Kent State Holds Off Florida, 5-4, To Stay Alive At NCAA College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Gators lost their starting pitcher after one inning, and then they fell behind by four runs to Kent State in the College World Series elimination game on Monday afternoon.
And with their season on the line, the Gators had the bases loaded with only one out in the top of the ninth inning. That's when their comeback attempt fizzled in a 5-4 loss to the Golden Flashes, ending the Gators' bid to win the program's first national title.
Florida's third consecutive trip to the CWS came to a crashing halt when Justin Shafer's fly ball landed in Kent State right fielder T.J. Sutton's glove for the final out.
The underdog Golden Flashes had survived an inning that started with 11 consecutive balls to Florida batters. However, the Gators failed to score the tying run, making their stay in Omaha a short one after advancing all the way to the championship series a year ago.
The game started ominously for Florida when starting pitcher Hudson Randall had to leave after the first inning due to heat-related symptoms.
Kent State led 4-0 after two innings. The Gators clawed back and trimmed the lead to 5-4 in the seventh when they loaded the bases. However, only one run scored on Brian Johnson's double-play grounder to second.
Florida's season ended in the ninth when Shafer lifted a fly ball against Golden Flashes reliever Josh Pierce, who was aided by a check-swing third strike on Casey Turgeon the previous batter after the plate umpire originally called a ball. However, he was overruled by the third-base ump for the second out.
"The game was not decided by the umpires,'' Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.
Instead, a dejected O'Sullivan said the Gators simply didn't play well enough early, setting the stage for the dramatic comeback to fall short.
"I didn't expect anything different,'' O'Sullivan said. "We were not going to lay down."
Florida finishes the season 47-20.

IWLCA Selects Meagher as C. Markland Kelly Goalie of the Year

Junior goalkeeper Mikey Meagher (Liverpool, N.Y.) completed her sweep of National Goalie of the Year honors this weekend, earning the honor of C. Markland Kelly Goalie of the Year by the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches’ Association. Meagher, who was also named Goalie of the Year by by WomensLax.com and SynapseSports.com, is the first Gator to win a major postseason award from the IWLCA.

Mikey Meagher, a consensus First Team All-American, finished the season leading the nation in both save percentage (.537) and goals-against average (7.04), becoming just the third player to do so since the NCAA began tracking statistics in 1996. The junior keeper consistently had more saves than goals allowed, and finished the year one of just three netminders with a season save percentage above .500, sitting .025 above the second-best keeper in the nation. Meagher made 145 saves and allowed just 125 goals in 1066:31 minutes of play, earning a 16-3 record in 21 appearances.

An IWLCA First Team All-South Region selection and a member of the All-ALC Second Team, Meagher was named the Most Valuable Player of the ALC Tournament after making 16 saves and allowing just 11 goals in her two tournament starts. She then earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament team after making 15 saves in the NCAA Semifinals, including stopping 10 shots while allowing just three scores in the first half.

The IWLCA also gave out Division I honors for Attacker, Midfielder and Defender of the Year. NCAA Semifinalist Maryland had two honorees, as Tewaaraton Award winner Katie Schwarzmann was named Midfielder of the Year and Iliana Sanza took home Defender of the Year. NCAA Runner-Up Syracuse’s Michelle Tumolo was named Attacker of the Year.

Win or go home for Gators

OMAHA, Neb. — It wasn't supposed to be like this.

This was the year. They had battled through the grind of a season and an under-seeded regional and super regional, through rain delays and stifling heat to get here as the No. 1 seed.

They were healthy and focused and came to Omaha with a swagger.

But on Saturday night in the bowels of TD Ameritrade Park there were hushed tones and fallen faces for the Florida Gators.

“It's going to be tough,” said senior Preston Tucker. “But it's been done before. If anyone can do it, we can.”

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

They came to Omaha with their baggy throwback uniforms with confidence and charisma. They were in a perfect situation because there was a team on the other side of the bracket that was even a bigger longshot and was receiving the most attention. They would slide in here under the radar, even if they had won 25 of their last 27 games.

They had talked with their chests out about “belonging” in the bracket with the mighty SEC teams.
But on Saturday evening in the bowels of TD Ameritrade Park, they had the look of a team that had been through a hurricane.

“It's going to be tough, very difficult,” said Kent State's Jimmy Rider. “But that's the reason we play. You want to go up against the best.”

