LSU, a day after being crushed by the Gators, responded loudly on Monday night to win the national championship.
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators could not overcome a six-run second inning by LSU in Game 3 of the College World Series Championship Final, losing 18-4 on Monday night in Omaha, Neb. Florida struck first on a two-run homer by outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> in the bottom of the first inning, Langford’s third home run of the CWS and a continuation of Game 2 when he went 5-for-5 with a homer and six RBI in a 24-4 Game 2 victory. However, the lead was short-lived as UF starter Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489> struggled to find the strike zone in the top of the second. Caglianone walked three and hit a batter in the inning, helping the Tigers take a 6-2 lead they never relinquished. LSU sent 12 batters to the plate in the decisive outburst and was just getting started. The Tigers finished with 24 hits off six UF pitchers. Meanwhile, Tigers right-hander Thatcher Hurd turned in six quality innings, striking out seven and not allowing another run after Langford’s blast. The Gators finished the season with a school-record 54 wins and as national runner-up in their first trip to the CWS since 2018. LSU claimed its first national championship in 14 years and seventh overall.
KEY MOMENT(S): You could sense the Gators were in trouble when Caglianone hit Cade Beloso with the bases loaded in the second, forcing home Brayden Jobert with the tying run. And then in the third inning, with the score 6-2, Colby Halter<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-halter/15495> led off with a deep drive to left-center. LSU center fielder Dylan Crews made the catch as he bounced off the wall, and momentum remained on the Tigers’ side.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Caglianone nailed LSU leadoff hitter Beloso with his first pitch of the game Monday. While it didn’t cost Caglianone in the opening frame — he retired the next three hitters, including two by strikeout — his wildness reared its ugly head again in the second inning and sent Caglianone to the dugout. In 1 1/3 innings, Caglianone allowed six runs, walked three, hit two batters and gave up two hits. Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> removed Caglianone after the sophomore lefty hit Beloso for the second time — this time with the bases loaded — forcing home the tying run, and then walked Crews, putting the Tigers ahead 3-2. O’Sullivan turned to freshman Cade Fisher<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-fisher/15513> to stop the bleeding. In two CWS starts, Caglianone walked six and hit five batters over 5 2/3 innings.
STAGGERING STAT: Florida’s starting rotation of Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15508>, Hurston Waldrep<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hurston-waldrep/15517> and Caglianone was a huge reason why the Gators made it to the CWS. Unfortunately, the trio did not have its best stuff in the best-of-three series against LSU. The threesome combined to pitch 7 2/3 innings (12 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 14 BB, 11 SO) with a 12.91 ERA in three games against the Tigers.
STAGGERING STAT II: Gators OF Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> blasted his fifth home run of the CWS in the bottom of the seventh, one more than Evans had in 43 games played when he stepped foot in Omaha.
PLAY OF GAME: This is one of those what-ifs that had Gators fans on social media chirping at the umpires, and for good reason based on TV replays. With one out in the bottom of the first and the Gators leading 2-0 on Langford’s homer, shortstop Josh Rivera<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/josh-rivera/15504> hit a bouncer that Hurd fielded. Hurd threw to first and Rivera was called out for running out of the base path. The Gators challenged the ruling, but the call on the field was confirmed. Catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15503> flew out to center to end the inning.
BY THE NUMBERS: 48 — Runners left on base by LSU in the three-game series; 17 — Home runs hit by the Gators in the CWS, matching the all-time record set by LSU and USC in 1998; 8 — Previous record for most home runs by a team since the CWS moved to Charles Schwab Field in 2011.
NOTABLES
* Florida finished the season at 54-17 (.761) with the most wins in a season in program history.
* Florida struck out 725 batters in 613 innings – translating to 10.6 per nine innings, setting a new program record.
* Florida’s 725 strikeouts also set a single-season record, passing the 671 strikeouts recorded by the 2016 team.
* The Gators set a new single-season record by drawing 90 hit-by-pitches (84 in 2003).
* Florida swatted a program-record 145 home runs this season, blowing the previous record of 132 set in 1998.
* The Gators launched 17 of the 33 home runs at the 2023 College World Series.
* UF finished as NCAA Runner-Up for the third time since 2005.
