It's nice to see Miami squirm about playing the Gators in baseball! Enjoy it, Gators, it's been a long time coming.
Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks, LLC 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 615-972-4239 615-816-4040 Sent from my iPhone > > Miami Hurricanes out for better ending in Gainesville > By Susan Miller Degnan > Miami Herald > > No matter how much the Miami Hurricanes would like to tuck the Florida Gators > deep into the recesses of their psyches, in the end they know that all roads > to the College World Series go through Gainesville. > For the third consecutive year, the Canes find themselves in Gainesville for > the NCAA baseball tournament — this year and in 2009 in a regional; last year > in a super regional. They were eliminated by the Gators in the two most > recent tournaments, not to mention losing nine of the past 10 games to them. > “It’s definitely a tough place to play,” said UM pitcher Steven Ewing (7-2, > 2.77 ERA), a sophomore left-hander who usually pitches midweek but will start > at noon Friday in the Hurricanes’ regional opener against No. 3 seed > Jacksonville. “But personally, I don’t think it would feel right to move on > to the super regional and Omaha [Neb.] without beating Florida.” > First, No. 2 regional seed UM (36-21) must knock off Jacksonville (36-22), > which defeated No. 2 national seed Florida 11-2 in a midweek game May 17. > Jacksonville will start senior left-hander Matthew Tomshaw (8-3, 3.78 ERA). > No. 4 seed Manhattan College (34-17) meets Florida (45-16) at 4 p.m. Friday > at McKethan Stadium. The winner of the Canes’ opener will play the winner of > the second game at 4 p.m. Saturday. The losers will fall to the losers’ > bracket for a noon game Saturday. > The tournament could end as early as Sunday if one team wins three in a row, > or as late as Monday. The winners move on to a super regional June 10-12. > “I can’t wait to play them,” Gators infielder Josh Adams said of the > Hurricanes. “But we’ve got to get past the first game.’’ > The Hurricanes, ranked as high as 16th by Baseball America and as low as 23rd > in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, are 79-19 against Jacksonville. The > Dolphins, who play in the Atlantic Sun Conference, have a .313 team batting > average and are led by Adam Brett Walker, the A-Sun Player of the Year who > batted .416 with 13 home runs and 72 RBI. > “They might be the best hitting club in the state of Florida,” UM coach Jim > Morris said. > The Canes won national titles in 1982, ’85, ’99 and ’01 but have bleak recent > memories of Gainesville. Last year, Miami committed seven errors in its final > super regional game against UF — three in the final two innings. UM infielder > Harold Martinez watched that game from a hospital bed in Gainesville, where > he had a massive infection scooped out of his left shin. > “It was tough to lose the way we did and not be able to help,” Martinez said. > “We’ve had bad experiences there. > “But now we’re excited to go back because we know if we want to be a national > championship team, we’re going to have to beat UF anyway sooner or later.” > > Ex-Florida Gators safety Will Hill arrested for driving with suspended license > By JASON LIESER Palm Beach Post > Former Florida safety Will Hill was arrested in Gainesville Thursday for > driving with a suspended license. He was charged with a misdemeanor and > placed in the Alachua County Jail on $2,000 bond. > > The warrant came from nearby Lake County. > > Hill would have been a senior at Florida this fall, but chose to leave school > and enter April's NFL Draft. He was not chosen. > > As a junior at Florida, he started 10 of 13 games. He was suspended the first > two games of the season, and did not start in the Outback Bowl. > > He had two interceptions - both against Georgia - and was tied for fifth on > the team with 54 tackles. > > Even without one of their top pitchers and hitters, Florida Gators confident > for regional > By JASON LIESER Palm Beach Post > As Florida prepares for the final stretch of its championship chase, it does > so without one of its top hitters and starting pitchers. > > Brian Johnson, a sophomore who went 8-3 on the mound and batted .312, is > questionable for the opening of the NCAA Tournament after suffering a > concussion in last week's conference tournament. > > The Gators (45-16) are hosting Miami, Manhattan and Jacksonville for the > regional at McKethan Stadium, beginning with Manhattan (34-17) at 4 p.m. > Friday. > > Florida will start freshman Karsten Whitson (7-0, 2.53 ERA) in the first > game, followed by Hudson Randall (9-3, 2.25) Saturday against Miami or > Jacksonville. If Johnson is cleared by the medical staff, Gators coach Kevin > O'Sullivan will consider starting him Sunday. > > "We're all pulling for him, but in the same token, concussions are a very > sensitive issue," he said. "We're dealing with his future and everything else > involved. > > "He's either going to be full-go or no-go. We're not going to take any > chances. We're not going to push him." > > If Florida advances to next week's super regional round, O'Sullivan is > confident Johnson would be healthy enough to play. > > Johnson suffered his concussion while pitching against Georgia on Saturday. > After a pitch, Florida catcher Mike Zunino tried to throw out a stealing base > runner at second base, but the ball drilled Johnson in the back of the head. > > Johnson posted a 3.66 ERA in 78 2/3 innings this year. He also played first > base, hitting .312 with five home runs and 27 RBIs. > > "Our pitching staff is really deep," said Austin Maddox, a third baseman and > closer. "Any guy we put out there can do the job for us." > > The regional round is double-elimination, with Friday's winners facing each > other Saturday. The two remaining teams face each other Sunday, with a > possible rematch Monday. > > Florida, the No. 2 seed in this year's tournament, is pursuing its second > straight trip to the College World Series and seventh overall. The Gators > reached it last year, but were eliminated after losing their first two games > to UCLA and Florida State. > > The program has never won a national championship. > > Game times set for Florida