Groupings for the 2011 NCAA Baseball Regionals were announced today and the Canes will be shipping up to Gainseville for post-season play for the third time in as many years. Last year the Gators defeated Miami in two games in a Super Regional, and in 2009 they dispatched the Canes in regional play. UF also swept Miami by a combined score of 14-6 earlier this season, but both teams are different animals now. The Canes will take on the third seeded Jacksonville Dolphins (...) Friday at noon on ESPNU/560 WQAM/90.5 WVUM, and will hopefully face the Gators on Saturday night.
The placement in Gainesville was likely met by UM coaches with derision. The dynamics of post-season college baseball are unlike the other two major college sports in that economics often dictate match ups, which means that Florida, Florida State and Miami will almost always have to fight through each other in some way to advance to Omaha. There had been speculation over the past week that Miami might get shipped off to Houston or College Station or Corvallis, and that likely would've been a welcome sight for those inside the program. As it stands now, Miami— who is ranked in the mid-teens in the relevant polls— is matched up with the number two overall seed, whereas lower ranked Florida teams in Stetson and FIU got placed as number two seeds in weaker regionals. This is obviously quite unfair to the Canes, though you could argue it's even more unjust for the Gators.