GAINESVILLE – Preston Tucker’s first few practices at Florida were ugly. He booted ground balls, pulled every pitch and had coach Kevin O’Sullivan wondering where, if at all, he would fit in with the Gators.

Eight months later, there’s no question about Tucker’s role.

The freshman from Tampa has emerged as the team’s most dangerous hitter – batting .357 with 13 doubles, 14 home runs and a school-record 83 RBI. He leads Florida (42-20) with 145 total bases, 25 multi-hit games, a .617 slugging percentage and has just 22 strikeouts in 235 at-bats.

“Hopefully, he can keep doing what he’s doing because it’s unbelievable,” teammate Josh Adams said.

Tucker and the Gators are two wins away from making their sixth trip to the College World Series. They play Southern Mississippi (38-24) in the best-of-three series beginning Saturday.

Tucker has been a big factor in getting Florida this far.

The left-handed first baseman has been on a tear since April, raising his batting average from .296, hitting 13 homers and driving in 67 runs. It culminated with last weekend’s performance in the Gainesville regional.

Tucker was 9-of-13 with two homers and six RBI, and voted Most Outstanding Player of the regional.

“When I first came here, I wanted to play whatever role they gave me, whether it was a big role or a small role,” Tucker said. “They wanted me out there every day playing first base and driving runs in. That’s all I’m trying to do right now. There’s still a lot ahead of me.”

He’s come a long way, too.

Tucker provided teammates with a few laughs when he began fall practice in September. He misplayed grounders, found himself out of position and pretty much felt clumsy at first. Although he was much more fluid at the plate, he was pulling everything to right field.

The good news was Tucker had plenty of time to get things straightened out, so he spent every day working in the field and in the batting cage.

It paid off. By the time the season started, Tucker had earned a starting spot as the team’s designated hitter. He was batting down in the order and trying to get acclimated to college pitching. The first six weeks weren’t easy, either. He had just one extra-base hit during a three-week stretch and watched his average dip to a season-low .234.

He snapped out of the funk in late March and then really turned things around in April.

“He just started coming on and having really good at-bats consistently,” O’Sullivan said. “Righties, lefties, we didn’t have to make a change.”

Opponents haven’t pitched around him, either.

“People actually throw to him even though he has better stats than me, just because he’s the freshman,” said Adams, a sophomore second baseman. “I don’t understand that. I’m hitting well, but you’ve got to pick which one to throw to and I’d definitely throw to me right now, but he’s a freshman. That will definitely change next year.”

Until then, Tucker plans to keep doing what he’s doing.

He’s already broken several school records for freshmen, topping previous marks held by former Florida stars like Brad Wilkerson, Ryan Shealy and Matt LaPorta. He also was an unanimous selection on the Southeastern Conference’s all-freshman team.

At Tallahassee: Coming off the biggest single-game offensive explosion in NCAA tournament history, Florida State hosts Arkansas Friday with an eye on a return trip to the College World Series.

The Seminoles, who banged out 38 hits in a 37-6 clubbing of Ohio State last Sunday to advance to the best-of-three super regional series, and the Razorbacks each swept through their respective regional assignments in impressive fashion.

Florida State (45-16) knocked off Marist and Georgia prior to the Ohio State romp.

Arkansas (37-22) was just 15-18 in its final 33 games preceding last week’s three-game tournament sweep at Oklahoma, bursting out of the late-season swoon with a 10-3 win over Washington State followed by a pair of double-digit routs of the host Sooners.

“Once the regular season ended, it was almost like a new beginning for our team,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday. “We’re playing our most confident baseball.”

Van Horn said he wasn’t overly concerned about Florida State’s lopsided win over Ohio State.

“I was just hoping they’d score a hundred and get it out of their system,” he joked.

It wasn’t that easy all season for the Seminoles, who dropped five of six early in the year forcing veteran skipper Mike Martin to move a pair of veteran starters to the bullpen and switch first baseman Stephen Cardullo from first base to shortstop.

It paid big dividends for the Seminoles, who were just 10-8 in mid-March when the changes were made.

Mike McGee, the Seminoles No. 3 pitcher with a 6-2 mark, is the team’s top power hitter with 18 home runs and 75 runs batted in.

Freshman lefties Sean Gilmartin (12-3) and Brian Busch (6-2) – are slated to pitch the first two games for Florida State.