Despite early exit, Gators proud of foundation

OMAHA, Neb. They came here to conquer. Conquer all those expectations. Conquer the close calls of the past. Conquerany lingering doubt that this is the most talented group of players to form asingle University of Florida baseball team. The Gators had a mission to complete and a legacy to define. "I wanted it to be a World Series champion," senior outfielderPreston Tucker said. Tucker's words came shortly after a 5-4 loss to Kent State on Monday in aCollege World Series elimination game. The reality of the situation had notquite set in. As Tucker spoke in the immediate aftermath of his final game in a Floridauniform, junior catcher Mike Zunino stood nearby taking similar questions. Tucker and Zunino have been two of the main faces of head coach KevinO'Sullivan's program since he took over the Gators five years ago. In that time the Gators have won more games than any other time in theprogram's history. They made three consecutive trips to the College WorldSeries, finished national runner-up a year ago and wanted so desperately toclimb up the final step on the CWS ladder in 2012. That dream was dashed with back-to-back losses, a 7-3 defeat to South Carolinaon Saturday and Monday's nail-biting loss to the upstart Golden Flashes. The Gators were knocking on the door in the top of the ninth, trying to extendtheir stay in Omaha. It ended with the bases left loaded. The players looked dazed as they headed toward the bus for the short trip backto the team hotel. O'Sullivan wandered a hallway outside the clubhouse stilltrying to grasp what had happened. "It's going to take a while to hit me," Zunino said. That's probably true for most of the Gators. They came to Omaha as the No. 1overall seed and the favorite to finally win the program's first national title.They had the deepest pitching staff in the country, a lineup loaded withexperienced hitters and they played exceptional defense. The Gators had their moments during this CWS, but not enough to avoid aheartbreaking finish to another exceptional season. "Unfortunately we didn't bring our A-game, Tucker said. We didn't playthe best we could. Obviously if you are not playing well and other teams areplaying well you are not going to win." The Gators made five errors in the two games. They left too many men on base.They didn't get as many clutch hits as they needed. The pitching staff gave uptoo many hits. All those factors caught up to them Monday when they fell behind early to KentState 4-0 and were never able to come all the way back. "It came down to the last out," O'Sullivan said. "I'm awfullyproud of our guys and the way they battled back. "It's an unfortunate way to end the season, but I think Kent Statedeserves a lot of credit for the way they played." The team that O'Sullivan will field next year will be without many familiarfaces, including seniors like Tucker and reliever Greg Larson. Several juniors are likely to sign professional contracts as well, creating abig void on next year's team. But what a run the Gators had ... a run like no other for those in orange andblue. The Gators won 100 games the past two seasons and 189 the past four. Theprogram is considered one of the nation's most established because of playerslike Zunino, Tucker, starter Hudson Randall and a large cast of others. The freshmen class includes several key contributors as well, including four third baseman Josh Tobias, second baseman Casey Turgeon, first baseman TaylorGushue and outfielder Justin Shafer in the starting lineup on Monday. This team's run is over but the program's dash toward the top appears not toofar from the starting line. "There is a good mixture of talent and experience on this team,"Tucker said. "Coach O'Sullivan is going to keep doing that. We see newfaces in here every year. There is so much talent. Our team next year is goingto expect nothing less than a World Series title." O'Sullivan tried to put this group's run in perspective in his postgame news conference,but he admitted he may need more time to do it justice. "They've been very successful," he said. "I've been awfully proudof the way they've played the game and the way they've represented our program.They've set a new standard that following teams will have to live up to."That sounds about right. The Florida baseball program has a new identity. The Gators still don't have anational title, but they expect to challenge for one every season now. Zunino is proud to have been a part of that transformation. "I hope that his first few recruiting classes did what he wanted,"Zunino said of O'Sullivan "We didn't win the national championship, but Ihope we laid the ground work for what he wants to have in years to come." There is no question this group of players conquered that challenge.