Florida Gators

OMAHA, Neb. -- Florida and Texas Tech are not considered rivals.

However, for the third time in the last three College World Series, the Gators and Red Raiders will meet at TD Ameritrade Park on Thursday night (8 ET). Texas Tech's loss to Arkansas on Wednesday set up an elimination game between the schools.

The Gators must reverse their brief history against the Red Raiders to continue their quest for a second consecutive national title. Texas Tech eliminated Florida from the CWS in 2016 and beat the Gators, 6-3, on Sunday night.

Rather than focus on what his team didn't do right on Sunday, Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan tipped his cap to the Red Raiders for the way they played in dropping the Gators into the losers bracket.

"This time of the year you don't want to nitpick your team too much because bottom line a win is a win this time of the year,'' he said. "We'll talk about some things, maybe shorten up some swings with runners in scoring position. I think our swings are getting a little bit too big. And if the wind is blowing in like it did Sunday night, it's not a very forgiving field."

The Gators took batting practice Wednesday morning to stay sharp. While they seek to snap their losing streak to Texas Tech, they want to keep another streak alive. Florida is 6-0 the past two seasons in elimination games.

Let's take a closer look at Thursday night's matchup:
 

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FLORIDA

Record: 48-20, 20-10 in Southeastern Conference

Coach: Kevin O'Sullivan, 11th year (496-228, .685)

NCAA Tournament: 34th appearance all-time (11th consecutive)

Tournament record: 114-75 (12 trips to College World Series)
 
CWS record: 20-23 (one national title, 2017)
 

Survive. Advance.

Only focused on the next one. #OmahaGators pic.twitter.com/3qRu62YE8b

— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 20, 2018

How they got here: The Gators fought off elimination Tuesday afternoon with a 6-1 win over Texas. Starter Jackson Kowar turned in a record-setting performance, striking out 13 Longhorns in 6 2/3 innings. Kowar's 13 strikeouts are the most in school history for a pitcher in the CWS.

Player to watch: Florida is expected to start freshman right-hander Jack Leftwich, who tossed five innings in UF's 3-2 victory over Auburn in Game 3 of the Gainesville Super Regional. Leftwich (4-5, 4.32 ERA) limited the Tigers to four hits and one run. He struck out three and walked two in his 73-pitch outing. Leftwich has pitched in 23 games, including 11 starts. In 75 innings, he has allowed 64 hits with 79 strikeouts and 24 walks.

Quote of note: "I don't think you can get to this point and not feel good about your team. But the reality of it is we put ourselves behind the eight-ball a bit by losing Sunday night. We're going to have to lean on our freshmen on Thursday to pitch really well for us." -- Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan

Buzz: Florida's offense woke up late in the win over Texas to ensure Kowar got the victory in one of the best outings of his career, with SEC Player of the Year Jonathan India hitting a three-run homer and senior outfielder Nick Horvath adding a solo shot ... India drove in four runs Tuesday and now has 52 on the season ... Florida went 1-for-15 with RISP in the CWS until Nelson Maldonado's RBI single gave the Gators a 2-0 lead over Texas in the sixth inning. India followed with his three-run homer ... Maldonado is 4-for-10 (.400) with a homer and three RBI in two games in Omaha ... The Gators have scored first in both games of the CWS and are 30-9 when scoring first this season ... Senior JJ Schwarz is 1-for-9 since returning to the lineup after missing 11 games with a fractured right hand. Schwarz snapped an 0-for-15 slump with a fifth-inning single Tuesday ... Schwarz is one game shy of tying former Gators outfielder Preston Tucker (265) for most career games played ... Catcher Jonah Girand continues to struggle at the plate and is 0-for-17 with 13 strikeouts since earning Most Outstanding Player honors in the Gainesville Regional. Girand has been solid defensively behind the plate despite no hits in six at-bats in Omaha ... If O'Sullivan has to go to the bullpen early on Thursday, freshman right-hander Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.45 ERA) is likely to get the call first. Mace replaced Leftwich in the victory over Auburn and pitched two innings. Mace has struck out 41, walked 12 and allowed 61 hits in 58 2/3 innings.
 

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TEXAS TECH

Record: 45-19, 15-9 in Big 12 Conference

Coach: Tim Tadlock, sixth year (239-131, .646)

NCAA Tournament: 13th appearance all-time (third consecutive)

Tournament record: 34-29 (three trips to CWS)
 
CWS record: 2-5 (no national titles)
 

Congrats to Caleb Kilian on being drafted 595th overall in the 20th round by the Baltimore Orioles! #WreckEm #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/emSKSZJMNj

— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) June 6, 2018

How they got here: The Red Raiders dropped their first game in the CWS on Wednesday afternoon, losing 7-4 to Arkansas. Texas Tech fell behind in the first inning when center fielder Cody Farhat and right fielder Gabe Holt collided while chasing Dominic Fletcher's fly ball, which dropped between them to give Arkansas a 2-0 lead. 

Player to watch: Right-hander Caleb Kilian (9-2, 3.04 ERA) is scheduled to get the start after Tadlock opted to start junior right-hander Davis Martin in Wednesday's loss to Arkansas. Martin pitched seven scoreless innings against the Gators when Texas Tech eliminated Florida in the 2016 CWS. Named first-team All-Big 12 Conference, Kilian leads the team in wins and has 59 strikeouts in 68 innings. 

Quote of note: "You want to build some margin for error with your starting pitching. That's probably where Florida, to me, has an advantage maybe a little bit right now over us. But the beauty of it is you don't play the game on paper; we get to go play." -- Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock on the rematch against the Gators

Buzz: Texas Tech managed only six hits Wednesday against Arkansas after pounding 12 in its win over the Gators ... The Red Raiders are hitting .257 (18-for-70) with an average of 12 strikeouts per game in their two CWS games ... Third baseman Josh Jung became the fifth Division I player to reach 100 hits this season on Wednesday. Jung is the first Texas Tech player to reach 100 hits in a season since Josh Bard had 101 in 1998 ... Holt singled in his first at-bat Wednesday to extend his hitting streak to 16 games ... Holt, who went 2-for-5 with three RBI against the Gators on Sunday, added a two-run double in the fifth inning against Arkansas and now has 11 RBI in the NCAA Tournament ... Red Raiders right-hander Ryan Shetter had an effective outing against Florida on Sunday, limiting the Gators to one run and three hits over 4 1/3 innings. Shetter struck out seven and walked one to improve to 6-0. He will be available out of the bullpen on Thursday ... Left fielder Grant Little was 3-for-3 on Sunday with an RBI in the fourth spot in the lineup.