Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Gators’ Baseball Team Returns Two Players

Posted by Staff Writers on August 18th, 2009   No Comment

With the MLB Draft complete, and the midnight deadline passing earlier this morning, the Florida Gators will be getting some of their players back, and recruits back, as they were unable to reach a contract.

The Gators are expecting Center Fielder Matt den Dekker to be returning this season for his Senior year. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was unable to reach a contract agreement. Last season, den Dekker batted .296 with 37 RBI’s, 5 HR’s, and 17 stolen bases. He has been named to the SEC All-Defensive team two years in a row, and brings great leadership to the baseball team.

Another player will be retuning is Left Handed Pitcher Kevin Chapman. Drafted by the Chicago White Sox, Chapman was unable to reach a contract agreement by the midnight deadline. In 2008, Chapman underwent surgery on his UCL in his left elbow, and with his return, the Gators will bring back a solid team in the upcoming season.

Matt den Dekker

Post to Twitter

UF Ranked No. 2 Party School For 2009

Posted by admin on July 31st, 2009   No Comment

Well Gator Nation… You might want to put down all that beer. The University Of Florida was last years No. 1 party school in the country and what I am shocked about is that they were outvoted by Penn State for 2009, so they finished up as No. 2.

The Princeton Review survey of 122,000 students shows that the new 2009 party school belongs to Penn State which I do not agree with at all. Last visit I made around the Penn State area, I hardly saw any bars or anything around, it looked just like an old boring country placed. Evidently I missed the spots where they have all the fun at. Who knows. But what I do know is that there is no better place to party than <a href=”http://www.gainesvilleflorida.com” title=”Gainesville Florida, Alachua County, Florida Gators”>Gainesville Florida</a>. It’s one of the craziest places ever. This is also Penn States first first place finish in history. Here are the results for the top 20 party schools.

1. Penn State University, State College, Pa.

2. University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.

3. University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.

4. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.

5. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio

6. West Virginia University, Morgantown, W.Va.

7. University of Texas, Austin, Texas

8. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.

9. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.

10. University of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.

11. University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo.

12. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

13. Union College, Schenectady, N.Y.

14. Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

15. DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.

16. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.

17. Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.

18. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, N.D.

19. Tulane University, New Orleans, La.

20. Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.

Top Party Schools

Post to Twitter

Q&A With Teddy Foster

Posted by admin on June 21st, 2009   No Comment

Teddy Foster played four great seasons for the University Of Florida’s baseball team and will not just be remembered as an athlete but as a great kid. Teddy is probably one of the greatest guys I have ever met and his love for the game of baseball is amazing.

Foster played in 39 games in the 2009 season that fell a hair short of the college world series. Teddy batted .321 with 25 RBI’s and 7 home runs. He’s one of the main reasons why I loved to attend the baseball games. Teddy always had great commitment and worked hard all four years as a Gator. I got a chance to catch up with Teddy to ask him a few questions.

What were your fondest memories at UF?

“The bond I had with all the guys, all the different guys I became close with, I still talk to a lot of the older guys. Anytime we beat Miami or FSU was always a good memory haha, the walk off hit this year against Bethune will always stay with me.”

Did anybody ever give you any nicknames while at UF?

“Some of the fans call me wheels because I was 4-4 at stolen bases last year and 3-4 this year.”

What was the point behind your intro/walk up song?

“I didn’t think I was going to play much last year, so I picked a song I thought would be funny if I actually got up to bat a lot, and sure enough I played a lot last year so i just kept it for this year. I actually changed it the last series of the year (Kentucky) and I got booed my first at bat, haha. I was shocked when I came up my 2nd at bat with the new walk out song I got booed again I hit a HR my first at bat with the new song.”

How did it feel reaching the super regionals this year?

” obviously that was a great accomplishment, not having done that since my freshman year, but we still feel like we let a golden opportunity go. we got outplayed, no doubt about it.”

What do you plan on doing now since you graduated from UF?

” I enrolled in grad school this past spring and i’ll finish that up next summer and then look to get into baseball somehow, either working for a MLB club or coaching or something.”

Who was the most influential person in your life?

” Gotta be my parents, they supported me in baseball and paid for travel/AAU ball, made it easy for me to be successful.”

teddy foster


Post to Twitter

Two Florida Baseball Commits Selected In First Round

Posted by admin on June 10th, 2009   No Comment

Two of the Florida baseball commits have been selected in the first round of the 2009 MLB draft on Tuesday night. Fort Myers Bishop Verot third baseman Bobby Borcher was chosen by the Washington Nationals as the 16th pick in round one and Buchholz High School second baseman LeVon Washington was selected as the 30th pick in the first round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Borcher and Washington have both already signed with the Gators but Washington is most likely going to Tampa to play with the Rays. It seems like LeVon has already spoken to Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan and he was fine with his decision. Washington made sure to thank coach O’Sullivan for everything he has done for him. He said he is really excited to sign with a minor league team this summer.

Borcher was already projected to be a top 20 pick in the draft. Borcher really knows how to stroke the ball well and that’s one of the main reasons he stood at the 16th overall pick. He was rated the No. 1 hitter in the 2009 draft.

As for Washington, he has tremendous amount of speed. I mean… this kid is fast I tell you. LeVon was rated the fastest runner in the MLB draft this year. I have a lot of stories behind him from my playing experiences with him. When I played against Washington when he was at Gainesville High School his junior season, he would always steal and we couldn’t throw him out. We had one of the best catchers in the state but still could not find a way to throw him out. We played him at their place late in the year and along with about 6 stolen bases he had, he also homered two times in dead center all in the same game. LeVon is going to a great player, I can already see it.

levonwashington

Post to Twitter

Gators Swept In Super Regionals

Posted by admin on June 8th, 2009   No Comment

You would think home field advantage would have helped along with an atmosphere full of 4,313 , but not this series. Florida could not find a way to get past Southern Miss in the Super Regionals 2-0 series loss which eliminated them from the tournament and reach of the 2009 college world series.

