Perhaps Brandon McArthur was being prophetic when he changed his batting music for this past weekend's series against then-No. 13 Vanderbilt.
In the words of Gainesville's favorite son Tom Petty, the senior first baseman and the Gators showed they won't back down.
That was the theme of the weekend, and in Saturday's victory in particular, as the Gators swept Vanderbilt and secured the No. 3 seed in this week's Southeastern Conference Tournament. UF mounted comeback after comeback to win 13-12 on Jon Townsend's two-out, walk-off single in the 11th inning. The Gators will take on the Commodores once again Wednesday in the first round of the tourney in Hoover, Ala.
Cole Figueroa and Josh Adams singled to put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the 11th . Townsend, one of the players honored before the game on Senior Day, drove a breaking ball into left field.
Figueroa motored home from second base, dove head-first across the plate with the winning run, and sent up a cloud of dust and a wave of elated teammates who spilled out of the dugout to mob the second baseman at home plate before charging toward Townsend at first base.
"We never got nervous," said Figueroa, who was named the SEC Player of the Week. "Nobody tried to do too much. Everyone just tried to get on base and get to the next guy. Bryson [Barber] and B-Mac (McArthur) came up with big hits [Thursday]. Today, Jon came up with the big hit. It's all about getting the right guy up at the right time and coming through."
For the Gators, two outs is more often than not the right time to come through. UF scored 17 of its 26 runs this weekend with two outs, 10 of its 13 runs on Saturday.
"We came out this weekend with more intensity, a little more passion playing the game," said Adams, who was 3-for-6 with 3 RBIs in the series finale. "We knew this was our last weekend at home and wanted to leave the fans with something good. We just gave it our all out there this weekend. We're all out there playing for each other."
Saturday was the first time all season UF has been able to celebrate an extra-innings win or a walk-off win. It was a fitting way to cap off a thrilling weekend that saw other firsts, too.
Thursday night the Gators rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the eighth inning on a pair of two-out, two-run homers from seniors Barber and McArthur to secure their first late-inning come-from-behind victory. UF had been 0-14 when trailing after seven innings and was 0-16 when trailing after eight prior to Thursday's win.
On Friday night, Figueroa launched a three-run shot to put Florida ahead 5-3 after the Commodores had gotten out to a 3-0 lead. Josh Edmondson struck out the side with two on and no outs in the eighth inning. In the ninth, with the tying run at second base, Gator ace Patrick Keating struck out Pedro Alvarez after an epic battle to secure another heart-stopping win.
All of the weekend's drama left UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan exhausted.
"To finish it off like that with two exciting wins to begin with…I might sleep 12 hours tonight," he said on Saturday.
O'Sullivan and the Gators need all the rest they can get when they face Vandy once again Wednesday at 2 p.m. With the series sweep, UF (34-20, 17-13 SEC) jumped to the No. 3 seed in the tournament, while Vanderbilt (37-18, 15-14 SEC) fell to the No. 6 seed. The Gators plan to start Keating (8-0, 3.15 ERA) on Wednesday, while Vanderbilt will most likely start Mike Minor or Caleb Cotham.
All that remains on the line is a shot at hosting a regional at McKethan Stadium. Going into Saturday's game, the Gators were well aware of what another win against Vanderbilt could mean.
"That's obviously something that we really want," Townsend said of a possible hosting scenario. "Coach didn't really put a lot of emphasis on it because he wants us to play loose, but it was definitely in the back of our heads."
After the weekend's sweep, UF would probably lock up a hosting bid with two wins in Hoover. The Gators are certainly helped by their outstanding No. 9 RPI, according to WarrenNolan.com. The official NCAA RPI report comes out today.
"Everyone's really on a high right now," Figueroa said. "Hopefully we can make a good showing at the (SEC) tournament and maybe we can come here and host."
A Gainesville regional would certainly bode well for UF. The Gators are 27-6 at home this season.
But even if UF ends up away from home for regional play, the fact that the Gators are assured of an NCAA Tournament berth is an accomplishment in and of itself. The last time UF made the NCAA field of 64 was in 2005, when it made it all the way to the championship series of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
O'Sullivan said he feels his team is playing their best baseball of the season, and the timing couldn't be any better as they head to the postseason.
"To have your team playing right at the end of the year, that's what you want," he said. "This team is just starting to gel and come together."
