A Gators-Canes Primer for Showdown in College World Series, (Saturday at 8 p.m., ESPN)
Friday, June 12, 2015 | Baseball, Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida and Miami have trotted onto the diamond and played baseball against each other for 75 years.
But they have never done it at the College World Series. This heated rivalry breaks new ground on Saturday night at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
The No. 4 national seed Gators (49-16) face No. 5 seed Miami (49-15) as the two teams begin their chase for a national championship.
The Gators seek their first title. They made it to Omaha three consecutive seasons from 2010-12 -- advancing to the championship series in 2011 before losing to South Carolina -- but came up empty each time.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes return to Omaha after a seven-year absence, their longest streak of not making the CWS since the program's first trip in 1974.
Miami has won four national championships, the last coming in 2001.
The Sunshine State matchup is the marquee game on opening day in Omaha. Florida is one of four Southeastern Conference schools that make up half the field, joining Arkansas, LSU and defending national champion Vanderbilt.
The Gators enter on a season-high nine-game win streak, sweeping Florida State in the Gainesville Super Regional last weekend. The Gators also enter with recent success against their SEC foes in the field.
Florida defeated Arkansas, LSU and Vanderbilt during its four-game win streak to win the SEC Tournament last month.
Meanwhile, Miami overcame a loss to Columbia in the Coral Gables Super Regional to advance. Miami defeated Virginia Commonwealth in the championship game.
Without further adieu, let's take a closer look at Saturday night's UF-Miami matchup:
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PLAYER TO WATCH: Third baseman David Thompson is the player in Miami's lineup that scares opposing pitchers the most.
And for good reason. Thompson leads the nation in home runs (19) and RBIs (87).
A fourth-round pick of the New York Mets in this week's MLB Amateur Draft, Thompson also leads the Hurricanes in doubles (18), total bases (159) and slugging percentage (.677).
Thompson is batting .333 and is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award. In what has been a breakout season following two seasons full of injuries, Thompson is within reach of former big-leaguer Aubrey Huff's school-record of 95 RBIs in a single season.
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PITCHING MATCHUP: This is a highly anticipated matchup that was scheduled to take place Feb. 20 at McKethan Stadium.
However, Gators starter Logan Shore (9-6, 2.50 ERA) lasted only nine pitches after suffering an injury in the first inning. Still, that was nine more pitches than Hurricanes junior lefty Andy Suarez (9-1, 2.96) threw.
Suarez was scratched due to an oblique strain that cost him four weeks of the season. Four months later Shore and Suarez are slated to start each team's CWS opener at TD Ameritrade Park.
Shore has been excellent in the NCAA Tournament, tossing 10 2/3 scoreless innings against Florida A&M and Florida State. Meanwhile, Suarez recovered from his injury to win nine of his 14 starts.
A second-round pick of the San Francisco Giants this week, Suarez has struck out 74, walked 19 and allowed 76 hits in 79 hits. Opponents are batting .252 against him with four home runs.
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COACH CHATTER
Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan: "I feel good about this team. They're playing with emotion. We're playing great defense. Pitching has been really good -- starting pitching has been good, relief pitching has been good. We're getting some timely hits.”
Miami's Jim Morris: “You know, it's been a long time since we've been to Omaha, so needless to say, we're very excited. I got spoiled, just like our fans and everybody else in this program. It's a tough, tough thing to do, and there's so many good programs out there that have never been to Omaha, or so many programs that didn't make it to the NCAA tournament this year, period.”
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NOTABLES: Florida is making its ninth appearance in the CWS, and fourth under O'Sullivan in eight years ... The Gators won two of three against the Hurricanes in the regular season and have won 19 of the last 24 meetings overall ... Florida eliminated Miami from the postseason from 2009-11 ... Miami is making its 24th appearance in Omaha, second all-time to Texas' 34 CWS berths ... Morris has led the Hurricanes to 12 trips to the CWS in his 22 seasons ... Miami leads the all-time series 127-112-1 in a series that started in 1940.
