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But Duva's got you fooled.

His memories are of his four-year run as an outfielder at the University of Florida and his seven-year stint in the minors before calling it quits. He jokingly describes his minor league career as living the dream without making money.

The 37-year-old from Gainesville gushes over starting as a freshman in the College World Series for the Gators in 1991. He remembers Rosenblatt Stadium dwarfing him as he drifted around what seemed like a gigantic centerfield, as LSU eliminated a Gator team that still holds the school record for most wins in a season with 51.

He cherishes the time he hit a career-best .367 as the leadoff man for the Winnipeg Goldeyes, a Cleveland Indians farm team, in the Independent Northern League in 1998 to earn the league batting title.

"That is by far my greatest professional moment," Duva said.

Heck, in the minors he played against Darryl Strawberry and sent five-time All-Star pitcher and World Series champion Jack Morris out of a game with a line drive to his leg.

Duva's pro career ended in 2000 and he left the game to pursue a career in law. He received his J.D. from the Georgia State University College of Law in 2002 with honors in litigation and became an associate attorney. Five years later, he made partner at Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins LLP in Atlanta and in 2007 and 2009 was recognized in the Super Lawyer's edition of Atlanta Magazine as a "Rising Star" and one of the "Top Young Lawyers in Georgia."

"When you play ball for as long as I did and you don't get as far as you want, to have something like that to fall back on has been fantastic," Duva said.

Duva is still a partner at the same firm and "loves" the life he's made for himself. Mainly, he enjoys the perk of having the honor to help clients wade through the unfavorable moments, making sure he can bring stability to people's lives.

"The nice thing is we've kind of tried to be a source that people can lean on to navigate through difficult times, either through the corporate context or personally," he said.

Duva envisioned becoming a lawyer while at Florida, where he had a .285 career batting average, made the All-SEC Tournament team in 1991, was a three-time Academic All-SEC (1992-94) and is the all-time leader in triples (21).

He was drafted in the 29th round by the Indians in 1994, but knew his future resided outside of baseball. During his seven-year career, which he said was longer than intended, his wife Ingrid, whom he met at Florida, worked and paid the bills while he "fooled around in the minors."

They are now raising two children — son Andrew, 6, and daughter Elena, 4 — with a third one on the way.

Living in Atlanta, Duva still finds himself immersed in Gator athletics, especially with the recent success of Florida's football team. He's caught a few baseball games and made it to Gainesville in April for the LSU series, in which the Gators swept the defending champs.

"I try to keep up with it as much as possible," he said. "I grew up watching Gator baseball, and I try to keep up with it through the alumni activities and all the fun stuff.

"I'm really impressed with the talent they've been able to assemble, but also what the coaches have been able to do with young talent in SEC play and now in national play."

<a href="http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20100728/ARTICLES/100729473/1136?Title=Where-are-they-now-Brian-Duvatag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.gatorsports.com/article/20100728/ARTICLES/100729473/1136?Title=Where-are-they-now-Brian-DuvaWed, 28 Jul 2010 15:34:26 GMT 00:00">Where are they now? Brian Duva

OMAHA, Neb. – All Florida freshman catcher Mike Zunino could do was kneel and wonder.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning of Monday’s College World Series elimination game with Florida State, Zunino hit a line drive off Seminoles closer Mike McGee headed for the gap in left-center field.

With speedy Matt den Dekker on first base, the ball looked destined to roll to the wall, which would have tied the game up at 8-8.

But Florida State shortstop Stephen Cardullo had something to say about it.

He snared the ball a few feet above his head and flipped the ball to second baseman Devon Travis to double up freshman Austin Maddox and end the threat and Florida’s season. Florida State held on to win 8-5 for its first win over the Gators at the College World Series in front of 19,841 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

“I kind of leaped up, like I do on most line drives, hoping it would go over (Cardullo’s) head or a little left or right,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He (Zunino) put a good swing on it and that’s all you can ask of him. We put together a really good inning there.”

Zunino couldn’t bear to look up. He knelt halfway down the first baseline, staring at the dirt, trying to comprehend that his line-drive hit that almost saved the Florida season had just ended it. Ironically, Zunino had hit a rocket off FSU starter Brian Busch with den Dekker on first base with one out in the top of the fourth. Busch put his gloved right hand up to protect himself and snared that one and threw over to first to double up den Dekker.

Junior Josh Adams and den Dekker picked up Zunino and shared some hugs and handshakes to celebrate a season that earned the Gators the No. 3 national seed. But it was little consolation for the opportunity that was left on the table.

“Our goal was not only to get here, but to win,” sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker said. “Anything less than that is a disappointment, especially for the seniors. All we can do is try harder next year. It was new for everyone on the team, so if we can get back here next year, everyone is going to have a lot more confidence.”

Tucker’s bases-clearing double in the ninth inning pulled the score to 8-5, giving Florida some confidence. Florida State went straight to closer McGee, who promptly gave up a single to Maddox. He hit den Dekker with a pitch to load the bases for Zunino.

As good as the Gators swung the bats in the ninth inning, they did so equally as badly in the previous eight. They scored only two runs in that time, although they did have an early 1-0 lead when Maddox lined an RBI single to left in the first inning.

They scored again in the fifth inning when Jonathan Pigott drove an opposite-field home run into the front row of the bleachers in right field.

“I was awfully proud of our team and the way they battled,” O’Sullivan said.

Florida starting pitcher Hudson Randall wasn’t as sharp as he was throughout the second half of the season. He lasted only 2.2 innings, giving up four hits and four runs while striking out one batter.

