Florida Gators win SEC baseball regular season title

Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida Gators mascot , Albert, cheers during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Florida Gators defended the East Tennessee State 80-65. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Florida Gators mascot , Albert, cheers during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Florida Gators defended the East Tennessee State 80-65. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The (5) Florida Gators defeated (7) Kentucky on Saturday, to win the SEC regular season title.

After allowing 20 hits and 12 runs to Kentucky (38-18, 19-11) on Thursday night, the Florida Gators (40-15, 21-9) bounced back Friday with a 14-3 win over the ‘Cats. Then on Saturday, the Gators held off Kentucky, winning 6-4, and clinching the regular season SEC championship.

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The Gators are back on top of the SEC for the first time since 2014, and the fourth time under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. Florida will be the top-seed in the SEC tournament next week. The series victory over Kentucky also likely puts the Gators in a position for a national seed come NCAA tournament time.

On the other side of the conference, (10) LSU (38-17, 20-9) has secured the West, winning Friday and Saturday over (11) Mississippi State (34-21, 17-12). Both Florida and LSU were picked by the coaches in the preseason to win their respective divisions and the Tigers and Gators did not disappoint.

Florida and LSU may have started slow, but both are playing their best baseball at the right time. Check back on Monday for a full SEC tournament preview.