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FSU vs. Florida in NCAA Super Region: enough said (w/ video)

 
HOT FOR SEMINOLES: In the postseason, Dylan Busby is batting .500 (17-for-34) — raising his average 29 points to .328 — with 13 extra-base hits, six home runs and 18 RBIs.
HOT FOR SEMINOLES: In the postseason, Dylan Busby is batting .500 (17-for-34) — raising his average 29 points to .328 — with 13 extra-base hits, six home runs and 18 RBIs.
Published June 11, 2016

GAINESVILLE — First baseman Peter Alonso and so many of his Florida teammates vividly remember leaving Omaha empty-handed last season.

That oh-so-close feeling of losing two one-run games to eventual national champion Virginia has stuck with them since.

It has provided motivation, kept them focused and helped them maintain the No. 1 overall ranking for most of this season.

Getting back to the College World Series and winning the program's first national title has been the goal from Day 1. So losing to rival Florida State in the NCAA's Super Regions is not even an option.

The Seminoles are just the next obstacle in Florida's road to redemption.

"We've won a lot of games and we think we deserve to be" in Omaha, Alonso, a former Plant High standout, said. "The goal at the beginning of this year was to win a national championship. I certainly believe we all just belong there. I know like we're not there yet, but that's the goal."

The Gators (50-13), the overall top seed in the tournament, begin the next step tonight against FSU (40-20) in a best-of-three series.

UF swept all three meetings against the Seminoles during the regular season and has won five in a row and 10 of the past 12 in the series. Two more would send the Gators back to Omaha, Neb., for the fifth time in seven years.

"I love it," UF reliever Dane Dunning said. "FSU-Florida, it's one of the biggest rivalries that we have and just to be able to play and hopefully end their season … it's going to be a blast."

The Seminoles haven't had a lot of fun against Florida lately. The Gators have outscored the Seminoles 41-13 in the past five meetings, including 13-5 and 11-4 in two Super Region games in Gainesville last year.

"They took advantage of every mistake and beat our eyes out," FSU coach Mike Martin said.

The winning streak, along with a 31-4 record at McKethan Stadium this season, has UF feeling confident. Coach Kevin O'Sullivan has tried to temper that a bit, reminding his team that the postseason is all about matchups. "I do know this: The more you knock on the door, the more you give yourself the opportunity," O'Sullivan said. "Percentages say that at some point you're going to end up winning it all."

Florida's top talent was on display two nights before the series opener. The Gators had five players selected in the first two rounds of the MLB draft. Oakland selected left-hander A.J. Puk sixth overall, followed by Dunning (No. 29, Washington), right-hander Logan Shore (No. 47, Oakland), outfielder Buddy Reed (No. 48, San Diego) and first baseman Alonso (No. 64, Mets).

FSU's Dylan Busby and UF's Alonso are two of the hottest hitters in the tournament. In postseason play, Busby is 17-for-34, with 13 extra-base hits, six home runs and 18 RBIs. He has raised his average 29 points, to .328. Alonso went 8-for-14 in three region games last weekend, with three homers and eight RBIs. He earned region MVP honors after missing the previous three weeks with a broken bone in his left hand. "He's a beautiful hitter," Martin said. "Liked him from the first time I saw him hit."

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CANES WIN: Miami's Zack Collins, the White Sox's 10th overall pick in Thursday's draft, took the first pitch he saw from Boston College's Justin Dunn, the Mets' 19th overall pick, over the rightfield fence for a three-run homer in the third en route to a 12-7 victory in the first game of the Super Region series at Coral Gables. The Hurricanes (49-11) are a win away from earning their 25th trip to the College World Series.