Florida Gators SEC Tournament Preview

The Florida Gators did their job.

Over the weekend, the Gators defeated the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs twice to secure their first series win since March 31. The UF offense came alive, scoring 26 runs in the final two games to possibly lock up its NCAA Tournament spot.

In order to make an NCAA Tournament, teams have to have a record over .500, and at 28-26, Florida satisfies that requirement.

There is an additional way to receive an automatic bid, but it may be a daunting task. If Florida wins the SEC Tournament, which starts Tuesday, an NCAA appearance will be 100% locked in.

Even winning one or two games in the tournament would improve the Gators’ chance, but it would also put them in a weaker regional compared to where they may be placed now.

Florida’s first conference tournament game will take place Tuesday against the Vanderbilt Commodores. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. EST in Hoover, Alabama, pending any weather, and the Gators will face the Commodores for the fourth time this season.

Vanderbilt took two out of three games against Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad in Nashville a month ago, but the Commodores have struggled since.

Since the series with the Gators, Vanderbilt closed the season losing nine of its last 15 games. They failed to win an SEC series in that span and were swept by Georgia. Also, series losses came at the hands of Mississippi State, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Although Florida also lost its series to Kentucky and Tennessee in the closing weeks of the regular season, they were able to find a way to defeat Georgia on the road, gaining much-needed momentum heading to Hoover.

The Gators competed with the Commodores throughout their three-game series back in April. After losing the opening game of the series 10-5, Florida had a chance, down one run in the eighth inning in Game 2. But insurance runs from the Commodores allowed them to pull away and take the series.

The Gators came back April 20 and took Game 3, 6-2.

Florida and Vanderbilt will play in the single elimination round of the tournament on Tuesday to earn a spot in the double elimination round. Although UF’s offense is coming off of a 13-hit, 19-run performance against Georgia Saturday, pitching-wise O’Sullivan may have to use some unfamiliar arms in the opening round.

Pierce Coppola would be Florida’s most rested starter, and after throwing only 48 pitches Thursday against Georiga, four days rest should be enough for the southpaw to start against Vanderbilt.

However, O’Sullivan has often done bullpen games midweek this year. If that’s the case, lefty Cade Fisher could get the ball Tuesday. He threw 25 pitches Saturday in 1 ⅓ innings of work.

Conference tournaments also bring out the unthinkable. Say Florida does go on a run, will they have enough arms to get through the tournament? Don’t be surprised to see O’Sullivan go with the bullpen game so he has arms for the rest of the week.

However, because of the single elimination game, the head coach may run with the “All Hands on Deck” mentality with UF needing to win to get to the double elimination round.

The Gators have made a run in Hoover multiple times. Just last year, the team made it to the SEC Tournament Semifinal before coming up short to Vanderbilt.

O’Sullivan has a vast amount of postseason experience and the Gators have all of the momentum heading into Tuesday. Their bats are hot at the right time, so a run in the tournament would work wonders for the Gators.

However, say they win Tuesday against the Commodores, a matchup with No. 1 Tennessee would loom in the double-elimination round. Tennessee is the hottest team in the SEC right now, winning the regular season SEC Title. They’re 46-10 overall and lost just-eight conference games this season.

The Volunteers have won nine of their last 11 games, and they’re a team that no one wants to play. Though, if the Gators lose to Tennessee, they’ll have another chance to stay alive since it would be a double elimination.

But first, they have to take care of business against Vanderbilt on Tuesday. First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. in Hoover.