OMAHA, Neb. — The matchup for the College World Series finals bolsters the case for those who say the best baseball in the land is played in the SEC.
To get to the best-of-three finals starting tonight, Florida (50-19) became the fourth team in CWS history to shut out an opponent twice with a pair of 3-0 wins over TCU, wrapped around Friday's 9-2 loss to the Horned Frogs. Former Alonso standout right-hander Alex Faedo was the UF winner both times, on June 18 and Saturday night, leading TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle to say: "I'm sure there's a day I'll go to pay a pretty penny to watch him in the big leagues."
LSU (52-18) beat Oregon State, which had the highest winning percentage of any program in four decades, twice in two days.
So here they are, the teams that shared the SEC regular-season championship playing for the national title in Omaha.
"I think this is how it had to be," LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson said Sunday. "If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. I think both teams are happy with who is in the finals."
The 2016 Gators underachieved at Omaha, going 0-2. This year's team lacks depth and dynamic offense, but has counted on dominant pitching and defense. The Gators are 18-7 in one-run games.
"I had a feeling early on if we stayed healthy that we had the ingredients to be successful out here," Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I thought our starting pitching was going to be as good as anybody's in the country. We needed to figure out our bullpen, and Michael Byrne has turned out to be outstanding at the end."
LSU leads the all-time series with Florida 61-47-1, but the Gators won two of three in Gainesville on March 24-26 in the teams' only meetings this season.
"If the truth be told, I was rooting for Kevin and the Gators," said Tigers coach Paul Mainieri. "I just think it's an awesome thing that these two SEC schools get to play for a national championship."
This will be the third all-SEC final. South Carolina beat Florida in 2011, and LSU beat Alabama in 1997. The Tigers are going for their seventh national championship, and first since 2009, while Florida is in the finals for the third time and looking for its first title.
With Florida having played four games in seven days and LSU having played five in eight days, the teams are getting creative. Florida plans to start Brady Singer (8-5, 3.18 ERA) tonight, reliever Tyler Dyson (3-0, 3.55) or closer Michael Byrne (4-5, 1.74) in Game 2 and, if necessary, Jackson Kowar (12-1, 4.15) would be available in Game 3.
Russell Reynolds (1-1, 8.59) is scheduled for his first start of the season tonight for LSU. Jared Poche' (12-3, 3.33) will pitch Tuesday, and Alex Lange would be the likely starter in a Game 3.
Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene
Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter
You’re all signed up!
Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.
Explore all your optionsCWS teams have taken advantage of winds blowing out to hit 22 home runs through 14 games, the most since the event moved to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011.
"You can't pitch scared," Singer said. "Yes, the ball is leaving the yard, but that's part of baseball. Just try to keep it low."