Florida‘s magical postseason run came to an end on Wednesday night with a 6-0 loss to Texas A&M, snapping a streak of postseason success that had the Gators on the cusp of a College World Series final for the second straight year.
Following the loss, reality began to sink in for some of Florida’s veterans.
For most of them, like senior Tyler Shelnut, their career is over. No more weekends at the friendly home ballpark. Now it’s off to the next level to try to ply the trade professionally.
Looking back on it all, Shelton was overcome with gratitude in a post-game press conference.
“Well, the biggest thing I can say is that God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams,” Shelnut said. “I grew up being Gator fan my whole life, watching the Gators in Omaha. And being able to put on orange and blue every day and to do it in Omaha and play for a World Series is something I’m going to remember and tell my kids about for the rest of my life.”
Shelnut would have had that experience even without his senior season; the Gators reached the championship series a year ago. But to get to do it again was special.
And it almost didn’t happen.
Florida had to fight tooth and nail to work its way into the postseason after an up-and-down campaign. The team finished the regular season just one win above .500, narrowly qualifying for the postseason.
The team earned a No. 3 seed in the Stillwater Regional, lost a game early, then still managed to fight its way out of the loser’s bracket to advance to a Super Regional.
A pair of tense games with Clemson punched Florida’s ticket to Omaha.
“It’s been truly special and I can’t be thankful enough for (coach Kevin O’Sullivan) and the rest of the coaching staff who brought me here,” Shelnut said. “It’s truly been, it’s been great.”
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