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Ryan McGee, ESPN Senior Writer
OMAHA, Neb. — LSU and Florida.
The best of three finalists of the 2023 Men’s College World Series (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN) know each other well, but they also really don’t.
There’s no denying that the standard-bearer for the modern era of college baseball is LSU, who has won six MCWS titles, but none since 2009. The last time the Tigers made it into the final, they were… Florida denied that seventh title in 2017.
Florida is in the conversation as college baseball’s best show during that LSU title drought, making its eighth trip to Omaha since 2010 and its fourth to the finals. since 2005. Somehow, however, the Gators have flown, well, into the national spotlight.
It was a duel of dynasties. One program seeks to re-establish leadership in the sport while the other struggles to remind everyone that it has built its own power agenda.
“I can certainly see the similarities,” admits Cade Beloso, aka “Creole Bambneaux,” a fifth-year slacker and LSU clubbing “shy guy.” “I think you have to be the same for both to be in this position, playing for a national championship.”
The tigers and alligators certainly looked alike as they swam around in their boots through the tunnels of Charles Schwab Field, aka The Chuck, on Friday for batting practice. What LSU head coach Jay Johnson has described is a “really grown-up list of men” packed with very large baseball players with a very large number of baseball players. But the way those lists are shopped is also different as they are the same, huge additions to the new age transfer portal mixed with old-fashioned homegrown rookies.
Florida boasts ESPN.com’s third-ranked MLB draft prospect of left-hander Wyatt Langford, who hit a 456-foot record in the ninth round at home to beat Virginia in the field. second game of MCWS. The only players ranked above him are the Tigers. The highest-ranked LSU quarterback, Dylan Crews, has been considered one of the greatest players in recent college baseball memory, hitting 0.423 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. Teammate Paul Skenes, second on that MLB prospect list, has also been prolific on the field. He’s 12-2 with a 1.69 ERA and the SEC career milestone just set at 209. Next year’s draft MLB will likely be headed by Florida’s Jac Caglianone, aka “Jactani” “, college baseball’s Swiss Army Knife, hitting 0.325 with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs while boasting a 7-3 pitch with 85 shots.
Kevin O’Sullivan, now in his 16th season as Florida’s head coach, commented: “I think they were initially defined by offense and rightly so, they have some titles. power star in our squad and I think ours is the same.” . During his tenure, the Gators have never missed an NCAA tournament and have made eight trips to Omaha. “Obviously, they have Skenes, who’s arguably had the best season in college baseball history. But we have Brandon Sproat (8-3, 127 Ks) back in school and we have Hurston Waldrep (a Miss South transfer who is 10-3), of course, and Jac.So I think the biggest similarity that I see from the outside looking in is the improvement with their bullpen in throughout the year and I think the same thing can happen about us too.”
Both teams are led by a few Gen Xers, whose baseball upbringing has brought them to this point as college baseball coaches in MCWS. Johnson grew up in the world of West Coast baseball in California, Nevada, and Arizona. O’Sullivan grew up entirely in the Sunshine State, still relying on the teachings of his mentor, Bob Shaw, a former al-school major jumper who entered the World Series for the Detroit Tigers and won received the American Legion World Series as head coach with O’Sullivan as his catcher.
LSU and Florida are both members of the SEC, the league has produced the last three MCWS champions (8 of the last 13), has at least one team in 13 of the past 14 finals, and the last This week will feature both teams in the finals for the fourth time since 2011. But even though they’re teammates, when these two giants of college baseball meet Saturday night on the biggest stage. of the sport, it will be their first encounter since March 27, 2022 — a span of 454 days.
They were so unfamiliar that when LSU’s first folk hero Tre’ Morgan was asked to rate his Florida adversary Friday morning, he politely shrugged and tasked teammate Crews with, who only knew about the other squad because he was originally from Florida and grew up playing youth league football with a group of Gators.
To be clear, none of that is a disagreement.
“We focused on our side of the bracket and the opponents we knew we were going to meet when we got here,” explains Johnson, saying his team arrived in Omaha with folders filled with information. news about Stanford, TCU and Wake Forest, other teams on their side of the CWS schedule. They also have “three empty folders and one labeled Florida 2022, wait and see who we hope to face in the final round.”
Florida also admits it hasn’t begun in-depth research on the title series on LSU. But the Gators, which won 3-0 in the first six days of MCWS – leading to two days off – viewed the Tigers as baseball fans, sitting in the stands on Thursday night. epic semi-final when LSU overcame Wake Forest in eleven innings to advance.
“It’s been amazing to watch, as a baseball fan, because all of these games have been fantastic, including the ones we’ve been in. I’ll never forget this week. , for the rest of his life,” said Florida Catcher and Anchor BT Riopelle, referring to the fact that nine of the 13 games MCWS have played so far are defined by two runs or less than. All three of the Gators’ wins were one-time wins. “But as great as it is, the time to reflect on all of that lies ahead.”
Riopelle’s comments set a tone on Friday that has been widely shared across teams. Wonder and entertainment are not the goal. Stay in a dump on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday night. That’s why, even if both teams looked very loose during Friday’s practice sessions at The Chuck.
“The coach was always convinced to treat every game like it was a championship game, even if it was a midweek game in March,” Crews said. “The idea is that when we reach our end goal, play in a championship game, it feels normal. Every trip is a business trip. But here we are, in that game, so it’s like a business.”
LSU will have to continue its business without Skenes, who threw eight innings on Thursday night, unless the championship series hits Game 3 on Monday night and even then, he has may not be ready for another long start. Florida’s employees get a break, but it’s their biggest bats that need to wake up. Cade Kurland, Langford and Caglianone, who arrived in Omaha with a total of 66 home hits and 216 hits on target, clashed with The Chuck for a total of 4 to 38 on the plate. That’s the 0.105 average.
“There’s a real adjustment that needs to be made here in this ballpark, a large place where it’s hard to do extra runs and basic shots,” said O’Sullivan. “But we’re both in the same boat. So add that to your list of similarities.”
That is a long list. And on top of that baggage is a similar goal: Win the 2023 Men’s Collegiate World Championship.
“You want to play against the best,” Morgan said as he stepped onto the training ground. “I think whenever we finish here, whichever team wins, nobody can doubt that we did it.”
