The
University of Florida learned on Sunday afternoon that it was awarded one of
16 NCAA Baseball Regional sites. Four teams will compete at McKethan Stadium in
a double-elimination tournament starting on Friday, June 1. The winner will
advance to the best-of-three Super Regional to be held the following weekend at
eight different sites. The 64-team field for the NCAA Tournament will be
announced live on ESPNU on Monday at 12 p.m.
“We’re
extremely happy about hosting games in Gainesville,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan
said. “It is great news for the program, our players, the University and the
fans and we appreciate the support.”
No.
2 Florida (42-18) advanced to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference
Tournament for the third year in a row after tying for third in the league’s
regular-season standings. The Gators have been a fixture in the top-five of the
national polls all season under fifth-year skipper O’Sullivan.
UF
will be hosting NCAA Regional action for the fourth-straight year for the first
time in school history, as it swept through the bracket last June with wins
over Manhattan (17-3) and Miami (Fla.) (5-4 and 11-4) to advance to Super
Regionals for the fifth time in eight years. The Gators then defeated SEC rival
Mississippi State twice in three games to advance to the NCAA College World
Series for the seventh time, where it finished as the national runner-up to
South Carolina.
McKethan
Stadium has been the site of 10 NCAA Regionals during its existence, 1989,
1991, 1992, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Prior to the 1999
season, when the current NCAA Super Regional format was introduced, the Orange
and Blue advanced to the CWS three times it hosted NCAA play: 1991, 1996 and
1998.
The
other 15 schools chosen as host venues include: Arizona, Baylor, Florida State,
LSU, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, North Carolina State, Oregon, Purdue, Rice, South
Carolina, Stanford, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia.
