Florida’s trip last year to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series continues to weigh on Preston Tucker’s mind for all the wrong reasons.
For the senior right fielder, it’s tough to think about the three games the Gators won at TD Ameritrade Park or the championship-caliber season that preceded their trip to college baseball’s biggest stage.
There’s one bitter memory that stands out.
“It obviously left a sour taste in our mouth,” Tucker said. “A lot of the guys still remember the game like it was yesterday. I know I do.”
At the hands of Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina, Florida watched a 53-17 season dissipate into disappointment. Two victories away from claiming UF’s first baseball national championship, the Gators were stonewalled by self-inflicted errors and the Gamecocks’ pitching.
Most notably, Florida lost the first of a three-game set in 11 innings after failing to push a run across during a bases-loaded, no-outs situation in the bottom of the ninth.
Beginning tonight at 7:30, the No. 1 Gators (20-1, 3-0 SEC) will get their first look at the No. 8 Gamecocks (16-5, 0-3 SEC) since the College World Series finals. The trip is a quick turnaround for Florida, as the team was on the bus to Columbia, S.C., a little more than 12 hours after defeating Samford 5-3 on Tuesday night in Gainesville.
“We have no choice (but to be prepared),” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game. “They’re young. They’ll get some rest [Tuesday] and jump on the bus [Wednesday] and practice [Wednesday] night and see what happens this weekend.”
The Gators’ road trip brings a number of factors into play. Not only is it a rematch against a team that took four of five from Florida last year, it is the first SEC road trip for a lineup that now features four freshman starters after losing senior center fielder Tyler Thompson to a torn ACL.
But youth is something familiar for South Carolina as well. Five freshman have charted at least 10 starts for the Gamecocks this season, and South Carolina is in the bottom half of the SEC in nearly every offensive category, including last in runs scored (93).
“Whether we’re at home or away, we’ve still got to play good,” O’Sullivan said. “I know they’re freshmen, but they came here to play and we’re going to throw them right back out there.”
The Gamecocks offer a blueprint of how not to handle an SEC road trip with a young lineup. Last weekend, South Carolina opened SEC play at Kentucky and was promptly swept by the currently undefeated Wildcats after putting up just three runs in each of the three games.
That was also South Carolina’s first big road trip of the season. Florida conditioned itself on the road earlier this season with a three-game series at No. 12 Miami.
But Columbia, where 9,000 fans will pack Carolina Stadium all three days, is an entirely different monster. Junior catcher Mike Zunino last played there when he was a freshman.
“It’s loud, so we just have to be able to communicate and grind out every at-bat,” he said. “If our [bullpen] keeps throwing strikes and doing their job, all we have to do is keep competing.”
Etc.: Sophomore right-hander Jonathon Crawford will once again get the third weekend start for Florida against South Carolina. O’Sullivan expects sophomore Karsten Whitson to be back soon.
“We’re looking at either maybe getting a start against Florida State on Tuesday for a couple innings or starting him against Ole Miss,” he said. “Obviously, he’ll be on a pitch count, but he’s ready.”