That's the thing about the College World Series. Eight teams come here with dreams of a dogpile, and two days into it there are four of them wondering if they are about to play the last game of the season.
Florida and Kent State will meet in an elimination game Monday at 5:10 p.m. For one of them, a special season is about to end with a thud.

“The quality of a championship team is being able to bounce back from failure,” said UF freshman Josh Tobias. “We're a championship team. We'll bounce back.”

But it's such a long bounce to get back in position to still win this thing.

Florida needs to win Monday to stay alive and that is all UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan is worried about.
“When you get into the losers' bracket,” he said, “you can't look too far ahead.”

There is no question that Florida has the pitching depth to still make a run in this tournament. Hudson Randall will go Monday for the Gators, and O'Sullivan still has starters Jonathon Crawford and Karsten Whitson available. Plus, with the days off, it's easier to bring pitchers back.

But no matter what happens, Florida knows that the road to the championship series will have to go through South Carolina again.

Both Florida and Kent State coaches were disappointed with the way their teams played on Saturday. The Gators had committed only two errors in five NCAA games this year and committed three against South Carolina. Kent State had only four hits against Arkansas and its only run came on a Rider home run.

And as tough as it's going to be for Florida to climb back into this thing, think how Kent State's Scott Stricklin feels. You're in the CWS, you lose your opener and, hey, here's your elimination game — the top seed in the tournament.

“Look at Florida up and down that lineup and that pitching staff, it's just unbelievably talented,” he said. “And I know it's tough. It's a daunting task in front of us.

“We'll be ready to play. We told our kids, enjoy it. Get it out of your mind. Get ready to play (tonight) again in Omaha, Nebraska, which our kids are thrilled to be here. But that's the thing. We've got to make sure that we're not just happy to be here. We want to compete and get some wins and make a run at it. It's still possible.”

Gators Fall to South Carolina, 7-3; Face Kent State on Monday in Elimination Game

OMAHA, Neb. -- One bad inning cost the Gators dearly on Saturday night in a 6-3 loss to South Carolina in the College World Series.

In a rematch of last year's CWS Championship Series, Florida led 2-0 on Preston Tucker's two-run double in the third inning when the Gamecocks stepped to the plate against Gators starter Brian Johnson in the fifth inning.

Johnson had flirted with trouble in the first four innings but was able to escape unscathed each time. The Gamecocks finally made him pay with five runs in the fifth.

Five consecutive Gamecocks reached to lead off the fifth and the runs started to cross the plate on designated hitter Erik Payne's three-run triple off Johnson, who stayed in the game following a visit to the mound by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

Johnson stayed in to face one more batter after Payne's triple and allowed an RBI double to LB Dantzler to make it 4-2. South Carolina capped the five-run outburst with Dantzler scoring on an RBI single by Chase Vergason.

Meanwhile, the Gators scratched a run off Gamecocks starter Michael Roth on Mike Zunino's sacrifice fly in the fifth, but that was as close as the Gators could get.

The Gamecocks added two insurance runs in the ninth.

The loss sends Florida to the loser's bracket where the Gators will face Kent State on Monday afternoon at 5. South Carolina advanced to face Arkansas on Monday night in the winner's bracket.

The two-time defending national champion Gamecocks won their 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament game and 12th in a row in the CWS, the last three over the Gators.

UF's Brian Johnson Named Finalist For John Olerud Award

Florida junior left-hander/designated hitter Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) was announced as one of the three finalists for The College Baseball Hall of Fame’s John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award on Friday. He joins Gonzaga sophomore Marco Gonzales and Stanford junior Stephen Piscotty in contention for the prestigious honor. Johnson is seeking to become the first Gator to take home the prize.

A first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)., Johnson was a second-team All-American by Louisville Slugger. Chosen first-team All-SEC for the past two seasons, he is 8-4 with a 3.56 earned run average on the mound and has 68 strikeouts in 86 innings, to go along with a .314 clip, 41 RBI, 24 runs, 13 doubles and six homers. The southpaw tossed his first career complete game to oust fourth-ranked South Carolina from the SEC Tourney on May 25 and matched his career high with four hits in the semifinal round the following day against Vanderbilt. In his most recent outing on the mound, Johnson limited the high-powered Georgia Tech offense to one run on three hits over five innings on June 3 as the Gators cruised to a 15-3 victory over the Jackets to punch their fourth-straight ticket to Super Regionals. Johnson batted .429 (3-for-7) in the sweep of No. 11 NC State last weekend and tied the second encounter with the Wolfpack with a solo homer in the eighth inning of Florida’s eventual 9-8 triumph in 10 innings. He will draw the start in Florida’s NCAA College World Series opener versus the Gamecocks on Saturday at 9 p.m., live on ESPN.   

