Taking part in the inaugural Florida Four collegiate baseball tournament at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL, No. 5/6 Florida Gators baseball (5-1) was looking for their first win of the season against the rival No. 6/3 Florida State Seminoles (7-0). Unfortunately for the Gators, a seven-run first inning by the Seminoles put them out of it early; Florida State would cruise to a 10-5 victory in the first of four regular-season games between the teams that will run into conference play (Mar. 16, Mar. 30, April 13).

Sophomore starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani (0-1) was shelled for five earned runs on three hits in the bottom of the first; he was removed before Florida even recorded an out. Freshman Hudson Randall replaced him, giving up two more earned runs. FSU did not leave a single player on base in the first, getting their final out after first baseman Jayce Boyd smacked a two-run home run.

The Gators got on board for the first time in the third inning as freshman catcher Mike Zunio smacked a solo homer to center field. UF would not score again until the top of the ninth, when they rallied for four runs off of relief pitcher Andrew Durden.

Geoff Parker (1-0) picked up the win for the Seminoles by only giving up six hits and one earned run in 5.1 innings.

Florida heads down to Coral Gables, FL, for a three-game series against the in-state rival No. 16/11 Miami Hurricanes beginning Fri., Mar. 5 at 7 p.m.

Tags: Andrew Durden, Anthony DeSclafani, baseball, Florida Four, Florida State Seminoles, Geoff Parker, George M. Steinbrenner Field, Hudson Randall, Jayce Boyd, Mike Zunio

For the first time in history, four universities from the state of Florida will compete in The Florida Four, a two-game baseball tournament being held at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, FL, on Tues., March 2, 2010. The No. 5/6 Florida Gators (5-0) will square off against the No. 6/3 Florida State Seminoles (6-0) in the second game of the event, which begins with the Miami Hurricanes (5-1) taking on the South Florida Bulls (1-5) at 4 p.m. The winners of each game do not face each other.

“We’ve been working with the [New York] Yankees for a few years now to bring another premier event to our community,” Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission Rob Higgins said in an organizational press release. “We hope it serves as launching pad to Omaha for the four programs. This is a story that will start in March and we hope continues on to June.”

“On behalf of the World Champion New York Yankees, it is with great pleasure and pride that we welcome The Florida Four Baseball Classic to George M. Steinbrenner Field. As a past collegiate coach, it is George Steinbrenner’s dream to create this event for Tampa”, said Felix Lopez, the Yankees’ Senior Vice President. “We welcome the great schools of Florida to our facility and look forward to continuing this event for years to come.”

Following their participation in the event, the Gators will travel to Coral Gables, FL, for a three-game series against the Hurricanes. Florida will face Florida State at home on March 16 and on the road on March 30 and April 13. The Gators swept the Bulls 6-2, 9-1, 7-6(10) in their season-opening three-game series Feb. 19-21.

Tuesday’s Gators/Seminoles game will air in Florida. Check your local listings.

Tags: baseball, Florida Four, Florida State Seminoles, George M. Steinbrenner Field, Miami Hurricanes, New York Yankees, South Florida Bulls

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» Arguably the greatest player in the history of Florida Gators baseball, free agent Brad Wilkerson has signed a minor-league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He was a member of the 2010 UF Hall of Fame class, a part of the 1996 and 1998 College World Series teams, a two-time All-American, three-time All-SEC selection and the 1998 Collegiate Player of the Year. Wilkerson holds career records at Florida for batting average, RBIs, slugging percentage and walks. He played for four MLB teams from 2001-08 and won a gold medal with Team USA baseball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

There are seven more Gator Bites for you to check out…after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Wednesday, February 24

Tags: Allie Will, Ashanée Dickerson, baseball, Billy Donovan, Brad Wilkerson, Brittany Dashiell, Central District Invitational, Deanna Allen, Florida State Seminoles, Freshman Gymnast of the Week, golf, Gymnast of the Week, gymnastics, Isabelle Lendl, La Salle Explorers, lacrosse, Marika Lendl, Marissa King, Marrit Boonstra, MLB, Pensacola Junior College, Philadelphia Phillies, Ray Shipman, Sam Wyche, SEC, tennis, Tyler Murphy

Recruiting contributor Zach Abolverdi takes a look at Junior Day for OGGOA…

The Florida Gators’ first Junior Day of the 2011 recruiting cycle was a successful start to the season, despite the absence of head coach Urban Meyer. By all accounts, interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio was firing on all cylinders, doing a good job selling the program to the prospects in attendance. He emphasized how coaches, players and recruits united when uncertainty surrounded the program just over a month ago and claimed it was a testament to the resiliency of Gator Nation.