vs. Tennessee, Georgia > by Jason Lieser > Two of the Gators’ games in the upcoming football season have been picked up > by CBS. > > Florida begins its SEC schedule Sept. 17 when Tennessee comes to > Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. That game will air at 3:30 p.m. on CBS. > > As in years past, Florida’s game against Georgia will air in the same time > slot on the same network. That game is Oct. 29 at EverBank Field in > Jacksonville. > > CBS has not announced its games for the Oct. 1 double-header. The > Florida-Alabama game was chosen for the 8 p.m. prime-time slot last year, and > those teams face each other again Oct. 1 of this season. > > Here is the updated Gators’ 2011 schedule: > > Sat., Sept. 3, vs. Florida Atlantic, TBA > Sat., Sept. 10, vs. > Alabama-Birmingham, TBA > Sat., Sept. 17, vs. Tennessee, 3:30 p.m., CBS > > Sat., Sept. 24, at Kentucky, TBA > > Sat., Oct. 1, vs. Alabama, TBA > Sat., Oct. 8, at LSU, TBA > Sat., Oct. 15, > at Auburn, TBA > Sat., Oct. 22, OFF > Sat., Oct. 29, vs. Georgia in > Jacksonville, 3:30 p.m., CBS > > Sat., Nov. 5, vs. Vanderbilt, TBA > Sat., Nov. 12, at South Carolina, TBA > > Sat., Nov. 19, vs. Furman, TBA > Sat., Nov. 26, vs. Florida State, TBA > > Ex-Gator Will Hill arrested for driving with suspended license > by Jason Lieser > Former Florida safety Will Hill was arrested in Gainesville today for driving > with a suspended license and was placed in the Alachua County Jail on $2,000 > bond. > > The warrant came from nearby Lake County. The charge is a > misdemeanor. > > Hill would have been a senior at Florida this fall, but chose to leave school > and enter the NFL Draft. He was not chosen. > > As a junior at Florida, he started 10 of 13 games. He was suspended the first > two games of the season, and did not start in the Outback Bowl. > > He had two interceptions — both against Georgia — and was tied for fifth on > the team with 54 tackles. > > SEC basketball ready to scrap divisional format > By MARK LONG > > > Men's basketball in the Southeastern Conference is about to be united. > The league is expected to eliminate divisions Friday, a move that would make > seeding the postseason tournament more fair but also could create some > scheduling issues. > The SEC's 12 basketball coaches proposed to athletic directors this week that > the league scrap the divisional format and that the tournament be seeded 1 > through 12. The top four teams would receive byes in the opening round. > Commissioner Mike Slive expects the proposal to pass when athletic directors > and school presidents vote Friday, and the changes would be implemented for > the 2011-12 season. > The 16-game conference schedule would remain intact for one year, then the > league would expand its number of league games the following season. > > Miami Hurricanes hope to change recent baseball history against Florida Gators > > > By JORGE MILIAN Palm Beach Post > While the University of Miami was being eliminated by Florida last June 12 in > an NCAA super regional game, Hurricanes' third baseman Harold Martinez lay in > a Gainesville hospital with an infection that required surgery on his left > shin. > > Martinez and his family watched on TV as UM fumbled its way to seven errors > in a 4-3 season-ending loss at McKethan Stadium. > > "It was tough to lose the way we did and me being in the hospital [providing] > no help," Martinez said this week. "We've had bad experiences there and > that's the truth." > > Gainesville has certainly not been kind recently to Martinez and UM. Two > years ago, the Gators ended UM's season in the Gainesville Regional. That was > followed by last year's two-game Florida sweep in the super regional. Earlier > this season, the Hurricanes lost three straight to the Gators in Gainesville. > Overall, Miami has dropped nine of the last 10 games played between the two > teams, including an 0-7 record on the road. > > UM (36-21) is back in Gainesville Friday for an NCAA regional game against > Jacksonville (36-22) at noon. Favored to win the four-team regional are the > host Gators (45-16), who are seeded No. 2 overall in the 64-team NCAA field > and face Manhattan (34-17) at 4 p.m. in McKethan Stadium. > > Miami and Florida will play Saturday if both teams win Friday in the > double-elimination tournament. > > Martinez will be relied on heavily by the Hurricanes this weekend. He > blossomed last season by hitting 21 home runs, the sixth highest > single-season total in school history, with a team-high 69 RBI. > > But the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Miami native has been affected by the new bats > being used in college baseball that have greatly reduced power numbers across > the country. Martinez has only three homers this season with 38 RBI and has > lost nearly 200 points from his slugging percentage, but said he's not > looking for excuses. > > "I don't blame the bats," Martinez said. "I feel like if I hit the ball hard, > it will still go out anywhere." > > Martinez was ranked by Baseball America as the 36th-best draft-eligible > prospect before the season. It's unknown what affect his power outage has had > on scouts' evaluations. > > "I don't worry about that stuff," said Martinez, whose batting average has > increased over last season to .303 from .295. "I'm just trying to help my > team win games." > > Martinez played in the first game of last year's super regional against > Florida before pain in his shin became intolerable and he was checked into > Shands Hospital. The shin problems developed after Martinez fouled a couple > pitches off his leg earlier in the season. An infection developed and > Martinez underwent surgery and was hospitalized for four days. > > Last year's nightmare won't be the prime source of his motivation this > weekend, Martinez insisted. > > "It's UF," Martinez said. "There's nothing more special than that. They're > the No. 2 seed. I've been here two years and been eliminated there so it's a > place that I want to get that monkey off my back." > > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions > 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions > 2008 National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), > Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
