Omaha, Neb. – The 2023 Men’s College World Series has been set, or reset. However you want to think of it, the No. 2 Florida Gators will take on the No. 5 Louisiana State University Tigers for the national championship for the second time since 2017.
The SEC has established its dominance in the Greatest Show on Dirt. Dating back to 2009, eight of the last 12 national champions has been an SEC team, with LSU and Florida accounting for two of those.
Men’s College World Series Preview: University of Florida Gators
The No. 2 Florida Gators, who entered the College World Series with a record of 53-15, have yet to be beat in Omaha. This is the Gators’ 13th CWS appearance and first since 2018.
Along with the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Gators earned the 2023 Southeastern Conference regular-season title.
CWS Summary:
- Florida opened the CWS with a 6-5 win over Virginia on a walk-off sac fly by Florida-native freshman Luke Heyman.
- In game two, the Gators edged Oral Roberts in a close race that ended in a 5-4 win. RHP Hurston Waldrep gave the Gators 12 strikeouts in six innings.
- In their third game of the tournament, the Gators sent the TCU Horned Frogs home in a 3-2 win after freshman Michael Robertson made a game-winning catch at the wall in CF to advance the Gators to the ‘ship.
Player Highlights:
- RHP Hursten Waldrep and RHP Brandon Sproat are among the nation’s top ten in most strikeouts with 154 and 127 respectively.
- 1B Jac Caglianone is tied with Brock Wilken (Wake Forest) for most home runs (31) in 68 games.
- CF Wyatt Langford is tied for No. 8 in the nation in runs scored (78).
New Jersey Natives:
Men’s College World Series Preview: Louisiana State University Tigers
LSU is making its 11th straight appearance and 35th overall appearance in the College World Series. The Tigers have six national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2009), the second-most in NCAA history, and are playing in their 19th national championship. Heading into the CWS, the Tigers were the No. 5 seed with a record of 52-16.
CWS Summary:
- LSU opened its 2023 CWS appearance with a 6-3 win over Tennessee on Saturday, June 17. RHP ace Paul Skenes recorded the second-highest total of strikeouts by an LSU pitcher in a CWS game with 12 strikeouts in 7.1 innings pitched.
- The Tigers fell to Wake Forest 3-2 on Monday night, but then clawed their way back into the race for the ‘ship with three straight wins over Tennessee and Wake Forest (twice) to reach the CWS finals vs. Florida.
Player Highlights:
CF Dylan Crews is leading the nation in runs scored (94); No. 2 in on-base percentage (.563); and No. 5 in batting average (.423).
3B Tommy White is No. 2 in the nation in RBI (100), and No. 4 in the nation in RBI per game (1.59).
RHP Paul Skenes is No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts (209), strikeouts per nine innings (15.33) and WHIP (0.75), and he is No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69).
The Battle of the Bayou
Although this is the first time the Gators and the Tigers will have met this year, they are not strangers. In 2017, the Florida Gators swept the Louisiana State University Tigers in the College World Series final under the direction of current coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
Asked in a pregame press conference if Coach Kevin O’Sullivan remembers the (LSU) purple and gold taking over the stands in terms of the crowd back in 2017, Coach O’Sullivan replied,
…the bottom line is there's not one person in the stands that's going to have one pitch or one at-bat. It comes down to us executing. It comes down to LSU executing. We played in some really tough environments in this league, and our guys should be used to it by this point. And I would hope that the play of the game is what's important. Like I said, there's not one person in the stands that's going to make a pitch or have an at-bat. We've just got to play the game.
The Tigers will look to get their first natty since the College World Series moved to its current stadium, Charles Schwab Field.
Men’s College World Series Finals Schedule:
Game One - Saturday, June 24 at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Game Two - Sunday, June 25 at 3 p.m. EDT on ESPN
Game Three (if necessary) - Monday, June 26 at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN
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