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Florida Baseball: Championship series is set against a familiar foe

By Benjamin Henderson

Jun 27, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators players and coaches celebrate with the national championship trophy after the game against the LSU Tigers in game two of the championship series of the 2017 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators players and coaches celebrate with the national championship trophy after the game against the LSU Tigers in game two of the championship series of the 2017 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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The College World Series finals are set, and Florida Baseball is looking to party like it is 2017.

Which, granted, wasn’t that long ago. But for the Gators to once again lift the National Championship trophy and bring it back to Gainesville, it will once again have to go through the same foe they went through in 2017.

Florida Baseball: We meet again

LSU fought through the loser’s bracket to beat Tennessee on Tuesday and then beat number-one-ranked Wake Forest twice to make it to the championship series alongside Florida. In last night’s deciding game, the Tigers got a walk-off home run from Tommy White in the 11th inning to survive and advance as 2-0 winners.

While both LSU and Wake Forest would be an extremely difficult opponents to face in the finals, Kevin O’Sullivan probably was secretly hoping to see LSU in the finals.

The reason is that LSU had to throw their ace pitcher Paul Skenes last night. Skenes is projected to be a top-three draft pick in the MLB Draft next month, but after throwing over 110 pitches, it is unlikely he will make an appearance during the finals.

At best, he could pop up during a potential winner take all game three on Monday on three days rest, which generally doesn’t end well for pitchers.

While LSU might be shorthanded on their pitching staff, Florida should be at full strength with their rotation.

Florida and LSU did not play each other this season, much to the chagrin of college baseball fans.

Florida and LSU met in the championship series in 2017, with the Gators winning the series 2-0.

Schedule:

  • Game One – Saturday at 7 PM
  • Game Two – Sunday at 3 PM
  • Game Three- Monday at 7 PM

All three games will air on ESPN. It is a best-two-out-of-three series, so game three will only be played if necessary.

The Gators will be the designated home team for both game one and game three of the championship series.

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