Skip to content
College Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Florida, South Carolina ready for battle

OMAHA, Neb. - Florida and South Carolina don't immediately come to mind when you're talking about Southeastern Conference rivalries - unless it's baseball.

OMAHA, Neb. - Florida and South Carolina don't immediately come to mind when you're talking about Southeastern Conference rivalries - unless it's baseball.

The Gators (53-17) and the defending national champion Gamecocks (53-14) play their biggest series when they meet in the College World Series finals beginning tonight.

Last year, the Gators traveled to Columbia, S.C., the final weekend of the regular season and won two of three to edge out the Gamecocks for the SEC title.

"But they got the last laugh," said Florida catcher and SEC player of the year Mike Zunino. "They got to hold the national championship trophy up."

Three months ago, South Carolina went to Florida and won two of three, and the teams ended in a three-way tie with Vanderbilt for the best record in the league.

Yes, anticipation for this championship series has been brewing for awhile.

"You know, if all you guys went away and there were no fans and we were on the back sandlot, I'm not sure it would be any different," Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner said. "I think they love to play. We love to play. Yeah, there's a lot more at stake now than there ever was before. But it's really genuine baseball. Let's go."

Florida and South Carolina won three straight to reach the finals, and South Carolina has won a record 14 straight NCAA tournament games.