After a steamy, emotional, rollercoaster weekend, No. 1 Florida exited Hoover, Ala., with its first Southeastern Conference Tournament trophy since 1991 and a No. 2 overall national seed in the 2011 NCAA Baseball Tournament.
The NCAA announced the field of 64 on Monday, and the Gators, one of eight national seeds, will host the Gainesville Regional starting Friday in McKethan Stadium.
Despite capturing the SEC Tournament Championship and reclaiming its top ranking, Florida was dealt an arduous draw as Miami and Jacksonville come to town this weekend.
“This time of year it’s not who you draw, it’s how you’re playing,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Every Regional is tough.”
UF will play No. 4-seed Manhattan at 4 p.m. Friday, while the No. 2-seed Hurricanes and No. 3-seed Dolphins play at noon.
“Great teams,” senior second baseman Josh Adams said. “JU came in here and beat the brakes off of us. Miami is hot right now.”
The Gators swept the ‘Canes in March while Jacksonville demolished UF (11-2) two weeks ago.
The Gators return home after a wild weekend where they played five games in four days, watched one of their best players go down in a freak accident and looked on as two forgotten pitchers potentially threw themselves back into the mix.
Florida beat Vanderbilt 5-0 for a school-record 11th shutout in the championship Sunday, winning the tournament with dominant relief pitching and aggressive base running.
Gators relievers combined for 18 punch-outs and a 1.97 ERA over the five games, while Florida played a small-ball approach, swiping 11 bases.
But the weekend was marred by an emotional Saturday.
Before Florida and Georgia squared off, UGA’s Jonathan Taylor — the outfielder who is partially paralyzed after a violent collision with a teammate earlier this season — was honored before the game. Moments later, UF lefty starter/designated hitter Brian Johnson was involved in his own scary scene.
The southpaw was hurt in a freak play in the first inning, taking a throw from catcher Mike Zunino to the back of the head.
Johnson threw a wild pitch that skipped off Zunino’s mitt, and the SEC Player of the Year attempted to nail out a runner advancing to second, but instead, drilled Johnson, immediately knocking him unconscious.
The sophomore lay lifeless for several minutes, but he regained consciousness and was taken to a local hospital. Johnson suffered a mild concussion but all tests were negative and he was released.
“It’s one of those accidents you never want to see happen,” said Zunino, who was visibly shaken after the play and was comforted by Adams and Bulldogs coach Dave Perno. “It was very reassuring to see him in the hotel.”
Sunday, Johnson was in the dugout for UF’s title-game victory, and according to O’Sullivan, is day-to-day, and his availability this weekend is unknown.
“We’re going to let the doctors handle it and the medical staff,” UF’s manager said. “I’m going to stay totally out of it. With these head things, there’s a process you need to follow. We’re not going to get involved with it, and we’re going to let our medical staff handle it.”
One silver lining for the Gators was that Johnson’s injury did set the stage for Anthony DeSclafani’s spirited performance.
After an inconsistent regular season, the hard-throwing junior was phenomenal in instant relief. The righty pitched a career-high 7.2 innings, frustrating a UGA team that had shelled him earlier this season.
“It was great for [Disco] to have an outing like that,” Adams said. “It gets his confidence back up. That’s the thing about pitching in tournament play, if you don’t have confidence you’re not going to throw well.”
In Sunday’s championship, Alex Panteliodis got the start and pitched with renewed vigor as well. After toying with mediocrity all season, the southpaw tossed 5.1 scoreless innings, looking his best since being UF’s ace in 2010.
The junior displayed renewed velocity and veteran moxie, stifling the SEC’s best hitting team.
“He definitely stepped up in a time we needed him” Adams said. “He looked like the old Alex. He was locked in.”
