Who does Virginia play in the first round of the College World Series? Taking a deep dive into the Florida baseball roster
The Virginia Cavaliers were tested in their Super Regional matchup against the Duke Blue Devils as they lost the first game and won the final two by scoring 26 runs in their victories. That lined them up to make the bracket round of the 2023 College World Series and a first-round matchup against the lethal Florida Gators.
Friday night, June 16, will be the first time that these dominant programs face off against one another. But what makes the Florida Gators so unique as a team? Let's take a deeper dive into their pitching and hitting to figure out the answer.
Can the Virginia Cavaliers take advantage of the Florida Gators' pitching?
The Florida Gators did a phenomenal job in their Super Regional matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks as they gave up four runs in the two games, including a shutout in Game 2. Brandon Sproat was on the mound and will likely take the hill in this matchup. He gave up three runs on nine hits with a pair of walks and seven strikeouts while tossing six innings.
The Gators have a solid pitching staff as their 4.52 team ERA puts them 35th in the country. The Virginia lineup is going to have a tough time stringing hits together as Florida allows just eight hits per nine innings, which is 12th in college baseball.
Can the Virginia pitching staff shut down Florida hitters?
The Gators have not been one of those teams that is just destroying every pitch they see in the postseason but they are doing a respectable job. In their five games to get them to the College World Series, Florida is averaging 4.6 runs.
You asked for it, you got it.
Jac Caglianone 2023 Highlights: twitter.com/pss_941/status… https://t.co/XFdxLjeR6S
This lineup is going to go as far as sophomore designated hitter Jac Caglianone is going to take it. He is one of the most feared hitters in college baseball and should continue to mash if the Virginia pitchers are not careful. He has a 1.168 OPS with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs thus far. Caglianone is going to make the Florida lineup even better just by his mere presence on the lineup card.
The Florida Gators are going to be a tough matchup for the Virginia Cavaliers and the rest of the bracket. This is going to be an incredible game to watch as this could easily have been the College World Series finals and no one would complain. This Florida team is a complete program from top to bottom and is going to be tough to defeat as they just do the little things right.