After five years of heartbreaks, letdowns and coming up just short, Florida finally returns to college baseball’s biggest stage and is set to compete in the 2023 College World Series.
The number might feel small for some, but has felt like a lifetime for head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. He brought the Gators to Omaha, Nebraska, for four consecutive years from 2015-2018.
“I do have a different perspective on it now than I did 10 years ago,” O’Sullivan said. “You don’t realize how difficult it is… That was a pretty, pretty awesome stretch, and to get back to this point and to give ourselves an opportunity is really good for our program.”
The Florida Gators (50-15, 20-10 SEC) begin the quest for their second College World Series Championship and face the Virginia Cavaliers (50-13, 19-11 ACC) in the opening round 7 p.m. Friday at Charles Schwab Stadium.
The three teams on UF’s side of the bracket include the Texas Christian Horned Frogs, Oral Roberts Golden Eagles and Virginia Cavaliers.
It took heroic efforts for the Gators to get to Omaha. Their backs were against the wall when they entered the loser’s bracket in the NCAA Regional round, but UF won three-straight elimination games and made it to Super Regionals for the first time since 2018.
Florida swept the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Super Regionals headlined by a gutsy performance from right-handed starting pitcher Hurston Waldrep to decide the series.
The righty tossed 13 strikeouts in an eight-inning shutout and had arguably one of the most impressive pitching performances of the Gators’ 2023 season.
Waldrep hasn’t been the only one to find his stride on the mound. Since Florida’s first opening NCAA tournament game against Florida A&M, the starting rotation of Waldrep, right-handed ace Brandon Sproat and lefty two-way player Jac Caglianone have recorded five quality starts. Including starts from Cade Fisher and Ryan Slater, the pitching staff has combined for a 1.60 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 53:13.
Florida’s rotation looks to be in top form but certainly be tested in its opening game against Virginia’s potent offense.
The Cavaliers are led by junior USA Baseball Golden Spikes award nominees Jake Gelof and Kyle Teel.
Gelof leads Virginia with a .731 slugging percentage and is ranked top-20 in the nation for RBIs and home runs.
Teel, on the other hand, hasn’t exceeded the lofty slugging percentage set by his teammate. Still, the junior catcher has logged productive at-bats in nearly half of his plate appearances. He leads the Cavaliers with a .481 on-base percentage and is also hitting .418 at the plate — an average good enough for eighth in the nation.
Virginia’s offense isn’t single-handedly defined by its two Golden Spikes candidates. The lineup combines for a nation-leading .335 batting average and is top-ten in on-base percentage, hitsand runs per game.
Six of the Cavaliers’ nine regular starters are also hitting above the .300 mark, and two are just shy of that mark, hitting .298 and .291.
It’s a daunting task for any opposing pitcher who must face this dangerous lineup, but O’Sullivan has no doubt that Sproat can get the job done.
Sproat has recorded quality outings in three consecutive starts and has been the tone-setter for the Gators.The 2022 third round MLB Draft pick opened nearly all of UF’s three-game series throughout the season.
The right-hander has made adjustments to his pitch-selection and features a larger variety of pitches after it appeared the Gamecocks had his fastball timed up.
Sproat’s fastball touches over 100 mph and has helped him get ahead of hitters all throughout the season. When South Carolina tacked on seven hits in the first two innings last Friday, he pivoted toward a higher volume of off-speed pitches.
The change proved effective. Sproat gave up no runs, surrendered two hits and struck out five batters in his final four innings of the outing.
The game was finished off by the Gators’ bullpen — which boasts a 2.25 ERA throughout the NCAA tournament. Relievers Cade Fisher and Brandon Neely completed the game and collectively surrendered one run in the final three frames.
O’Sullivan said he had been stretching Neely out over the past few weeks despite his success and said the sophomore will take on a lengthier role in Omaha.
“Obviously we have Neely that we have stretched out in the SEC tournament, so he won't be a one-inning guy,” O’Sullivan said. “ We'll go to him when we need to."
Virginia right-hander Nick Parker will make the start for the Cavaliers Friday. He records a 3.81 ERA and is 8-0 in fifteen starts.
The tournament’s opening phase reintroduces a double-elimination, pool-play style with two separate brackets. There are four teams in each bracket, and the winners of the two brackets meet in a best-of-three finale with the victorious team being crowned NCAA champions.
“We've earned our way here,” O’Sullivan said.
The Gators’ chase for the NCAA title begins at 7 p.m Friday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
