Five Keys for Gators to Win CWS; UF Faces Miami Tonight in Opener
Saturday, June 13, 2015 | Baseball, Scott Carter
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Gators are back in the College World Series for the first time since 2012.
And this is no fluke. The Gators belong here. They enter tonight's game against Miami on a season-high nine-game winning streak.
Florida's longest win streak during the regular season was six games, and while the Gators never lost more than two consecutive games -- they lost back-to-back games on three occasions -- there was always a sense this was a team capable of playing much better.
They proved that notion correct once the postseason started.
Now that they are here on college baseball's biggest stage, the Gators seek to stay hot and bring home the program's first national championship.
"This is going to be very competitive,'' Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said on Friday. "It should be a great couple of weeks of baseball."
Don't be surprised if the Florida is the team that survives. Florida is that good. Of course, no other game is as quirky as baseball. Whether it's the majors or the college game, the most talented can easily come up empty when stakes are highest.
Florida is as talented as any of the eight teams in Omaha. So the roster is not an issue.
Let's take a look at five keys for the Gators to win the CWS:
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STAY STEADY IN FIELD
The Gators committed a pair of uncharacteristic errors in the first inning Game 2 of the Gainesville Super Regional against Florida State. Center fielder Buddy Reed made a throwing error and catcher JJ Schwarz dropped a throw home.
The Seminoles took advantage to score a pair of early runs, but 13 hits and four home runs later, the Gators had an 11-4 victory and a trip to Omaha.
Still, defense at spacious TD Ameritrade Park is at a premium and the Gators lead the nation with a .985 team fielding percentage. Florida is as strong up the middle as any team in the country with the freshman tandem of Schwarz and Michael Rivera at catcher, junior Richie Martin at shortstop, freshman Dalton Guthrie at second, and Reed patrolling center.
Add left fielder Harrison Bader, who played center last season, and third baseman Josh Tobias (one error in 60 games) to the mix, and the Gators have the type of defense other coaches envy.
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SCORE THREE OR MORE
The Gators have the pitching to win in Omaha. They have the defense. They have the offense, too. And they often don't need a ton of it because of their deep bullpen.
When the Gators score three runs or more, they usually win, posting a 43-8 record in such games. When they score two runs or less, they are 6-8.
However, the Gators have been able to win both their low-scoring games during the postseason, defeating LSU 2-1 in the SEC Tournament semifinals and Florida Atlantic 2-1 to capture the Gainesville Regional.
Runs have come in bunches for the Gators during their nine-game win streak. The Gators have outscored opponents 83-18 over that span.
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AVOID POWER SHORTAGE
In the CWS the past two years, there have been a total of six home runs hit. That's only two more than Florida hit in its Super Regional-clinching victory against FSU.
The CWS moved from Rosenblatt Stadium to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011. Home runs instantly took a nosedive. The Omaha World-Herald took on the topic in-depth this week.
A flat-seamed baseball has produced significant improvements in power numbers in college baseball in 2015 after home run totals fell to historic lows a year ago. The Gators hit only 26 homers in 2014; they have 60 entering tonight's game against Miami, led by Schwarz (18) and Bader (15).
Florida can win without the long ball, but with Schwarz and Bader such an integral part of the offense, it's usually much easier when they launch a pitch or two over the fence.
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START ME UP
Florida starters Logan Shore, A.J. Puk and Alex Faedo have been superb in the postseason.
Shore has pitched 10 2/3 scoreless innings in two NCAA Tournament starts. Puk only lasted four innings his last start, but he has been dominant over the past month. In Puk's last six starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Faedo was not needed in the two-game sweep of FSU, but the freshman right-hander from Tampa pitched six solid innings in the Gainesville Regional clincher against FAU to prove his worth in the postseason. The Gators are 10-1 in games started by Faedo.
If this trio pitches well in Omaha, the Gators' chances of returning home national champions increase significantly.
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STAY LOOSE
When the Gators last visited Omaha in 2012 they were considered the most talented team in the field. They lost twice and went home.
A team full of future professionals looked uptight and played uptight. This UF team has a different vibe around it.
Players like Bader, Reed and Schwarz set the tone with a mix of flash, focus and fun. The most important of those f-words is fun. The Gators look like a team having fun when they show up at the ballpark.
Senior pitcher Bobby Poyner and Tobias are the only two players remaining who appeared in the 2012 CWS. Poyner said the message to his younger teammates is to not to forget that in Omaha it's still just baseball, and have some fun playing the game.
On Friday O'Sullivan said he has tried to take a different approach as well in his fourth trip to Omaha in eight seasons at the helm.
"I've enjoyed this journey a little bit more than the other ones,'' he said.
