CWS Finals preview: Getting to know Florida

Baton Rouge is still buzzing from Thursday night’s electric semifinal between LSU and Wake Forest that ended with a Tommy White two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning. It was a moment Tiger fans will remember for years to come, but now it’s onto the College World Series Finals, as the job is not finished.

A three-game series against No. 2 Florida (53-15) will determine the national champion and No. 5 LSU (52-16) comes in riding the high of an emotional win, but also likely without star pitcher Paul Skenes after he threw 120 pitches in the must-win game against Wake Forest.

The Tigers have gotten awesome outings from the rest of the staff throughout the postseason and that will need to continue against the Gators’ talented lineup. Let’s take a closer look at Florida’s season, its strengths, staff, and lineup as a whole as we enter the final weekend of the season. One series with one national title on the line.

The Gators’ resume

On the surface, Florida’s resume looks similar to LSU’s. It was a dominant non-conference run through solid competition including a 2-1 series win over Miami, a split against USF, and a 16-3 overall record. Then the Gators locked in for conference play and won their first five series with only three losses in that stretch. The back half of the conference schedule presented a few more problems, getting swept by South Carolina and then losing the series at Texas A&M, but the Gators entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 overall seed.

A 4-5 loss to Texas Tech in the regional round caused a scare, but Florida bounced right back to beat the Red Raiders 7-1 and 6-0 to advance. Since then, Florida hasn’t lost a game, sweeping past South Carolina, then winning three one-run games in their half of the College World Series bracket to reach the CWS Finals.

At the plate

If you just look at the numbers, Florida doesn’t stand out the way a team like Wake Forest does. The Gators are just 86th in the country with a .291 batting average, tied for 42nd in total walks, and 35th in runs per game, but the long-ball is a legitimate threat. With two per game, Florida ranks 5th in home runs and has the type of power that can match LSU in this setting.

Florida is only batting .235 through three games of the College World Series, but has hit seven home runs, accounting for 10 of its 14 runs through three games. LSU has only allowed one home run through its five games in the College World Series.

With four players over .320 batting average, the top of the order is loaded with talent. Wyatt Langford is projected to be a top three pick in the draft, Jac Caglianone was a Golden Spikes Award Finalist and second-team All-American, while Cade Kurland and Josh Rivera both were named to the first-team All-SEC this year.

The offense is explosive, but does not consistently produce base runners. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers’ staff fares in this final series against another talented lineup. The Tigers’ arms have been the biggest revelation this postseason and that’ll need to continue.

On the mound

Brandon Sproat was named to the second-team All-SEC, while Brandon Neely has been the go-to reliever and closer for Florida this season and has excelled, earning first-team All-SEC honors. Hurston Waldrep was a third-team All-American in 2022 and was a preseason All-American this year.

Florida’s staff has a 4.48 ERA, good for 33rd in the country this year. Through five games in the College World Series, LSU has faced the top two pitching teams in the country in Wake Forest and Tennessee, who are No. 1 and 2 in the country in ERA and WHIP. While the Gators aren’t as established as those two, it’s still a talented staff that has had plenty of rest. As a result, Florida will be able to pitch their usual rotation of pitchers with Sproat, Waldrep, and Caglianone. 

Sproat has been the most consistent arm this year, but Waldrep is clearly capable of having an excellent showing, with 154 strikeouts in 99.1 innings, including 12 strikeouts in six innings against Oral Roberts earlier this week.

Close game contrast

Eight of Florida’s last 24 games have been decided by one run and in those games the Gators are 6-2. It’s a team that is comfortable being uncomfortable and has made it this far fighting through pressure situations and finding ways to win. The batting and pitching numbers may not wow you like some of the other top teams in the country, but it’s a smart lineup that forces you to scratch and claw to win a game.

LSU has been in five one-run games over its past 24 games and has a 1-4 record in those. Obviously, that isn’t counting the 11-inning 2-0 win over Wake Forest from Thursday, but let’s include that too.

Still, LSU fans know how gritty this team is, having won three straight games over the past week to even reach this point. It will be a matchup between the two toughest and most resilient teams in the country for the title – Let’s see it.