Gonzales, a sophomore from Ft. Collins, Colo., batted .325 with two home runs, 29 RBI and an OPS of .802. However, it was on the mound where he shone brightest, going 8-2 with a 1.55 ERA in 12 starts. He struck out 92 batters and walked only 23 in 92.2 innings and opponents batted .201 against him.

Piscotty, a junior from Pleasanton, Calif., ended the season batting .329, with five home runs and a team-leading 56 RBI and an OPS of .882. His season was shortened on the mound but he finished with a 6-2 record and a 3.05 ERA over 12 games and four starts. He was selected 36th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.

The winner of the John Olerud Award will be named on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of College Baseball’s Night of Champions. The event also features the announcement of the winners of the National Pitcher of the Year and Brooks Wallace Award. The Johnny Bench Award, the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award and Dick Howser Trophy are also presented, as well as the 2012 National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductions.

Florida Baseball's Mike Zunino Selected As 26th Dick Howser Trophy Recipient

Florida junior catcher Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) is the 26th recipient of the Dick Howser Trophy, presented by Easton Foundations, as College Baseball's Player of the Year. The presentation was made on Friday morning as part of a news conference at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha with several other 2012 national honors being named.

Zunino became the first University of Florida player to win the Dick Howser Trophy in a group represented by 20 different schools and 13 conferences since its inception in 1987 with Miami (Fla.) standout Mike Fiore.

Zunino will also be honored during the College Baseball Foundation's Night of Champions, along with 2012 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees and other Division I honorees June 30 in Lubbock, Texas.

The consensus All-American and 2012 honoree from Cape Coral, Fla., via Mariner High School, led the Gators to a school-record-tying runner-up finish to South Carolina in the 2011 NCAA College World Series and paced UF into a rematch with the two-time defending champion Gamecocks on Saturday in Omaha (live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Zunino helped the Gators to a two-game sweep of NC State in the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional last weekend with 4-for-8 hitting, a .500 average, three RBI, two runs scored and his SEC-leading 19th homer of the 2012 season.

He arrived in Omaha as both a 2011 and '12 All-American, as well as the 2011 SEC Player of the Year and the league's first-team catcher both years, with top-10 totals nationally in almost every individual statistical category.

Zunino has started 64 games for head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's Gators, has a team-leading 28 doubles, 19 homers, 64 RBI, and 10 sacrifice flies, posted a .678 slugging percentage, has 162 total bases, fielded at a torrid .994 clip (three errors in 493 total chances), and led Florida into the 2012 CWS with a 47-18 overall record.

On June 4, he became the highest draft choice in school history as the No. 3 selection in the first round to the Seattle Mariners. That also capped a third-consecutive season on the All-Tournament Team of the NCAA Gainesville Regional and back-to-back Super Regional crowns over Mississippi State and the Wolfpack. Zunino was the first UF standout to be drafted in the first round since Matt LaPorta in 2007.

"Mike Zunino epitomizes the true qualities of Dick Howser - ability, leadership, character, and courage," said Howser Trophy chair David Feaster of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. "He has taken Florida to new heights in the past two years as well as being a tremendous team leader and go-to student-athlete in all areas."

After passing on a 30th-round Draft selection by the Oakland A's when he was a senior at Mariner H.S. in 2009, Zunino has excelled with the bat and catcher's mitt while maturing into one of the top players in UF's illustrious baseball history.

As a sophomore, he became the second Gator in history to be chosen as SEC Player of the Year, along with LaPorta in 2005 and '07. It also marked the first of his two-consecutive times being a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award as National Division I Catcher of the Year. He also was a semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award.

In 2010 as a freshman, Zunino was both a Freshman All-America and SEC All-Freshman squad member. He was both Florida's starting catcher and designated hitter and earned the first of his three All-Tournament accolades in the NCAA Gainesville Regional by batting .364 with a 4-for-11 showing.

His selection and NCBWA voting in 2012 was some of the closest in years, as Zunino edged two other standout finalists in senior first baseman Goose Kallunki of Utah Valley State and junior outfielder Raph Rhymes of LSU.

