Florida Notes | NC State Notes
OMAHA, Neb. — In a College World Series that pits the Southeastern Conference against the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Gators go into that battle Monday afternoon against NC State.
Four SEC teams (Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky) qualified for Omaha, as did four ACC teams (NC State, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia). In the first six games of the CWS, the SEC has won all three SEC/ACC matchups. Tennessee defeated Florida State and North Carolina, and Kentucky defeated North Carolina State.
The Gators take the field Monday afternoon in an attempt to keep the SEC’s dominance intact. If so, they’ll play another day. Otherwise, they will be the second team eliminated in Omaha. Virginia made it a double after losing to FSU on Sunday.
For a closer look at the Gators-Wolfpack elimination game, here’s our CWS primer:
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FLORIDA
Save: 34-29
Regular season: 28-27 (13-17 SEC)
Record against CWS Field: 4-9 (2-2 vs. Texas A&M, 1-2 vs. Kentucky, 1-2 vs. Tennessee, 0-3 vs. Florida State)
Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan, 17th grade (715-348, .673)
All-time CWS record: 25-27
SCF appearances: 14 (1988, ’91, ’96, ’98, 2005, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’15, ’16, ’17, ’18, ’23, ’24)
CWS Titles: 1 (2017)
Road to Omaha: Stillwater (Oklahoma) Regional — W against Nebraska 5-2; L vs. Oklahoma State 7-1; F vs. Nebraska 17-11; W vs. Oklahoma State 5-2; W vs. Oklahoma State 4-2. Clemson (SC) Super Regional – W against Clemson 10-7; W vs. Clemson 11-10 (13).
THE HUM: The Gators look to bounce back from their loss to Texas A&M and keep their season alive Monday afternoon against the Wolfpack. Florida is 5-2 all-time against NC State and has won five straight NCAA Tournament games, with the last meeting coming in 2012…Junior left-hander Jac Caglianone will start for the Gators. Caglianone is 5-2 with a 4.71 ERA. He went 2-for-3 against the Aggies with a double, a single and a walk. Caglianone has a team-high 33 home runs and 68 RBIs…Relievers Brandon Neely And Fisher Jameson combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings against Texas A&M, continuing their strong playoff run… Florida is 7-6 all-time in its second CWS game… the Gators’ leadoff hitter Cade Courlande, who nearly gave the Gators the lead with a ninth-inning home run Saturday, might get lucky. Kurland is 5-for-35 in eight NCAA Tournament games, with two of those hits coming in Florida’s NCAA Tournament opener against Nebraska on May 31… Dale Thomas has a four-game hitting streak and is 10-for-31 in the NCAA Tournament. Thomas’ seventh-inning RBI double scored Florida’s first run of the seventh inning Saturday… Florida is 17-14 all-time at Charles Schwab Field, which opened in 2011 as as host of the CWS. The Gators have the second-most CWS wins during that span, behind Vanderbilt (20)… The Gators did not hit a home run in their CWS opener, only the fifth time this season that they didn’t hit a home run in a game. Florida’s 131 home runs rank fifth in the nation.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I thought we did a good job. But we had a few chances, and when you have those chances to score, you know, you have to take advantage of them. And one set we had second and third without no one is removed. We had to have at least one and unfortunately we couldn’t do it.” — Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan on the defeat of the first match
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NC STATE
Save: 38-22
Regular season: 33-20 (18-11 in ACC)
Record against CWS Field: 5-4 (2-1 vs. North Carolina, 1-1 vs. Florida State, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 0-1 vs. Kentucky)
Coach: Elliott Avent, 28th year (1,036-614, .628)
All-time CWS record: 5-6
SCF appearances: 4 (1968, 2013, ’21, ’24)
CWS Titles: 0
Road to Omaha: Raleigh (NC) Regional — W vs. Bryant 9-2; W vs. South Carolina 6-4; W against James Madison 5-3. Athens (Georgia) Super Regional — W against Georgia 18-1; L vs. Georgia 11-2; W against Georgia 8-5.
THE HUM: NC State is coming off a 5-4 loss to Kentucky in its CWS opener. The Wolfpack led at the bottom of the ninth before Kentucky Ryan Nicholson hit a game-tying homer to force extra innings, then in the bottom of the 10th, NC State came close Derrick Smith hung a cursor on Mitchell Daly, whose solo home run dropped the Wolfpack into the loser’s bracket… NC State won No. 10 nationally and beat Georgia on the road to advance to the CWS. The Wolfpack and Gators are the only Omaha teams to qualify for the CWS by winning the Super Regionals away…NC State hasn’t lost a consecutive game since late April and has won 16 of 21 overall…Wolfpack returned to Omaha for the first time since 2021 when, after winning two of their first three games, they were unable to complete the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols…Coach of Wolfpack Elliott Avent told reporters Sunday that the left-handed pitcher Dominique Fritton (3-6, 7.35 ERA) or right-handed Logan Whitaker (3-1, 6.06 ERA) will start against the Gators. Fritton allowed seven runs in three innings in a loss to Georgia in his last start. Meanwhile, Whitaker pitched the deciding game of the Athens Super Regional, earning the victory by allowing two runs in 4 1/3 innings… Alec Makarewicz, a transfer from East Carolina, hit his team-leading 23rd home run in Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. Makarewicz, Garrett Pennington (6 p.m.) and Jacob Cozart (19) bring pop to the Wolfpack’s lineup…A junior catcher, Cozart is ranked as the No. 42 overall prospect in the 2024 draft class according to MLB Pipeline and was the Wolfpack’s lone representative on the All-ACC First Team . Despite serving up the game-winning homer against Daly on Saturday, Smith was effective as it went along. He entered the CWS with a 3-1 record and eight saves, striking out 41 in 28 innings… Florida and NC State last met in the NCAA tournament in 2012 when the Gators won swept a Wolfpack team with the future big league starter. Carlos Rodon in the Gainesville Super Regional… NC State is only the third school to appear in the Final Four of men’s and women’s basketball and the CWS in the same season, joining Texas in 2003 and Louisville in 2013.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “It’s not easy to win this thing (even) though we won yesterday’s game. Is it harder? You bet. But someone has to beat you. Until we get beat, we’re still in this thing, as long as we’re this thing, we can win this thing — North Carolina State coach. Elliott Avent to journalists after his team’s training on Sunday