Florida ousts mistake-prone Cats from CWS
Kentucky right fielder James McCoy leaped in vain as a ball off the bat of Florida's Brody Donay cleared the fence for a grand slam in the Gators' seven-run first inning. (Steven Branscombe/USA Today Sports)
Jeff Drummond • CatsIllustrated
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@JDrumUK
Kentucky's worst defensive showing of the season proved to be the fatal blow to the Wildcats' first trip to the College World Series.
Multiple uncharacteristic gaffes led to a seven-run first inning for Florida -- highlighted by Brody Donay's grand slam -- and the Gators kept piling on in a 15-4 victory on Wednesday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
"This is not how you want to end your season, but this is where you want to end your season," Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione said. "Congrats to Florida. They played a great game.
"... This hurts. It hurts a lot because this team is fully capable of accomplishing our goal of national champions. But that wasn't the case this year. It's not what the Lord had planned, but so proud of these guys for the way they represented themselves, our baseball program, and our institution. Just amazing. An amazing group of men. They are winners in every sense of the word."
Kentucky, the national 2 seed and SEC co-champions, ended the season at 46-16.
Unseeded Florida (36-29) continued its surprising run in the postseason. The Gators were the final team to make it into the NCAA Tournament field after a disappointing regular season that included losing two out of three games to Kentucky in Gainesville, but they are now 8-2 in their last 10.
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CatsIllustrated - Florida ousts mistake-prone Cats from CWS
Gators advance with 15-4 win.
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