Kevin O'Sullivan downplays crowd noise for CWS Final

The Florida Gators and LSU Tigers will do battle in the CWS Final starting Saturday night in a best-of-three championship series. They’ll square off for the most coveted prize in all of college baseball, the national crown.

The last time the Gators and the Tigers squared off in the CWS Final in 2017, the Gators prevailed after winning two games, claiming the 2017 national crown. They’ll look to add to their trophy case yet again in a highly anticipated affair with the LSU Tigers.

The Tigers were the top-ranked team in all of college baseball for a good chunk of the 2023 campaign. In one of his most recent press conferences, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said he’s not worried about the crowd noise distracting his players on the big stage in the coming days.

Kevin O’Sullivan isn’t worried about the noise

Does he remember what the stadium sounded like in 2017, when LSU fans took over the stands in Omaha during their matchup?

“No. I do remember, of course. I mean, I remember what it was like. I think that’s one of the things that I will touch on probably tomorrow at some point,” O’Sullivan began.

The Florida head man noted that the Gators’ current first base coach, Mike Rivera, played on their 2017 national championship team. He could be a big help in helping the Florida players deal with the hostile LSU crowd.

“The other thing that we have that could be helpful is Michael Rivera, who was our catcher on that team. He’s now back getting his degree and he’s our first base coach. And he lived it,” O’Sullivan said. “So, you know, the bottom line is there’s not one person that stands that’s going to have one pitch or one at-bat. It comes down to us executing. It comes down to LSU executing.”

While his team hasn’t faced the Tigers all season long, the Florida head man feels like the environments they’ve dealt with across the SEC all season long should prepare them for the big stage. At the end of the day, he’s not too worried about the atmosphere in the crowd.

“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,” O’Sullivan said.

For a brief preview and history of the matchup between Florida and LSU, check out the article below from On3’s Griffin McVeigh and Sam Gillenwater.

Both teams have very proud histories in Omaha

The last time LSU was one of the final two teams in Omaha, they were on the losing end… to Florida. It’s the only time they have ever lost a championship series. The remaining six have resulted in national championships. They have a very proud baseball history in Baton Rouge.

Florida will have something to say about that, though.

The Gators were the first team to advance to the College World Series Final this year, having defeated TCU 3-2 in the national semifinal earlier on Thursday. Florida has posted a 9-1 overall record throughout the 2023 NCAA Tournament, dating back to the Gainesville Regional. Their lone loss came at the hands of the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Florida knows a thing or two about one-run games, as all three of the Gators’ CWS wins have come by one run leading up to the championship series. That includes wins over Virginia, Oral Roberts and finally TCU.

They will be looking to capture their second national championship in program history. Their lone national title came in 2017, but the Gators have made the final series four times — including in 2023.

Florida was also the national runner-up in 2005 and 2011.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater and Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.