Buckle Up For SEC East Pennant Fever This Weekend As Gators Chase Title
Thursday, May 19, 2011 | Baseball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gators shortstop Nolan Fontana stood in the visiting dugout Wednesday afternoon taking questions from reporters when he was asked what it would mean if Florida could win back-to-back SEC titles.
The No. 4-ranked Gators are tied atop the SEC East with No. 2 South Carolina and third-ranked Vanderbilt entering the final weekend of the regular season. They face Kentucky starting Thursday with a chance to do something very rare in the program's history.
“I don't know if that's been done before,'' Fontana said. “Any time you have a chance to do it, that's awesome.''
The answer hung over Fontana's shoulder, printed on a banner hanging on the left-field bleachers. It has been done before, but not often.
In fact, only once in school history since Florida claimed its first conference title in 1952.
The 1981 and '82 Gators won back-to-back SEC titles, a feat no Florida team has been able to match since.
The 2011 Gators have a shot. If they sweep the Wildcats they are assured of at least sharing the SEC title. There are different scenarios based on what South Carolina and Vanderbilt do this weekend that can affect seeding for the SEC Tournament, but that's of secondary importance.
The formula is easy math for the Gators.
“It's in our control,'' Fontana said. “We don't have to worry much about what other teams are doing. We don't have to look at the scoreboard.''
In college baseball, the SEC East is the equivalent of the American League East. Think about a final weekend of the regular season that included the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays all tied atop the division.
That's basically what this year's SEC East race – and overall conference title chase – has come down to. The only difference is that all three – Florida, Vanderbilt and South Carolina – are assured of a postseason berth win or lose.
This is what many expected when the season began, but for it to actually happen is another story.
“It's one thing to go into the season with the expectations and it's another to put yourself in position at the end of the year and to meet those expectations,'' Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. “All three teams have done a really good job of handling the expectations, the pressure of having to do well.
“It's a great finish.''
Yes it is.
The SEC East race has been a prominent story line all season, one that has lived up to expectations in every way. The Gators did their part thanks to great starting pitching from Hudson Randall, Brian Johnson and Karsten Whitson.
The lineup, led by catcher Mike Zunino and outfielder Preston Tucker, has also produced. And O'Sullivan said Wednesday that as the Gators prepare to enter the postseason, he considers the deep bullpen the team's strength at this stage.
On paper the Gators have all the pieces to win more than an SEC title. They have what it takes to win a national title. Of course, there is a lot of baseball to be played before that comes close to being a possibility and it starts on Thursday night at McKethan Stadium.
“It's a big opportunity to make ourselves known here and put a mark on the program,'' Randall said. “I definitely didn't expect three teams to be tied for first place. That's pretty remarkable.''
The Gators faced a similar situation a year ago. They traveled to South Carolina needing to win the series to win the SEC. The mission was accomplished when Florida won two of three against the eventual national champions.
For the veterans on this year's team, they know of a similar scenario but a different outcome. Florida had an opportunity to share the SEC title in 2009 with LSU but lost out when they lost to Kentucky in the season's final series.
Tucker has not forgotten either feeling – last year's high or 2009's low.
“We've experienced both failure and success, so we know how bad it can feel and how good it can feel,'' Tucker said. “We know how important [this weekend] is.''
“We've just got to play our game,'' Zunino said. “We know we have to play our best baseball the whole time. We can't take any innings off; we can't take any pitches off. It's going to be the same caliber atmosphere [as South Carolina a year ago].”
So, buckle up for what the SEC East's own version of pennant fever. While South Carolina is at Alabama and Vanderbilt at Georgia, the Gators get to stay at home.
If the weekend goes as they hope, they'll be able to add another year to that banner hanging in left field that lists all the seasons they won SEC titles.
And Fontana will know the answer next time someone asks.
“We hope to be in this position every year,'' O'Sullivan said. “They don't come around very often.''
