Gators fall to No. 1 Tennessee in SEC Tournament Championship

The Florida Gators run in Hoover came to an anti-climactic end on Sunday. The No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers continued its dominant run through college baseball beating the Gators for the fourth time this season, 8-5.

Tennessee was always supposed to be here. The Vols came into the game 52-7 and 25-5 in the SEC regular season. They were 3-0 in Hoover and expected to win the whole thing. Florida had to play on Tuesday in an elimination game, then lost its next game before winning three-straight elimination games to get to Sunday. Not to mention, just a month ago, the team was 24-17 and 6-12 in the SEC. Now, after an impressive run in May, Florida looks like a regional host for the NCAA Tournament.

Tennessee takes over

The Gators and Vols traded zeroes over the first four innings but it was Tennessee who would strike first. Evan Russell reached on a throwing error to start the frame. Blake Burke singled to give the Vols two runners on base. After a strikeout, Seth Stephenson singled home Russell. A strikeout and walk later, Drew Gilbert stepped into the box with the bases loaded. The junior took an 0-2 offering to left field for a bases-clearing double and a 4-0 UT lead.

Tennesee tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 7-0.

“Credit to Tennessee. They’ve had a remarkable season,” Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game. “They’re the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. Obviously, today was a tough one for us. I thought we battled the entire week.”

Florida keeps fighting

Even down 7-0 Florida continued to fight. The Gators scored three times in the eighth inning, two off the bat of BT Riopelle’s 15th home run of the season and another from Josh Rivera. Then they scored twice in the ninth. It just wasn’t enough on Sunday.

“I really like where we’re at right now as a team and I’m looking forward to playing next weekend,” O’Sullivan said.

Unlikely starter for the Gators

O’Sullivan turned to freshman Carsten Finnvold to start the championship game. The American Heritage product had been seldomly used this season, getting just four innings of work. He also hadn’t thrown since March 26 against LSU. When asked during the game why he chose Finnvold, Kevin O’Sullivan told ESPN, “we know (Tennessee) can hit a plus fastball. This is a different look.”

For four innings that was true. Finnvold blanked the team with the most homers in the country for three-plus innings. The left-hander put up zeros in the first three frames while striking out four. Finnvold would last 4.2 innings, giving up just four hits. He allowed four runs but none were earned.

“He’s a different look. You don’t see guys like him a lot. I thought he pitched great,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He pitched to both sides of the plate with his fastball, battled. He did exactly what he needed to do.”

Is it enough to host?

The Gators will finish the season with an aggregate 19-17 record in the SEC. They have the No. 13 RPI and have played the eighth hardest schedule in the country. Both D1Baseball.com and Baseball America are projecting the Gators to host a regional. 16 teams earn the right to host a regional, which will start Friday June 3. The 16 hosting sites will be announced on Sunday night, while the entire field of 64 will be revealed Monday at 12 noon ET, on ESPN2.

Box Score