The Gators’ roster boasts nine new MLB prospects, but Florida relied on more than its highly-regarded upperclassmen to advance to a third straight College World Series.
“Our guys battled,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Each guy did just enough. It was a great team effort.”
Two Gators who have significantly contributed to the team effort this postseason are freshmen Josh Tobias and Casey Turgeon. Tobias has mostly earned praise from O’Sullivan for his defense and deservedly so. He has played error-free baseball this postseason, including a run-saving effort in the fourth inning Sunday.
With runners on first and second, Wolfpack second baseman Matt Bergquist hit a sharp grounder down the third-base line. Tobias made a diving play to stop the ball and tagged the bag with his glove for the third out.
Despite a noteworthy defensive effort, Tobias overshadowed his glove work with his bat.
In the top of the ninth, Tobias led off the inning with a double to center field. N.C. State center fielder Jake Fincher caught the ball while diving, but could not complete the catch.
“I thought Fincher had a really good beat on that ball in center,” O’Sullivan said. “The first couple of steps, I thought he was going to catch it. We were just fortunate that when the glove hit the ground, the ball popped out.”
Nolan Fontana bunted Tobias over to third, and after an intentional walk to Preston Tucker, Tobias scored the go-ahead run on a Mike Zunino sacrifice fly to center field. The Wolfpack tied the score up 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.
Daniel Pigott put the Gators up 8-7 with a lead-off solo homer to right field in the 10th, but Florida’s freshmen tallied the eventual winning run.
Casey Turgeon followed Pigott’s at-bat with a single — his third hit in a 3-for-5 day — and Justin Shafer, who finished the game 2 for 3 with two RBI, bunted Turgeon into scoring position. Junior Vickash Ramjit lined out to shortstop, bringing Tobias to the plate with two outs.
Down in the count 0-2, Tobias hit a ball into the right-field grass for a single. As Turgeon rounded third, Tobias rounded first. Tobias drew the attention of the N.C. State defense and got caught in a rundown to ensure Turgeon scored successfully.
“[Tobias’ postseason success] speaks volumes to how far he’s come as a player this year,” O’Sullivan said.
“If he had not had that set back with his (broken) hamate bone, you probably would have seen this a little bit earlier than the latter part of the season.”
While Tobias proved clutch Sunday, Turgeon and Shafer have followed up their Southeastern Conference All-Tournament Team selections with good postseason play.
Turgeon earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the NCAA Gainesville Regional and has hit .474 with six runs in five NCAA Tournament games.
Shafer is batting .313 with five RBI and a .421 on-base percentage during the postseason.
“It’s unbelievable to come in here as a freshman and play,” Turgeon said. “I’ve learned a lot. I just want to thank the older guys for teaching me pretty much everything here.”
When No. 1 Florida kicks off the College World Series against No. 8 South Carolina on Saturday, the returning Gators will have revenge on their minds and a target on their backs.
O’Sullivan is confident the freshmen can keep up in an unfamiliar environment.
“It’s one thing to be the underdog and not have expectations, but it’s another thing when there are expectations,” O’Sullivan said. “The relief of just getting [the MLB Draft] over with and getting to Omaha, I’m looking forward to just watching this team play.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Josh Tobias celebrates after scoring a run in the top of the ninth against North Carolina State Sunday. Tobias drove in the eventual winning run for Florida in the 10th frame.
