Florida may have turned a productive week into a missed opportunity

All things considered, Florida had a productive week in Hoover for the SEC Tournament. The Gators picked up two more wins, were able to keep everyone on the pitching staff on schedule, and ultimately left with the same health status as they entered Hoover with.

But with formal seeding to be announced Monday, one has to wonder if Saturday’s collapse against Georgia, combined with a couple of other series from earlier in the season, is going to hamper Florida from getting on the correct side of the seeding for Super Regional purposes.

Florida blows 6-0 lead to Georgia in the SEC Tournament

Florida took a 6-0 lead in the semifinals and looked like they were about to lock up a top-eight seed for the NCAA Tournament, but starting pitcher Russell Sandefer was knocked out of the game in the second inning when a comebacker up the middle hit him. X-rays came back negative, and Florida thinks he should be good to go next week. 

The problem is that it forced Jackson Berberi into the game far sooner than Florida would have liked. Barberi did his job for 2.2 innings, but ultimately, all five of the arms that came out of the bullpen surrendered runs. The dagger for Florida was two unearned runs in the 8th from an error from Ethan Surowiec that helped complete the Georgia comeback.

Florida lost 8-7.

The question now is whether or not Florida has done enough to earn a top-eight seed for the NCAA Tournament. Baseball America, On3, USA Today, and D1 Baseball all have Florida just sneaking in as either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed to the tournament. 

Florida should have the inside track compared to Florida State, but Texas A&M is also lurking for a top-eight seed, and the Aggies took the series from the Gators earlier in the season. Southern Miss, West Virginia, and Nebraska are also hanging around as teams that could get the bump for Super Regionals.

The Gators would obviously have to navigate their Regional round either way before any discussion of hosting Super Regionals would actually matter. Florida has only hosted AND advanced out of Regionals once since 2019, and Saturday’s loss against Georgia is a reminder of some of the ghosts that are lingering around and could rear their ugly head next weekend.

The Gators will officially find out their seeding on Monday.

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