College World Series Primer: Gators vs. Coastal Carolina
Saturday, June 18, 2016 | Baseball, Scott Carter
2016 Gators CWS Guide
OMAHA, Neb. -- One is from the SEC and the odds-on favorite. The other is from a mid-major conference and in the College World Series for the first time.
Both have the same mission in mind.
For Florida and Coastal Carolina, those ambitions collide on Sunday night in the CWS opener for both teams here at TD Ameritrade Park. The matchup is only the second between the two programs and first in 22 years, a 12-8 Gators win during Joe Arnold's final season as UF's head coach.
Florida expected to be here after finishing third in last year's CWS. The Chanticleers are the outsiders who crashed the party, earning a trip to Omaha by sweeping LSU in the super regional.
"I know this may sound crazy, but we may double our fan base at our university because of this experience,'' Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore said. "Going into the Sunbelt [Conference] next year and starting I-A football, this is a huge, huge stepping stone for our school."
The Gators are CWS veterans compared to most of the eight-team field. Florida is here for the fifth time in nine seasons under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and the 10th time in school history. Only Miami (25th trip) and Oklahoma State (20th trip) have been here more.
The Gators overcame a loss to in-state rival Florida State in Game 1 of the super regional to advance, refusing to be denied after spending the majority of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country.
"It's been well-documented before we even played our first game, the expectation,'' O'Sullivan said. "I think our players have handled it as well as they could have."
Let's take a closer look at the matchup:
*****
FLORIDA
Record: 52-14
Regular season: 44-11 (second in SEC East)
Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan, ninth year (396-187, .679)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 98-67
CWS appearances: 10 (1988, '91, '96, '98, 2005, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16)
CWS record: 14-19
CWS titles: None
Noteworthy: Florida advanced to Omaha by defeating Florida State for the second consecutive year in the super regional ... UF pitchers shut out FSU the final 22 innings after the Seminoles won Game 1 ... Gators ace Logan Shore pitched eight shutout innings to win Game 2 and turn the momentum Florida's way; Shore enters the CWS 17-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his last 22 starts (130 IP, 104 H, 36 R, 33 ER, 22 BB, 113 SO) … Gators 1B Peter Alonso (13-for-25, 4 2Bs, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs in six games) has provided a huge jolt to the lineup since his return from a hand injury in the Gainesville Regional … Gators can match the school record for wins (53 in 2011) with a victory over Coastal Carolina; UF's best finish at CWS was in 2011 when it finished runner-up to South Carolina ... Closer Shaun Anderson (3-0, 1.00 ERA, 13 saves) needs one save to set single-season school record; Florida's 19 saves ties the 2014 team for most in school history ... Florida is 2-1 against teams in this year's CWS, winning two of three at Miami in February ... UF is 18-10 against teams in the Top 25 ... Sophomore JJ Schwarz, who hit a grand slam in Game 3 against FSU, has seven homers and a team-high 60 RBIs.
Quote of Note: "The best pitching staff in the country against the team with the most home runs. It will be a good game No. 1." -- Gators starter Logan Shore, who takes the mound Sunday night
*****
COASTAL CAROLINA
Record: 49-16
Regular season: 40-15 (first in Big South)
Coach: Gary Gilbert, 21st season (841-436, .659)
All-Time NCAA Tournament: 23-30
CWS appearances: 1 (2016)
CWS record: N/A
CWS titles: None
Noteworthy: Coastal Carolina leads the country with 94 home runs, led by senior 3B Zach Remillard's 19 ... Chanticleers advanced by sweeping LSU in the super regional, highlighted by senior shortstop Michael Paez's RBI single in the bottom of the ninth of Game 2 ... Paez was the fourth-round pick of the New York Mets in the MLB amateur draft (130th overall) ... CCU has hit four home runs in a game seven times this season ... Starting 2B Seth Lancaster (.326, 7 HRs, 35 RBIs) to miss the CWS with a knee injury ... CCU is located in Conway, S.C., and has an enrollment of 10,263 ... Junior RHP Andrew Beckwith (12-1, 2.12 ERA) to start against Gators; Beckwith was named Big South Pitcher of the Year and is 3-0 in four postseason starts ... CCU can play small ball too, ranked eighth in the country with 70 sacrifice bunts; 52 of those runners advanced scored (74.3 percent) ... CCU, which moved to Division I in 1986, played in five NAIA World Series (1978, '80, '82, '83, '84) ... Chanticleers closer Mike Morrison (7-1, 1.06 ERA, 11 saves) is tough to hit. Morrison has 77 strikeouts and surrendered only 30 hits in 59 2/3 innings.
Quote of Note: "We're playing with house money at this point. We have nothing to lose at all. There weren't many people who thought we truly had an opportunity to get here. We'll be very loose and competitive and we'll give it our best hot." -- CCU coach Gary Gilbert
