Gators right-hander Brandon Sproat will start Friday night when the Gators face Virginia in the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
College World Series Primer: Gators vs. Virginia (Friday, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN)
Thursday, June 15, 2023 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
OMAHA, Neb. — The first steps the Gators took Thursday morning after departing the team bus at Charles Schwab Field were toward "The Road to Omaha" sculpture outside the ballpark.
They gathered for a team photo to commemorate their trip to the College World Series. Each team in Omaha participates in the tradition prior to their initial practice in the city known primarily as the home of billionaire Warren Buffet and, of course, college baseball's grandest stage.
"It's good to see a lot of familiar faces I haven't seen in a while,'' UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said later.
The UF baseball team takes a team photo at Charles Schwab Field on Thursday morning. (Photos: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
While O'Sullivan is making his eighth trip to Omaha in 16 seasons as Florida's head coach, none of the current Gators have played in the CWS. They took the field wide-eyed and eager for a shot at the program's first national championship since the Gators broke through to win the title six years ago.
Much has changed since that 2017 night when the Gators, making their third consecutive appearance in the CWS, won it all behind the pitching of MVP Alex Faedo, Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar and closer Michael Byrne.
The Gators returned in 2018 but did not repeat. They haven't been back since until they punched their ticket with a sweep of South Carolina last weekend in the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional.
"My kids thought that this was vacation every year," O'Sullivan said. "And there's a three- or four-year layoff, and you start realizing how difficult it is."
The Gators have traveled all the way back on "The Road to Omaha" and open Friday night against Virginia. For a sampling of notes and nuggets on the Gators, check out this CWS preview from baseball SID Sullivan Bortner.
For a closer look at the Gators-Cavaliers matchup, here is our CWS Primer:
***** FLORIDA
Record: 50-15 Regular Season: 42-13 (Co-SEC champions) Record vs. D1Baseball Top 25: 15-7 Coach:Kevin O'Sullivan, 16th year (677-317, .681) All-Time CWS Record: 21-24 CWS Appearances: 13 (1988, '91, '96, '98, 2005, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16, '17, '18, '23) CWS Titles: 1 (2017) Road to Omaha: Gainesville Regional — W vs. Florida A&M 3-0; L vs. Texas Tech 5-4; W vs. Connecticut 8-2; W vs. Texas Tech 7-1; W vs. Texas Tech 6-0; NCAAGainesville Super Regional — W vs. South Carolina, 5-4; W vs. South Carolina 4-0.
NOTEWORTHY: The No. 2 national seed Gators have won five consecutive games, including three elimination games after losing to Texas Tech in the Gainesville Regional ... Florida last faced Virginia in the 2015 CWS, losing two of three to the eventual national champion Cavaliers ... Florida's starting pitching has been superb in the NCAA Tournament. UF starters have limited opponents to eight runs in 45 innings while striking out 53 and walking 13 ... Junior right-hander Hurston Waldrep has been especially dominant in his two NCAA Tournament starts, striking out 25 in 15 innings while allowing just eight hits and one run ... 1B/LHP Jac Caglianone enters the CWS with a NCAA-leading 31 home runs, one more than Wake Forest junior Brock Wilken ... Caglianone and Wilken both grew up in Tampa and played at rival high schools: Caglianone at Plant and Wilken at Bloomingdale ... Florida ranks fourth nationally with 129 home runs, three shy of matching the program record set in 1998 ... OF Wyatt Langford has 18 HRs, SS Josh Rivera has 17, 2B Cade Kurland and C BT Riopelle have 16 apiece, and DH Luke Heyman has 11 ... Riopelle was a roommate with Virginia pitcher Nick Parker when they were teammates at Coastal Carolina. "BT, he is a great dude. I'm glad to see he has been doing well over there at Florida,'' Parker said Thursday. "It's pretty neat after all these years we've run back into each other on this stage. Pretty special." Added Riopelle: "Fantastic guy. A really good motor and drive and really wants to be successful. He is a tremendous competitor. He throws four good pitches for strikes. He doesn't have the most lights-out stuff in the world, but you know what you are going to get every single day."
Jac Caglianone enjoys his first visit to the College World Series at Thursday's practice. (Photo: Maddie Washburn)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "We've earned our way here. It's been a very interesting ride throughout the year. Going through the SEC slate has been difficult at times, but we're just excited to be here. It's been a while since we've been here. It's been since 2018. I've been reminded over and over about that." — Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
*****
VIRGINIA
Record: 50-13 Regular Season: 44-11 (ACC Coastal Division winner) Record vs. D1Baseball Top 25: 4-2 Coach: Brian O'Connor, 20th year (839-351-2, .704) All-Time CWS Record: 13-10 CWS Appearances: 6 (2009, '11, '14, '15, '21, '23) CWS Titles: 1 (2015) Road to Omaha: CharlottesvilleRegional — W vs. Army 15-1; W vs. East Carolina 2-1; W vs. East Carolina 8-3; NCAA Charlottesville Super Regional — L vs. Duke 5-4; W vs. Duke 14-4; W vs. Duke 12-2.
NOTEWORTHY: The Cavaliers advanced to the CWS as the No. 7 national seed. Virginia has played its best since the calendar flipped to May, winning 15 of 17 games ... The Cavs closed the regular season on a nine-game win streak and won their first game in the ACC Tournament before losing to North Carolina ... In three wins in the Charlottesville Regional, Virginia's pitching staff limited opponents to five runs ... Parker defeated East Carolina in the regional by tossing seven strong innings ... In a pair of wins over Duke in the Charlottesville Super Regional, the Cavaliers exploded for 26 runs and 30 hits ... C Kyle Teel was named ACC Player of the Year and leads the team with a team-high .418 average. Teel has 13 HRs and 69 RBI ... 3B Jake Gelof Jr. leads the Cavs with 23 HRs and 89 RBI ... Junior lefty Connerly Early is the Cavs' ace. Early is 12-2 with a 3.06 ERA and has struck out 98 in 82 1/3 IP ... Early (Army), Parker (Coastal Carolina) and fellow starter Brian Edgington (Elon) all joined Virginia via the transfer portal to give O'Connor one of the top rotations in the country.
QUOTE OF NOTE: "This year's version is a really, really special team that's had a tremendous year wire-to-wire and is very, very good in every phase of the game." — Cavaliers coach Brian O'Connor on his team