* The Gators played in the College World Series Finals for the fourth time in team history (2005, 2011, 2017, 2023).
* Florida competed in its 13th College World Series and eighth in the Kevin O’Sullivan<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/kevin-o-sullivan/1551> era: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2023.
* The Gators are now 25-26 all-time at the CWS and 129-86 in the NCAA Tournament.
* Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15497> hit his 21st home run of the season and third of the 2023 MCWS.
* The homer marked the 47th of Langford’s career, tying him with Mike Zunino for sixth on Florida’s all-time home run list.
* Florida surrendered its first five-plus run inning since May 6 at Texas A&M as the Tigers plated six runs in the second.
* Evans hit his ninth home run of the season, setting a new MCWS record with his fifth long ball of the event.
* Kurland smacked his 17th home run of the year in the eighth.
* Kurland’s 17 home runs are the most by a UF freshman since JJ Schwarz hit 18 in 2015.
* The Gators scored at least one run in all 71 games this season.
* UF has scored in 50 of its 51 MCWS games.
* The Gators finished with 686 hits across 71 games (9.7 hits/game).
* The Gators scored in 43.3 of batted innings this season (254 of 586).
* Florida is now 53-68-1 all-time vs. LSU including 11-17 at neutral sites.
* The Gators are 24-21 in the series under O’Sullivan and 6-6 at neutral sites.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
Opening statement…
“Congratulations to LSU. They certainly earned it today. A really good team that played one of their best games all year at the right time. And tip your cap to them. Offensively, we didn’t really have an answer for them on the mound today. I think these last three games, you know, we didn’t get as much as we probably needed to out of our starters. We put a little bit too much pressure on our bullpen early in games, and we were probably playing with fire the last couple of games. And obviously, it got to us today. So, we had a great season. One game is not going to define the hard work and all the accolades that our team has gotten, both as a team, as individuals. Certainly, right now it’s very disappointing, but it’s certainly not going to take away from the accomplishments that these guys to my left and everybody else that’s in the locker room right now. It’s a hard pill to swallow right now, but glad we had an opportunity to come back, play for a national championship. And I would expect us to be in the same spot next year.”
On what the players, especially the ones who came back, meant to this team…
“There’s some other guys that maybe had an opportunity to be up here, too. But each one of them has their own story, right? Wyatt had four at-bats his freshman year. He’s turned himself, in my opinion – you could flip a coin between him and Dylan Crews. That’s my honest opinion. I think they’re both tremendous players. They’re going to have great careers moving forward. You’ve got a guy like BT who was one of the very few transfer portal guys we’ve had. He’s evolved into one of the best leaders, human beings, I know. You guys all know his story that he’s going to move on. And this was his last game. And that’s very emotional for him. And you’ve got a guy like Josh who’s been in our program for four years. You see him develop not only as a baseball player. You could talk about the hitting and the defense, but the maturity level. So, each one of them have their own stories. So, I may have a little different perspective. I’m just as disappointed as anybody. But this will sting, obviously, when you’re a competitor. But one game is not going to define the success we had in the season. That’s the bottom line.”
On returning to the College World Series with this group…
“Well, for me personally, of course you love coming out here, you know. But it’s really about the players and the staff. And I’ve been here enough; I know how special this place is and how hard it is to get here. A lot of these guys, this is the first time – actually all of them, first time they’ve been here. Now they’ve at least got a taste of it. But it’s just hard to get here. I mean, you go back, you look at like the Regionals and how intense that was at home. We lost. We had to beat Texas Tech. And we beat UConn. And then we play an SEC team that was playing really good and they finally got healthy at the end, in South Carolina, and it was electric at home. And you play Virginia. We’ve got to come from behind. Played three one-run games. We lose a tough one Saturday late. Then obviously, we had the game yesterday and then today just got away from us. So, yeah, it’s been quite the journey. And I’m confident, with the players we’ve got coming back and the new players we’ve got coming in, that we’ll have an opportunity to come back out next year.”
UP NEXT: The Gators are scheduled to return home Tuesday afternoon after their 14-day, 13-night stay in Omaha. The trip ended with Florida playing for the national title for the first time since winning its first in 2017. Meanwhile, the national runner-ups open the 2024 season next February.
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