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Gainesville Regional pairings released, Gators earn 13th seed

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•05/30/22•

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Photo courtesy of UF Communications

The Florida Gators went on a torrid run at the end of the season to earn a hosting bid in the NCAA Tournament. Monday it was revealed that the Gators are the No. 13 seed, paired up with the Blacksburg Regional.

As the No. 13 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Florida (39-22) will host regional two-seed Oklahoma (37-20), three-seed Liberty (37-21), and four-seed Central Michigan (42-17). The Gators will take on the Chippewas on Friday in their first game of the Gainesville Regional. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET at Condron Family Ballpark, with a broadcast on ESPN+.

Florida earned a spot in an NCAA Regional for the 37th time in program history. Overall, the 2022 campaign represents the 18th time that Florida has hosted an NCAA Regional, including the second-consecutive bid after hosting in the inaugural season of Condron Family Ballpark last year. This is the Gators’ 14th-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.

The Gators get a familiar opponent in Liberty. The Gators opened the 2022 campaign against the Flame, losing two of three at home. Florida has not played against Oklahoma or Central Michigan this season. The Sooners just beat Texas to take home the Big 12 Title last weekend and Central Michigan won the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Sunday with an 11-7 victory over host Ball State.

Gators taking it easy on Monday

Florida went on a run in the SEC Tournament. However, the team played seven games in six days, which caused O’Sullivan to rethink their schedule this week.

“The plan was to practice (Monday) but, obviously, things have changed because we played so many games,” O’Sullivan said on Sunday after the SEC Tournament Championship. “We’ll get together as a team (Monday) and hopefully get together and have a meal for the selection show and go about our business and see what happens and then have a really good practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and get ready to play.”

Complete Schedule for the 2022 NCAA Gainesville Regional

Friday, June 3
Game One: 1 p.m. ET – Liberty vs. Oklahoma (ESPN+)
Game Two: 6:30 p.m. ET – Central Michigan vs. Florida (ESPN+)

Saturday, June 4
Game Three: TBA – Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two
Game Four: TBA – Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two

Sunday, June 5
Game Five: TBA – Loser Game Four vs. Winner Game Three
Game Six: TBA – Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five

Monday, June 6
Game Seven (if necessary): TBA – Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Six

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