The Dick Howser Trophy, given in memory of the former Florida State University All-America shortstop and Major League player and manager who died of brain cancer in 1987, is regarded by many as college baseball's most prestigious award. Criteria for consideration for the trophy include performance on the field, leadership, moral character, and courage, qualities which were exemplified by Dick Howser's life.

A Florida native, Howser was twice an All-American shortstop at Florida State (1957-58), then head coach of the Seminoles in 1979 after a career as a Major League player and coach. After one year in the college ranks, he returned to the majors to manage the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals and won the World Series with the Royals in 1985. The baseball stadium on the Florida State campus is named for Howser.

NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport's only college media-related organization, founded in 1962.

The College Baseball Foundation was established in 2004 and has inducted 71 greats into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock. The group promotes the highest ideals and recognition of greatness on college baseball diamonds in the 150-plus years since the first intercollegiate contest in 1859 between Amherst and Williams.

The Howser Trophy was created in 1987, shortly after Howser's death. Previous winners of the Howser Trophy are Mike Fiore, Miami, 1987; Robin Ventura, Oklahoma State, 1988; Scott Bryant, Texas, 1989; Alex Fernandez, Miami-Dade Community College South, 1990; Frank Rodriguez, Howard College (Texas), 1991; Brooks Kieschnick, Texas, 1992 and 1993; Jason Varitek, Georgia Tech, 1994; Todd Helton, Tennessee, 1995; Kris Benson, Clemson, 1996; J. D. Drew, Florida State, 1997; Eddy Furniss, LSU, 1998; Jason Jennings, Baylor, 1999; Mark Teixeira, Georgia Tech, 2000; Mark Prior, P, USC, 2001, Khalil Greene, SS, Clemson, 2002; Rickey Weeks, 2B, Southern U., 2003; Jered Weaver, P, Long Beach State, 2004; Alex Gordon, 3B, Nebraska, 2005; Brad Lincoln, P/DH, Houston, 2006; David Price, P, Vanderbilt, 2007; Buster Posey, C, Florida State, 2008; Stephen Strasburg, P, San Diego State, 2009; Anthony Rendon, 3B, Rice, 2010; and Taylor Jungmann, P, Texas, 2011.

Johnson gets nod for Gators' opener

OMAHA — Ray Tanner's starter was no surprise. Kevin O'Sullivan's was a little bit of one, even if it makes sense.

Opening schedule

At TD Ameritrade Park
Omaha, Neb.

Today

Stony Brook vs. UCLA, 5 p.m., ESPN2
Arizona vs. Florida St., 9 p.m., ESPN2

Saturday

Kent St. vs. Arkansas, 5 p.m., ESPN
South Carolina vs. Florida, 9 p.m., ESPN, 103.7 FM

South Carolina will start left-handed pitcher Michael Roth (7-1, 2.50 ERA), who beat Florida to win last year's national championship for the Gamecocks, in Saturday's College World Series game.

Florida will start Brian Johnson, who has beaten the Gamecocks twice this year, instead of ace Hudson Randall.

“I was wondering it they were going to throw Smoltz, Maddux or Glavine,” Tanner said, referring to the Atlanta pitchers during their glory days.

Although Randall was referred to as “our guy” last week by O'Sullivan, Johnson has pitched 15 innings against South Carolina this year and allowed only four runs. That includes a complete game against Tanner's team in the SEC Tournament.

“He needs to pitch,” O'Sullivan said. “We don't want to give him any more time off. He was going to pitch one of the first two games anyway.”

Florida would have thrown Johnson (8-4, 3.56) in the third game in the super regional against North Carolina State if he was needed, but the Gators won it in two. He last pitched in the regional against Georgia Tech.

Johnson, who has more at-bats than innings pitched in his CWS career, came into last year's CWS dealing with issues involving a concussion he suffered at the SEC Tournament.

O'Sullivan said Johnson cleared the concussion tests, but there were better options as starters because Johnson hadn't pitched in three weeks. He ended up pitching in relief in the final game of the season, a loss to the Gamecocks that earned them a second straight national title.

“I'm very excited for the opportunity,” Johnson said after taking batting practice Thursday. “I'm just going to go out and try to embrace it. I pitched a little more than an inning last year and threw as a freshman at Rosenblatt (Stadium) so I don't think it will feel too different.”

