Florida's streak of excellence continued over the weekend through an exciting series win over top-ranked Texas. The Gators got off to a hot start in Austin with a dominating 8-2 win before dropping game two, 2-5. In game three, Kevin O'Sullivan's squad relied on the arm of freshman-righty Aidan King, who held the Longhorns through seven innings of scoreless ball and just two hits, eventually leading to a series-clinching 4-1 win.
Florida's important conference victory continues to fuel a hot streak that has lasted since the middle of April. The Gators have won five series in a row and have dropped four games total since embarrassingly being swept in Gainesville by Vanderbilt.
Florida's uptick in play is paying dividends on the bracketology side of things, which is an important factor to monitor as the postseason nears. The Gators, who sat on the wrong side of the bubble just a few weeks ago, are now knocking on the door of hosting a regional, a feat that many deemed unfeasible during the first few series of conference play.
Florida Baseball keeps moving up in Bracketology
On3's Jonathan Wagner has updated his projections for the NCAA Tournament, making some significant tweaks to the projected field. Wagner predicts Florida will earn a slot as a two-seed in the Conway Regional, hosted by mid-major powerhouse Coastal Carolina. The Gators and Chanticleers would be joined by the UConn Huskies (three-seed) and the Fairfield Stags (four-seed). The Stags would represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's automatic bid.
The victorious team of the Conway Regional would face the winner of the projected Baton Rouge Regional, which would consist of LSU (one-seed), Georgia Tech (two-seed), Southeastern Louisiana (three-seed), and Columbia (four-seed). The winner of the super regional matchup would then advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Wagner also included a short blurb about Florida's chances of hosting, which is as follows: "One spot below them [Coastal Carolina] in RPI at No. 13 is Florida, who likely aren’t in a position to host, though a sweep against Alabama to end the year could change that."
Final chances to impress
The Gators will get one final regular season chance to improve their seeding in eighteenth-ranked Alabama. The Tide are fresh off a home series win over sixth-ranked Georgia, taking two of three games from the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Rob Vaughn's team presents yet another resume-building opportunity for the surging Gators, who would certainly like to finish the regular season with the momentum they have built.
Florida will welcome Alabama to Condron Family Ballpark and honor their seniors in potentially their last games in their home park.
Following the series, the Gators will head to Hoover, Alabama, to take their chance at the SEC Tournament, a final chance at impressing the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee before teams are selected.