If you don’t like Michael Robertson, then you just don’t like Florida baseball

When the day started for Florida baseball, all eyes were on Jac Caglianone to show off his ability as a hitter and pitcher to the baseball world.

But as it turned out, the star of the game ended up being a guy who didn’t even start the game.

And frankly, it’s kind of been that way all season for the Florida Gators.

Florida Baseball: Oh Michael you’re so fine…

The Gators beat TCU 3-2 to win its third straight one-run game in Omaha and advance to the championship series on Saturday. And like their previous two games, the amount of drama present was enough to write a Hollywood script by itself.

The game started with star power, with Josh Rivera powering a first-inning home run over the left-field fence to put Florida baseball up 2-0.

Caglianone took to the mound and struggled mightily with command. He hit three guys, walked three more, and even though he only gave up three hits, his day was done after just 4.1 innings. The good news is that he only surrendered one run, and as the game got deeper and deeper, the Gators continued to cling to their 2-1 lead.

Florida’s offense was mostly dormant as the Gators failed to get deep into counts, and by the time the seventh inning had passed, Florida had only moved a runner into scoring position twice between the second inning through the seventh.

The closest Florida came to extending its lead was a Wyatt Langford shot into the gap that hung up in the massive Charles Schwab Field for a flyout just shy of the warning track.

And yet the Gators were just four outs away from victory with Brandon Neely on the mound when a ground-rule double from TCU tied the game at 2-2.

Into the ninth we went, and Kevin O’Sullivan unloaded his bench and inserted Michael Robertson as a pinch runner after Tyler Shulnut hit a lead-off double. He advanced to third on a Colby Halter flyout, but with two outs it was Cade Kurland’s job to bring him home.

Kurland entered the at-bat with just one hit in his last 19 at-bats, and when he grounded to the TCU shortstop, it looked like the inning was going to end 1 for his last 20. But a less-than-perfect throw allowed Kurland to be safe and for Robertson to score the go-ahead run.

With three outs still to get, Robertson was left in the game to play center field. Neely got the first TCU batters without issues, and the Gators were just one out away from advancing to the championship series when Brayden Taylor took an 0-2 pitch and launched it to centerfield with an exit velocity of 110 MPH.

Robertson wasn’t impressed and tracked the ball all the way to the wall to make the game-clinching catch.

Robertson’s catch is emblematic of how the Gators have arrived at the championship series. Once you get past the heart of the order of Langford, Caglianone, and Rivera, the Gators have proven time, and again they are more than just a three-man team.

BT Riopelle is prone to go yard at any moment. Luke Heyman is hitting .330 as a freshman. Tyler Shelnut has a very respectable .284 batting average and an OPS of .873.

And even though Robertson is only batting .232 with an OPS of .640, it’s plays like the one he made to save the game for Florida baseball that is a reminder it takes more than one star player if you want to win it all in Omaha.