Despite some frustrating losses during the regular season, the Florida baseball team stormed through the SEC Tournament and earned the No. 2 national seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
As a top-eight seed, the Gators (45-16) will host a regional this weekend. They begin Friday against Manhattan (34-17) at 4 p.m. The other two teams in the Gainesville regional, the Miami Hurricanes (36-21) and Jacksonville (36-22), face each other at noon.
This is the Gators' fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and 27th overall.
Each regional is a double-elimination bracket, with the winners moving on to next week's super regionals. The eight super regional champions will advance to the College World Series.
Friday's winners will face each other Saturday in Gainesville, and so will the losing teams. The regional is scheduled to last through Monday night at the latest. All games are slated to air on ESPNU.
The Gators swept a three-game home series against Miami early in the season. They also played Jackonsville, losing 11-2 at McKethan Stadium on May 17.
Florida is 72-55 in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators reached the College World Series for the sixth time in program history last season. They beat Miami twice in the super regional a year ago.
Virginia (49-9) earned the top overall seed in the tournament. Florida State (42-17) also claimed a top-eight seed and is hosting a regional this week.
The ACC and SEC tied for the national lead with seven selections each.
