Florida survived and advanced in the College World Series on Monday, defeating NC State 5-4 to avoid elimination once again during the postseason. A skill the Gators have seemed to master even dating back to last year.
The Gators had a disadvantage going into the postseason, but they have proven them wrong game after game. And after winning yet another elimination game, a handful of their players talked about how they can perform at their peak when it counts most.
“You know what the standard is here when you commit, whether that be out of the portal or out of high school,” said Jack Caglianone. “To be here and be the last team standing is the ultimate goal.” As a child, I used to watch Florida, and it always seemed like they were here.
“So kind of the way Sully [Kevin O’Sullivan] has built this culture and this program to where it’s at now is probably the biggest drawing factor to everyone who wants to come here and everyone who is here. It’s nothing that we players kind of take for granted. We know what standards we’re held to and how we need to play. And thankfully we’re doing it at the right time in the postseason.”
Since O’Sullivan took over the Florida program in 2008 the Gators have made nine College World Series appearances. Thriving in Omaha with a national championship win in 2017 and three World Series runner ups, including one last season.
In the past two seasons Florida had to win three straight games in the Regionals to keep their road to the College World Series journey alive. With this year’s team also winning two straight must-win games against Georgia to have a chance at punching a ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
“I think Jac nailed it,” Tyler Shelnut added. “It’s the standard around here, and it’s our responsibility to uphold that standard, to play winning baseball, and to get here to Omaha and be the last team standing.”
“Without a doubt, we’ve played our best baseball when we’re facing a difficult situation. There’s never a time when we panic or feel under pressure because we know that we are confident in ourselves heading into these games, Shelnut said. “We are aware that when we have our backs to the wall, we will perform at our highest level.”
Without a doubt, the Gators’ confidence and faith in one another has not wavered throughout the postseason. They play Kentucky in an elimination game on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN in Omaha.
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Kevin O’Sullivan believes Florida playing for its life improved mental toughness
Florida Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan believes the fact that his team has been playing for its life has actually improved the team’s mental toughness.
When O’Sullivan talked about Florida’s mental toughness, it was after he and the Gators managed to escape elimination by NC State in Omaha. He did stress, though, that this shift dates back much before the College World Series.
Kevin O’Sullivan remarked, “I think the obvious thing is—I’ve said this before—we’ve been playing seems like for our lives like the last month of the season.” Returning to South Florida for a midweek match. In order to reach over.500, we were fighting both the SEC record and the overall.
Florida played USF back on May 7th. At that point, the Gators were coming off a series loss to Tennessee and had lost five of their last ten games. It had been since March when they last won a series against an SEC team. However, with the win over the Bulls, O’Sullivan saw his team turn a corner.
Since that point, the Gators were able to close out the regular season with a .500 record against SEC opponents, and despite an early exit in Hoover during the SEC Tournament, Florida still made the NCAA Tournament where they’ve been a dominant force, making their way through the NCAA Regional and the Super Regional to go to Omaha.
O’Sullivan remarked, “I think that put us in a pretty tough position.” “To be quite honest with you, it probably helped our team become mentally tougher.”
There was some criticism of the selection committee when Florida initially advanced to the postseason since the Gators weren’t even considered. The committee said that they were, in fact, far into the postseason. But now that you’ve strengthened your mental fortitude, it seems like the proper choice.
Florida and Kevin O’Sullivan are currently preparing for their third College World Series match. The Gators will take on Kentucky, an SEC opponent, there. Earlier this season, Kentucky defeated Florida twice in Gainesville.
Kevin O’Sullivan talks windy conditions vs. NC State
The weather conditions in Omaha for Florida’s elimination game against NC State saw wind blowing in from the outfield, which as Kevin O’Sullivan explained, affected both hitters and outfielders.
“It’s very difficult to hit the ball out on that side of the field today. Obviously, the wind seems like it’s changed three or four times since BP, but certainly both of those balls were hit really good,” O’Sullivan said.
“We told the outfielders, they’ve gotta make sure when they go out on defense every inning to check the wind and see how it’s blowing.”
