OMAHA, Neb. — Josh Rivera is human. While he is a much better shortstop than the general population, Rivera pondered the possibility of a Florida-LSU championship series as the College World Series began to unfold.
"I can't say I didn't think about that once we won the game against TCU, and just seeing LSU win that first game against Wake Forest,'' Rivera said. "I definitely thought it could be that way. And it's very interesting to see it play out the way it did."
You got that right, Josh.
If you like your CWS with a Southern accent, this one's for you.
Of course, we've seen that recently in Omaha. You only have to go back to 2021 for the last Southeastern Conference championship series. Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt two years ago.
What makes this one unique is that it's a rematch of the only national championship for the Gators. The Gators and Tigers will meet for the second time in six years to determine the national champion. The series opens with Game 1 on Saturday night at Charles Schwab Field.
Adding to the CWS storyline, the Florida-LSU rivalry is one of the best in the SEC across multiple sports, including on the diamond.
"Kind of makes sense that we match up with them in this championship series,'' Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford said.
The teams did not meet during the regular season, but they are both hot as a Nebraska summer entering the series. Florida has won eight consecutive games, while LSU is coming off three consecutive win-or-go-home games, two of them in dramatic fashion over No. 1-ranked Wake Forest.
Florida and LSU are SEC rivals. They are both powerhouse programs. And they each have elite talent, with Langford for Florida and LSU's Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes projected to be the top three picks in the upcoming MLB draft by many analysts.
But first, there is a national championship to be won.
For a closer look at the Florida-LSU matchup, here is our CWS Championship Primer:
***** FLORIDA
Record: 53-15 Regular Season: 42-13 (20-10, SEC Co-champions) Record vs. CWS Field: 5-1 (2-1 vs. Tennessee, 1-0 vs. Virginia, 1-0 vs. Oral Roberts, 1-0 vs. TCU) Coach:Kevin O'Sullivan, 16th year (680-317, .682) All-Time CWS Record: 24-24 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. College World Series — W vs. Virginia 6-5; W vs. Oral Roberts 5-4; W vs. TCU 3-2.
Gators shortstop Josh Rivera has hit two home runs in the College World Series and is a key figure in the CWS defensively and offensively as the cleanup hitter. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
NOTEWORTHY: The Gators own an eight-game win streak and are in the CWS championship series for the fourth time in school history, and first time since winning the national title over the Tigers in 2017 … The Gators have 53 wins, which ties the school record set by the 2011 team … Florida advanced to the finals by winning its first three games in Omaha for only the second time (2011) … Florida's pitching has been excellent in 10 NCAA Tournament games. The Gators have pitched three shutouts and posted a collective 2.33 ERA over 89 innings … Senior right-hander Brandon Sproat will make his second start of the CWS in Game 1 against LSU. Sproat received a no-decision on June 16 in Florida's 6-5 win over Virginia. He pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and three runs. Sproat walked three and struck out seven … Hurston Waldrep will pitch Game 2. Waldrep is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA over 21 innings. He has struck out 37 to increase his season total to 154. Waldrep needs three strikeouts to match the single-season school record set by Alex Faedo (157) in 2017 when Faedo was named the CWS Most Valuable Player in Florida's sweep of LSU … Florida has hit seven home runs during the CWS, with SS Josh Rivera and OF Ty Evans each blasting two each, and C BT Riopelle, OF Wyatt Langford and DH Luke Heyman with one apiece … Florida has hit a program-record 136 home runs, two shy of LSU's total on the season … Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has relied on the trio of Ryan Slater, Cade Fisher and closer Brandon Neely out of the bullpen during the CWS. Slater has appeared in two games, while Fisher and Neely have pitched in all three. The trio has combined for 10 1/3 IP (10 hits, 6 ER, 5 BB, 6 SO) and 5.23 ERA ... Florida is 16-11 all-time at Charles Schwab Field, trailing only Vanderbilt (20) in the CWS record book ... Rivera belted his 19th home run and extended his team-best on-base streak to 12 games in Wednesday's victory over TCU.
QUOTE OF NOTE: "The bottom line is there's not one person in the stands that's going to have one pitch or one at-bat. It comes down to us executing. It comes down to LSU executing. We played in some really tough environments in this league, and our guys should be used to it by this point." — Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan on dealing with the pro-LSU crowd
***** LSU
Record: 52-16 Regular Season: 42-13 (19-10, second in SEC West) Record vs. CWS Field: 6-2 (4-1 vs. Tennessee, 2-1 vs. Wake Forest) Coach: Jay Johnson, 2nd year (92-38, .708) All-Time CWS Record: 44-28 CWS Appearances: 19 (1986, '87, '89, '90, '91, '93, '94, '96, '97, '98, 2000, '03, '04, '08, '09, '13, '15, '17, '23) CWS Titles: 6 (1991, '93, '96, '97, 2000, '09) Road to Omaha: Baton Rouge Regional — W vs. Tulane 7-2; W vs. Oregon State 6-5; W vs. Oregon State 13-7. NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional — W vs. Kentucky 14-0; W vs. Kentucky 8-3. College World Series — W vs. Tennessee 6-3; L vs. Wake Forest 3-2; W vs. Tennessee 5-0; W vs. Wake Forest 5-2; W vs. Wake Forest 2-0.
LSU center fielder Dylan Crews is a two-time SEC Player of the Year and considered a candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in next month's MLB amateur draft. (Photo: Steven Branscombe/USA TODAY Sports)
NOTEWORTHY: LSU arrived in Omaha on a five-game win streak in the NCAA Tournament and extended it to six with a victory over SEC rival Tennessee on Saturday in the CWS. The Tigers lost to Wake Forest on Monday but won three consecutive elimination games — defeating Tennessee once and Wake Forest twice — to advance to the best-of-three championship series … The Tigers used a dramatic home run from 1B Cade Beloso in the first win over the Demon Deacons, and then on Thursday night in one of the greatest games in CWS history, 3B Tommy White hit a two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to give LSU a 2-0 victory and berth in the championship … A transfer from N.C. State, White has 23 home runs and an NCAA-leading 100 RBI ... Having played two more games in Omaha than the Gators, the Tigers will likely enter the series without ace Paul Skenes, who threw 120 pitches on four days' rest Thursday. If Skenes pitches in the series, it likely will be in a relief role in Game 3 on Monday if the series goes the distance … LSU's probable starter for Game 1 on Saturday night is right-hander Ty Floyd, who is 7-0 with a 4.45 ERA. Floyd has started 16 games and in 83 innings, he has allowed 65 hits, 36 walks and struck out 103 … LSU has Nate Ackenhausen, Riley Cooper, Thatcher Hurd and Griffin Herring as potential options to start later in the series … The Tigers have a 0.62 ERA during their three-game win streak in the CWS since losing to Wake Forest on Monday … CF Dylan Crews must be mentioned during any conversation about the Tigers. Crews leads the team with a .423 average and has 18 HRs and 69 RBI. He has scored a team-high 94 runs and is one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award along with Skenes and Gators two-way star Jac Caglianone...LSU coach Jay Johnson said Friday that C Hayden Travinski continues to battle an undisclosed injury and his availability for the series is uncertain.
QUOTE OF NOTE: "Really good week that we put together to get back to this point. And now it's about moving forward. Wanted the players to feel good about what they accomplished [Thursday night]. And something we've talked about all year is mastering moving forward, moving on to the next step, whether that's through success or adversity. They've shown a lot of maturity in doing that throughout the year, and I expect us to do that moving into [Saturday] night." — LSU coach Jay Johnson on managing emotions following win over Wake Forest
