He had a very good fastball, good off-speed stuff…pretty much a prototypical Cape pitcher. He's going to come at you with fastballs.
"It's going to be fun, and it's going to be a battle. He's going to give us a tough game, and we're just going to have to go out there and kind of produce some runs off of him."
That will be easier said than done, especially if the offense continues the struggles they encountered during their short stint in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover, Ala., last week. The Gators dropped the first two games of the tournament to Vanderbilt and South Carolina and were sent home early after poor performances both on the mound and at the plate.
But Figueroa said he thinks the team has put those games behind them and is focused on the task at hand.
"We've had some adversity this year and we've dealt with it pretty well when our backs were against the wall," he said. "This is just another thing we have to go through right now, and I feel like everyone's mentality is really good."
