The Road to Omaha begins in Gainesville.
No. 11 UF (39-20), winners of the No. 8 national seed, will begin its quest for a College World Series berth this weekend when it hosts a NCAA Regional that includes Miami, Jacksonville and Bethune-Cookman.
The Hurricanes (36-20) will open the action Friday with a 1 p.m. matchup with the Dolphins. The Gators will begin their NCAA play at 6:30 p.m. against the Wildcats. The winners of Friday's games will meet at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and the losers will meet at 1 p.m.
"We are very excited for the start of Regional play," coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "It will be a challenging field and we are looking forward to facing a talented Bethune-Cookman team on Friday."
Bethune-Cookman will send right-hander Hiram Burgos (6-3, 3.73 ERA) to the mound while the Gators have yet to announce their starter for Friday night's opener.
UF will hope to improve upon its recent failures in the postseason. In the two years under O'Sullivan, the Gators are 1-6 in Southeastern Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament play.
Last year UF went to Tallahassee for its Regional and was promptly sent home with two straight losses to Tulane and Florida State.
Playing at McKethan Stadium should provide a boost for the Gators. UF is 27-7 at home this season, and the last time it hosted a regional was 2005 when UF swept the 2005 Regional and Super Regional rounds in Gainesville en route to a CWS berth, also the last time the Gators made it to Omaha. Overall, UF is 22-7 at home in NCAA play.
UF's national seed means the Gators would host a Super Regional if they advance past this weekend.
The weekend's biggest challenge would seem to be the Hurricanes who swept the Gators in a three-game series in Gainesville on Feb. 27 - March 1.
