The Gators are set to face off against TCU on Wednesday at 2:00 PM EST following the Horned Frogs 6-1 win over Oral Roberts earlier this afternoon, eliminating the Golden Eagles from the Men’s College World Series.
With just two teams left in bracket one, TCU (2-1) would need to beat UF (2-0) twice to advance to the finals, while a singular victory for the Gators would push Florida into the championship three-game series.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LHP JAC CAGLIANONE (7-3, 3.78 ERA) vs TBA
Florida’s left hander has served as the Gators’ Sunday starter throughout the 2023 season, striking out 81 batters in his 69 innings pitched. Caglianone holds opposing teams to a batting average of .184, which ranks 5th amongst division one pitchers. The Tampa, Florida native also ranks in the top ten in hits allowed per nine innings.
The issue with Caglianone has been his command, specifically on the road and in neutral site games. Caglianone has posted a 5.63 ERA away from Condron Ballpark this season, allowing 28 walks in his 19.2 innings pitched.
With a likely sold-out crowd of nearly 25k college baseball fans in attendance, Caglianone will look to follow up two great starts from Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep.
Florida enters Wednesday with a full bullpen available against TCU.
TCU has yet to announce a starter for tomorrow’s game.
“I don’t know who we’re going to throw tomorrow, but it’s going to be someone that’s pretty good and we’ll string it together and we’ll figure it out,” TCU’s Head Coach Kirk Saarloos said following their victory over Oral Roberts.
HORNED FROGS BASEBALL
After starting off the College World Series with a loss to Oral Roberts, TCU has eliminated Virginia and ORU in back-to-back games, improving to 11-1 in the postseason.
The Horned Frogs hot streak dates back even further as Kirk Saarloos’ ballclub has won 21 of their last 24 games, picking up their 44th win of the year against Oral Roberts on Tuesday afternoon.
TCU used four different arms today with pitch counts of 46, 36, 39, and 38.
Florida should expect TCU to give it everything they have as the Horned Frogs are facing elimination for the third straight game. It’s possible the Gators see a pitching staff by committee on Wednesday.
TCU’s pitching staff has posted a 3.33 ERA across 27 innings pitched in the College World Series. Offensively, the Horned Frogs have scored 15 runs on 31 hits in three games.
“We can’t overlook anybody we play,” junior shortstop Josh Rivera said following Florida’s 2-0 start in the CWS. “No matter what the outcome is of the next game who we face on Wednesday, we’ve got to come in with the attack mentality and try to focus on one play at a time one inning at a time.”