He threw 70 pitches, but only 40 strikes, an uncharacteristically low number for a pitcher who has pounded the strike zone all season.

“He threw the ball pretty good, but in the third (inning), something didn’t quite look right,” O’Sullivan said. “I think he got a little overheated. He just didn’t look quite himself. He’s the type of kid that probably wouldn’t admit anything was wrong. It took him a little while to catch his breath.”

Florida State leadoff hitter Tyler Holt worked a full count to start the game and hit the seventh pitch of the at-bat off the batter’s eye in center field, easily clearing the 408-foot fence. From then on, the Seminoles’ hitters worked deep counts and had Randall’s pitch count high enough that he may not have gone five innings even if he was more effective.

The big blow came in the third inning. McGee hit a three-run home run into the left-field bleachers, giving the Seminoles a 4-1 lead after three innings. It gave Florida State all the momentum, and the Seminoles continued to tack on runs throughout the game.

McGee later dropped down a squeeze bunt to score Holt to make it 5-1. Besides recording the save on the mound – his 13th of the season – McGee ended the game 2-4 with a home run, two runs scored and four RBIs.

“He threw a first-pitch slider that I could’ve hit and I thought was my pitch,” McGee said about the home run. “He left a 1-2 slider hanging, and it was just a mistake pitch. I was sitting on a slider that whole at-bat.”

In Florida’s two games in Omaha, there weren’t many similarities to the team that wore the Orange and Blue during the season. The starting pitching combined to give up nine runs in six innings, while the Gators also committed two errors in two games.

For a young team that went on the road the last weekend of the season and won the SEC regular-season championship in Columbia, S.C., playing in front of crowds of 20,000 people at Rosenblatt certainly shouldn’t have rattled the nerves.

But the Gators will never really know if the environment at the College World Series did have an effect.

“I don’t know if it was nerves,” O’Sullivan said. “We obviously didn’t play like we have all year. We’re a much better pitching team and defensive club than this.”

The upside is the youth of the Florida team. They will lose center fielder den Dekker, right fielder Jonathan Pigott, relief pitcher Jeff Barfield and closer Kevin Chapman. The other key players are expected to return for next season, giving the Gators a good shot at returning to Omaha.

“Coaches and players alike, you get a taste and you want to go back again,” O’Sullivan said. “Anytime you come to Omaha, you learn something from this experience. There are things we all need to prepare better for if we get this opportunity again.”

Only 20 minutes after the 2010 season ended for the Gators, the sights were already being set to 2011. With a team returning so many key players, the Gators already have their sights set three miles north of Rosenblatt to TD Ameritrade Park, which is currently being built.

“We’re disappointed with the outcome, but to be a part of this tournament in the last year at Rosenblatt, that’s something that can never be taken away from these players and coaches,” O’Sullivan said. “I can tell you, we’re looking forward to hopefully breaking in the new one next year.”

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

Florida Gators Country » Baseball » End of the road

While keeping up with the Super Regionals last week in Myrtle Beach, I mentioned to someone that I thought Arizona State and Florida would meet in the College World Series championship best-of-three.

Several days later, the Sun Devils and Gators were trying to figure out why they were the first two teams headed home.

The answer, however, is quite simple: That’s Omaha.

The best team rarely claims the national title inside majestic Rosenblatt Stadium.

Instead, it’s the hottest squads that end up lasting the longest, catch the most breaks and generally make the fewest mistakes.

My picks were kind of easy, though. Florida was the league champion in one of the toughest conferences in the country — and did it behind a couple of freshman pitchers and an inexperienced squad.

ASU had lost only eight games and was a paper champion. No team had been as dominant coming in as the Sun Devils, and their numbers looked like a fantasy team.

But the Gators’ youth and ASU’s expectations might have proved to be their doom.

Rosenblatt has had that effect on teams for decades. In 2008, Fresno State barely made its conference tournament and wound up outlasting national seeds to win the entire College World Series.

Now, you can’t help but wonder if South Carolina or Clemson could follow that same path. While neither would be the Cinderella story of Fresno — they’re both pretty good — it would still be a surprise.

Coming into this week, I joked with a fellow reporter that they could be the worst two teams among the CWS eight.

Now, they’re far from it.

The Tigers might be the most dangerous team in the field. Sure, they don’t have the pitching depth of the other teams here, but they’ve gotten just enough from their starters. Clemson’s hitters are playing with tremendous confidence. Every ball is being seen well and hit hard. That was evident with the 14-single performance against ASU on Monday.

Good luck getting 27 outs against this lineup full of powerful, fast and smart ball players.

South Carolina doesn’t have the same offensive prowess, but its pitching is probably in the best shape as anyone. Thanks to a weather delay that forced ace Blake Cooper to throw only 67 pitches Sunday, the 12-game winner could be a factor again this week. And after Sam Dyson was able to pitch into the eighth inning Tuesday, it kept that dominating bullpen fresh.

And if Jackie Bradley Jr. keeps hitting, USC should get past Oklahoma today. It came up short in too many opportunities Sunday against the Sooners; it’s hard seeing that trend continue.

Should USC and Clemson meet Friday, it would guarantee a Palmetto State team playing for the title and probably inspire a few memories of 2002, when Clemson went 2-0 at the CWS and then 0-2 against their most heated rival.

As unlikely as it sounded two weeks ago, this is just Omaha being Omaha.

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It's just Omaha being Omaha