Johnson pitched 3⅓ innings as a freshman against FSU when Florida went two-and-out in the CWS.

Despite his strong performances against South Carolina, Johnson knows this is a different stage.

“I threw strikes against them and anyone who throws strikes has a chance to be successful,” he said. “But what's in the past is in the past. I don't think the past matters now. I have to put it behind me.”

Johnson said O'Sullivan told him earlier in the week he would be getting the ball first in Omaha.

“He sat me and Huddy (Randall) down and told us,” Johnson said. “He's the captain. It's his ship. I'm honored.”

And the junior MLB first-round draft pick thinks the rest will do him some good. He missed a start earlier in the year with a hamstring and has pitched well since.

 
“I threw Tuesday to hitters and felt fresh,” he said. “My arm felt really, really good. Like anybody, you get some rest your arm is going to feel good.”

Top-seeded Gators back in Omaha after trying season played amid sky-high expectations

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have been waiting a year for this.

Players and coaches never said it publicly, rarely even mentioned it privately. But returning to the College World Series was the one common goal everyone in the program shared, and not solely because it’s the pinnacle of college baseball.

It had more to do with how close the Gators got to winning it all last season. Florida lost to South Carolina in the championship series and spent months thinking about what could have been. Not making things any easier, the Gators played all season amid sky-high expectations that came with returning nearly every starter.

Nonetheless, the Gators are back in Omaha, Neb., with their sights set on winning it all.

“That was the thing that was hard for our team to deal with,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It was one of those things that was the big elephant in the room. Nobody wanted to talk about it. It was kind of just there. It’s hard to get to Omaha, No. 1, but to add it that you’re supposed to get there and there’s so many things that can happen in this game that can keep you from getting to your ultimate destination, it has not been an easy road.”

The Gators (47-18) secured their third consecutive trip to Omaha by sweeping North Carolina State in a super regional. Their reward? Florida opens Saturday against the two-time defending champion Gamecocks, who have won 21 consecutive games in the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina’s streak includes 11 in a row in Omaha.

“I was excited,” Florida reliever Greg Larson said. “Another chance to play them. They’ve had a great run. Just kind of thinking back to last year, we were going to run into them I felt like sooner or later, so why not first game in Omaha?”

Florida won three of four games against South Carolina this season, including the last three meetings. But recent success will mean little, if anything, when the teams take the field Saturday.

“Last time’s last time,” designated hitter/left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson said. “Doesn’t matter what you did last time. Doesn’t matter if you scored 10 or you didn’t score any.”

Florida has a good team, and everyone knows it.

Catcher Mike Zunino is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s best amateur player, and anchors a deep and versatile lineup that features five players selected in the first nine rounds of last week’s Major League Baseball draft. Florida also had four pitchers drafted, including ace Hudson Randall and the team’s top three relievers: Larson, lefty Steven Rodriguez and closer Austin Maddox.

All that talent was evident when the Gators started the season 20-1.

Nonetheless, Florida endured ups and downs, injury and adversity, and a late-season hitting slump in which the Gators lost eight of 17 games down the stretch.

O’Sullivan expected to deal with those kinds of things. The biggest challenge was trying to keep players focused and hungry during it all.

“It is challenging,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s one thing to be the underdog and not have expectations, but it’s another when there are expectations. It’s just not the external people. You in turn start putting pressure on yourself and you feel the pressure of trying to get your team back to where they should be, supposedly.

“And then you get the draft as well. I mean, that’s the other part of it, and it’s right there at the end of the season. There’s been a lot.”

Now, though, the most meaningful games are here. And how the Gators respond could make everything that happened in the last year an afterthought forever.

“I think we’re in a spot right now where everything’s kind of behind us and we’re just taking it one game at a time,” Larson said.

Trio Of Gator Baseball Players Named All-Americans By NCBWA

Junior left-hander/designated hitter Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), junior right-hander Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) and junior catcher Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) were named All-Americans on Wednesday by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Johnson and Zunino were first-team recipients, while Maddox earned a berth on the third team. It marks the first time in school history that three Gators have been recognized by the organization in the same season.

