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Kevin O'Sullivan says Florida will focus on itself in CWS Final

Grant Grubbs Profile Pictureby:Grant Grubbs•06/23/23•

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Photo by Michael Wade | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Florida isn’t worried about outside noise. Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan discussed his philosophy as he prepares his team to take on the LSU Tigers in the College World Series Championship.

“Obviously, there’s some similarities. But we haven’t played them obviously in a year, since last year. But, you know, the scouting report questions that have been asked, we haven’t really done a whole lot yet,” O’Sullivan said.

In fairness, O’Sullivan and Co. haven’t had plenty of time to prepare for LSU. The Tigers officially made the championship series late Thursday night when LSU sophomore Tommy White hit a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Florida doesn’t have any recent experience against the Tigers, either. Despite both programs being in the SEC, Florida and LSU did not play each other this season. O’Sullivan wasn’t shy about Florida’s lack of a scouting report.

“Literally in the hotel, you’ve got your bracket. You have TCU. You have Oral Roberts. You have Virginia. And then over here, literally, you have LSU from last year’s notes and three empty folders because we didn’t know who we were going to play and waste time or energy on something that might not happen,” O’Sullivan said.

The championship series should be a battle. Both teams are loaded with talent. Florida and LSU combined had eight of the 12 players named to the 2023 All-SEC First Team. Moreover, the Tigers boasted the conference pitcher and player of the year.

No matter who stands across from them, the Gators are determined to be ready when the time comes.

“We’ll get together as a staff after we practice today and start going over all the things we need to go over. But at the end of the day, we are who we are. And we’re going to focus on what we need to do from our side to be successful,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m sure there’s going to be some things that we’re going to have to prepare for. But we’ll spend some time later on today with them.”

O’Sullivan won’t have too much time to spend with his team. The Florida Gators will take on the LSU Tigers in Game 1 of the championship series at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.