Florida returns to CWS with 1 goal: win it all

It had more to do with how close the Gators got to winning it all last season. Florida lost to South Carolina in the championship series and spent months thinking about what could have been. Not making things any easier, the Gators played all season amid sky-high expectations that came with returning nearly every starter.

Nonetheless, the Gators are back in Omaha, Neb., with their sights set on winning it all.

"That was the thing that was hard for our team to deal with," coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "It was one of those things that was the big elephant in the room. Nobody wanted to talk about it. It was kind of just there. It's hard to get to Omaha, No. 1, but to add it that you're supposed to get there and there's so many things that can happen in this game that can keep you from getting to your ultimate destination, it has not been an easy road."

The Gators (47-18) secured their third consecutive trip to Omaha by sweeping North Carolina State in a super regional. Their reward? Florida opens Saturday against the two-time defending champion Gamecocks, who have won 21 consecutive games in the NCAA tournament.

South Carolina's streak includes 11 in a row in Omaha.

"I was excited," Florida reliever Greg Larson said. "Another chance to play them. They've had a great run. Just kind of thinking back to last year, we were going to run into them I felt like sooner or later, so why not first game in Omaha?"

Florida won three of four games against South Carolina this season, including the last three meetings. But recent success will mean little, if anything, when the teams take the field Saturday.

"Last time's last time," designated hitter/left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson said. "Doesn't matter what you did last time. Doesn't matter if you scored 10 or you didn't score any."