It all happened when Southern Miss scored those three runs in the eighth inning that gave them the 7-6 lead. Florida could not get one thing going in the bottom of the eighth or ninth inning to help them at least stay alive for game three and have a shot at the college world series.

Florida pitcher Billy Bullock was brought in late in the game to close with a two run lead but for some reason he could not hold on for one inning and that’s when it slipped down to a one run lead. Bullock (3-3) started off by hitting the first batter, then walked the next guy which put runners on first and second. Bullock recorded a strike out after but from there on is when things got rough. Southern Miss first baseball Joey Archer hit an RBI single to tie the game up at 6.

Florida hit the ball real well in the first part out of the game, taking an early 6-1 lead. They need to learn how to finish. You get excited and so confident in the beginning when your ahead and tend to not try as hard, but look where it gets you.

Preston Tucker had a great game for the Gators batting 2 for 2 and drawing three walks that helped Florida take the early lead.

But the man I feel real bad for right now is Brandon McArthur. He has been through so many tough times with injuries and tough seasons, but he never gave up. It was a long six year career at the University Of Florida and I’m sure something he will never forget. This quote really gave me the chills when I read it.

“Never once did I ever think I made the wrong decision in coming back,” said McArthur, who fought back tears in the post-game press conference. “It’s been an unbelievable experience.” (Gathered by Gainesville Sun.)

avery barnes

Post to Twitter

Florida Faces Southern Miss In The Super Regionals

Posted by admin on June 6th, 2009   1 Comment

The men’s baseball team is giving hope to Gator fans after a disappointing and humiliating World Series loss by the softball team.

The Gators will have to defeat a good baseball team in the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Southern Miss was the third-seeded team in the Atlanta Regional conference. They made it to the Super Regional to face us by beating Georgia Tech, their top seeded team. The Golden Eagles are ranked 19th with a record of 38-24.

The 9th-ranked Gators 42-20 will have to keep the momentum they have after winning three straight games and beating Miami to win the Gainesville Regional.

The Gators will have a tougher time getting hits against Southern Miss than they did against Miami and Bethune-Cookman. The Gators had an impressive 22 hits in the last game they played against Miami. Florida will faceoff against a strong pitching staff in pitchers Todd McInnis and JR Ballinger. McInnis had a 9-4 record and Ballinger went 6-3 for the Golden Eagles. However, the Gators are on a roll and it should take more than 19th ranked Southern Miss to beat them.

The Gators will need to win two out of three games to advance to the World Series in Omaha, Nebraska where they’ll face either TCU or Texas..

The game will be held at McKethan Stadium at 3 pm. It can be seen on ESPNU and will be broadcasted live on 103.7 FM. Sundays game will be played at 7 pm. and shown on ESPN2.

By: Gabe Thompson

matt den dekker

Post to Twitter

Gators Finish Regular Season

Posted by admin on May 19th, 2009   1 Comment

By: Brandon

The Gator baseball team finished up the season winning two out of a three game series against Kentucky which is what they were looking forward to but they will have to wait until next year to get another chance at the SEC title.

With the victories from the LSU Tigers and the Rebels, it will keep Florida out another year. Coach Kevin O’Sullivan is still proud of his ball club for what all they accomplished this season.

The Gators came in the game facing Kentucky ranked 11 and with a record of (38-18, 19-11). Florida lit it up in the seventh inning putting up several runs to extend the lead even more.

Florida is now the No. 2 seed in the Eastern division and now they will play in the double-elimination SEC tournament starting this week that takes place in Alabama. I have a feeling they will do very good throughout the tournament. They will face the seventh seed Arkansas at 11am on Wednesday. Do not just look at Arkansas record (32-20, 14-15) because they swept UF when they came to Gainesville so you really cannot under estimate them. Anything can happen between the two teams.

All they need to do is really do what they are capable of doing, and that is winning. As long as their defense is solid and they swing the bats, then they should come out with a win.

Post to Twitter

UF Signee Gaining Too Much Attention

Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2009   2 Comments

By: Dan

On one hand, hard-core Gator baseball fans have to be giddy about the headlines being made by Patrick Schuster.

Schuster, a senior left-handed pitcher with Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, just threw his fourth consecutive no-hitter Monday. Schuster’s latest victim was Pasco High School. In addition to holding Pasco without a hit, he struck out 17 batters. During his streak, Schuster has struck out 60 batters. The record for consecutive no-hitters on the high school ranks is six.

Right now, Schuster has signed a letter of intent to play baseball at UF next year. But if Schuster continues his unbelievable streak, Gator fans would be naÔve to think they’ll see the lefty in Gainesville next year.

The Associated Press wrote a story about Schuster’s most recent no-no, and it stands to reason that many more media outlets will continue to jump on the bandwagon as he continues his success. All that media attention has to be getting somewhere with major league scouts.

Unlike football and basketball, which has an age limit on players who can enter the draft, high school players often get taken in the annual MLB draft. Baseball scouts make a living off predicting how 16- and 17-year-olds will pan out on the next level.

It would not be the first time Florida lost a highly-touted recruit to the MLB Draft. In 2006, P.K. Yonge’s Derrick Robinson, a speedy center fielder, was all set to stay in Gainesville and join the Gator baseball team. But he, like Schuster, said that he would consider going pro if he was drafted high enough.

Sure enough, he was picked by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round and received about $850,000 as a signing bonus. He has bounced around in Class A ball since being drafted.

Hopefully the hype around Schuster will subside and he will elect to come to Gainesville. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Post to Twitter