A first-team choice in the utility spot, Johnson was previously named as a second-team All-American by Louisville Slugger and is a contender for the 2012 John Olerud Award presented to the nation’s top two-way standout. Chosen first-team All-SEC for the past two seasons, he is 8-4 with a 3.56 earned run average on the mound and has 68 strikeouts in 86 innings, to go along with a .314 clip, 41 RBI, 24 runs, 13 doubles and six homers. The southpaw tossed his first career complete game to oust fourth-ranked South Carolina from the SEC Tourney on May 25 and matched his career high with four hits in the semifinal round the following day against Vanderbilt. In his most recent outing on the mound, Johnson limited the high-powered Georgia Tech offense to one run on three hits over five innings on June 3 as the Gators cruised to a 15-3 victory over the Jackets to punch their fourth-straight ticket to Super Regionals. Johnson batted .429 (3-for-7) in the sweep of No. 11 NC State last weekend and tied the second encounter with the Wolfpack with a solo homer in the eighth inning of Florida’s eventual 9-8 triumph in 10 innings.   

Named the first-team catcher on the NCBWA’s All-American squad, Zunino continues to reel in the accolades, as the first-team Louisville Slugger All-American is also a finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, the Golden Spikes Award and the Johnny Bench Award. He leads the Gators in total bases (162), RBI (64), doubles (28), homers (19), sacrifice flies (10) and slugging percentage (.678) and is 9-for-10 on the basepaths. A two-time first-team All-SEC recipient and two-time member of the league’s All-Defensive Team who is hitting .322 overall, Zunino has registered a .994 fielding percentage, with three errors in 493 chances, and has thrown out almost a third of the runners who have attempted to steal on him.

Zunino was voted to the NCAA Gainesville Regional All-Tournament Team for the third-consecutive season after belting homers in consecutive games against No. 24 Georgia Tech and he led the Orange and Blue with a .500 (4-for-8) clip in the pair of victories over NC State that punched Florida’s return ticket to Omaha. The first-round pick of the Seattle Mariners is 6-for-19 (.316) during the NCAA Tourney with team highs in RBI (9) and homers (3) as the Gators boast a 5-0 record.

Maddox achieved All-America status for the second time in his career after being voted onto to the third team as a freshman in 2010. The Gators’ closer has collected 12 saves, one shy of matching the school’s single-season record, and is 3-3 with a 2.50 ERA. In 31 appearances covering 54 innings, the right-hander has registered 57 strikeouts and issued 11 walks, while limiting opponents to a .210 batting average.

Gators Arrive in Omaha Understanding Road Ahead

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Gators baseball team timed its arrival here for the College World Series perfectly on Wednesday afternoon.

As the team bus rolled past TD Ameritrade Stadium toward the Gators' hotel a couple of blocks away, workers were busy hanging a huge "Florida Gators" banner on the stadium along Cuming Street.

A few minutes later the Gators received a red-carpet greeting at their hotel. The carpet was lined with more Gators.

These were the Memorial Gators from the Omaha Little League, part of the welcoming party that greeted Florida in its third consecutive trip to Omaha.

"We are glad to be back and we're ready to go,'' Florida catcher Mike Zunino said. "This is a special place and we've worked hard to get back here over the last year."

The No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators earned a trip back to Omaha with a 9-8 win in extra innings over N.C. State on Sunday in the NCAA Gainesville Regional.

The Gators (47-18) face SEC rival South Carolina (45-17) on Saturday night (9 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a rematch of last year's CWS Championship Series.

The Gamecocks won both games to win their second consecutive national title.

The Gators spent Wednesday traveling to Omaha and will participate in a press conference Thursday morning, followed by practice and an autograph session at TD Ameritrade Park.

The Gators will then have a team barbecue before attending the CWS Opening Ceremonies, one of the year's highlights from the city of Omaha.

"You can just tell the whole city embraces the College World Series,'' Gators senior pitcher Greg Larson said. "The environment is awesome. It's just a great atmosphere."

While the players are looking forward to the pageantry of Thursday's events, they also have some unfinished business in the quest of the program's first national title.

"We want to get it done,'' Larson said.

Junior pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson has never experienced a season that didn't end with a trip to Omaha.

Johnson said he feels good about the way this year's team is playing as it unpacked here for what the Gators hope is a two-week stay.

"We're playing as a team,'' Johnson said. "We're picking each other up. When somebody doesn't have a great at-bat the next person does. I think we're really putting it together."

As for all the hoopla off the field, Johnson isn't too concerned about any distractions popping up for the younger players like freshmen starters Josh Tobias, Justin Shafer and Casey Turgeon.

"All the older guys are trying to coach the young guys up on what to expect,'' he said.