Recruiting requires many crucial components and qualities, one of which is developing relationships early in the process. Addazio and the coaching staff got that chance this past Saturday, when they saw familiar faces mixed with some brand new ones. There were no drills, workouts or whistles, just an opportunity for prospects to take in the city, campus and everything the University of Florida has to offer.

Find out who visited and what their impressions were of the Gators after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida impresses recruits at first Junior Day

Tags: A.C. Leonard, Anthony Chickillo, Brian Randolph, Chuck Heater, D.J. Durkin, Dan McCarney, De'Ante Saunders, Florida State Seminoles, Garrett Clark, Gator Nation, James Vaughters, Jeff Driskel, Junior Day, LaMichael Fanning, Louisville Cardinals, Miami Hurricanes, Steve Addazio, Troy Pettis, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

Five-star linebacker Christian Jones (Winter Park, FL) turned away the Florida Gators and decided to commit to the Florida State Seminoles Wednesday afternoon.

A two-generation legacy, Jones’ father and brother both played for head coach Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles. In fact, some believe that Bowdenmet with Jones this past weekend in an attempt to convince him to join FSU’s 2010 recruiting class.

It began apparent that the Gators would lose out on Jones after three-star LB Darrin Kitchens (Homestead, FL) committed earlier in the day.

OGGOA will update this story after the conclusion of National Signing Day.

Tags: Bobby Bowden, Christian Jones, Darrin Kitchens, Florida State Seminoles, National Signing Day

Rivals is reporting that four-star safety recruit Demar Dorsey is no longer being recruited by the Florida Gators and, therefore, is free to give his commitment to another program. Mark Wheeler was told Florida informed Dorsey that they were no longer interested in having him as a part of the 2010 recruiting class.

Whether or not this is how this particular situation went down remains to be seen. Reports surfaced Monday evening claiming that Dorsey had decommitted from the Gators and agreed to play for the Florida State Seminoles after visiting the Tallahassee, FL, campus last weekend. He openly wavered with his commitment throughout the process but, as recently as last week, proclaimed that he was 90-95 percent solid to the Gators – the highest percentage he had given them over the last year.

Speaking with Wheeler Tuesday night, Dorsey said he was “50-50 right now” and “up in the air” because of the great experience he had on his visit. He also mentioned that Florida had not scheduled an in-home visit with him. Some sources mentioned that the Gators were going to attempt and visit with Dorsey either Tuesday or Wednesday but apparently those plans were canceled or never existed in the first place.

Though he is considered a heavy Florida State lean, Dorsey will travel West to visit the USC Trojans this weekend and may not make up his mind until National Signing Day on Feb. 3. There were questions about his ability to academically qualify for admission to Florida; whether or not that factored in this decision is not presently known.

Expect the Gators to make an even stronger push for three-star athlete Jeremy Deering (Tampa, FL), who is said to be leaning toward Florida State but may be swayed into changing his mind if Dorsey does indeed sign there on Feb. 3. Deering was originally offered a scholarship after five-star safety Matt Elam (West Palm Beach, FL) decommitted three weeks ago but before he eventually re-committed to Florida.

Photo Credit: Rivals

Tags: Demar Dorsey, Florida State Seminoles, Jeremy Deering, Matt Elam, National Signing Day, USC Trojans

Reports from Rivals Tuesday night had four-star athlete recruit Christian Green (Tampa, FL) dropping the Florida Gators from his final three and narrowing his focus to two teams – the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Bulldogs.

The St. Petersburg Times spoke with his father, Hiram Green, who confirmed his son’s latest decision. “It’s between those two,” he said. Lifelong Seminoles fans, Green and his family always considered Florida State as his top option, but a push from Georgia head coach Mark Richt could sway him North.

Green’s older brother Brandon committed to the Florida A&M Rattlers on Sunday. Florida A&M is also located in Tallahassee, FL, and Green will take an official visit to FSU this weekend. He checked out Florida two weeks ago.

“They’re an excellent program,” Hiram Green said of the Gators. “They’ve got an excellent coaching staff and [head coach] Urban Meyer is a first-class person. It was tough for [Christian].”

Photo Credit: BallHype.com

Tags: Brandon Green, Christian Green, Florida A&M Rattlers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Hiram Green, Mark Richt