Florida vs. South Carolina: 2023 Gainesville Super Regional preview, prediction
The 2023 Gainesville Super Regional pits two SEC foes against each other, #2 national seed Florida vs #15 national seed South Carolina. This Super Regional is one of two all-SEC matchups (alongside the Baton Rouge Super Regional). Here is the pertinent information:
When/TV: Friday, June 9th at 6:00 pm (ESPN2, ESPN+)
Saturday, June 10th at 3:00 pm (ESPN2, ESPN+)
Sunday, June 11th. Time TBA (TV=TBA, ESPN+)
Where: Condron Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida
Previous Matchups: These two squads previously met in SEC play the weekend of April 20-22. South Carolina swept the Gators by scores of 13-3, 5-2, and 7-5. That was the only time Florida was swept in SEC play all year, and was one of just two SEC series that the Gators lost. For South Carolina, it was the final of three sweeps they had during SEC play.
Now that we have gotten all of the general information out of the way, let’s look at an overview for each team, and then get to a prediction:
Florida Gators
The #2 national seed Florida Gators (48-15 overall) had to work out of the loser’s bracket in their regional. In the opening game, Florida knocked off 4-seed Florida A&M 3-0. However, in the 1-0 game Florida fell to 2-seed Texas Tech 5-4. Florida then rattled off three straight Elimination Game wins. The Gators first eliminated 3-seed UConn by a score of 8-2. They then knocked off Texas Tech 7-1 in the first regional final game to force the If Necessary game where Florida beat Texas Tech again by a score of 6-0 to lock up their spot in Super Regionals.
The Gators have been one of the top team’s in the country all year, being ranked inside the top 7 of the D1baseball.com top 25 for the entire season. Florida is a near-dominant 33-6 at home this season. Florida split the SEC baseball regular season title this season, after going 20-10 in SEC play.
Florida is led by one of the best players in the country in two-way star Jac Caglianone. In the Gainesville regional, Caglianone was 4-for-20 with 3 HR’s, 8 RBI, and 4 runs. He threw six scoreless innings in his lone start of the regional against Florida A&M, striking out 7 batters while walking 4. For the season, Caglianone has a .337/.401/.779 slash line, while leading the nation with 31 home runs (2nd most in SEC history). He also has 84 RBI (tied for fifth nationally) and has scored 69 runs. On the mound for the season, he has a 7-3 record and a 3.78 ERA. He also has a 81:49 K/BB ratio across 69 innings pitched, while limiting hitters to a .184 Batting Average Against.
Other hitters to watch for Florida include: Wyatt Langford, Josh Rivera, Cade Kurland, and BT Riopelle. Langford (.387), Rivera (.357), and Kurland (.303) (along with Caglianone) are the four Gator hitters batting over .300 on the season. Langford leads the team in doubles (24), slugging % (.799), walks (50), and OPS (1.310). Rivera leads the team in steals with 15. Riopelle has also slugged 15 homers on the season (joining the other four as the five players on the team with 15 or more long-balls on the season). Caglianone, Langford, Rivera, and Kurland were all first team All-SEC selections. As a team, Florida bats .294 (third best in the SEC). The Gators are also tied for the SEC team lead with 126 home runs (tied with LSU).
Florida’s rotation heading into the Super Regional seems set with Caglianone being joined by Brandon Sproat (7-3 record, 4.70 ERA, 113:38 K/BB, 90 IP) and Hurston Waldrep (8-3, 4.54 ERA, 129:46 K/BB, 85 1/3 IP). Florida has several talented relievers to watch as well; Phillip Abner (3.16 ERA across 31 1/3 IP), Brandon Neely (3.63 ERA across 44 2/3 IP), Cade Fisher (3.18 ERA across 39 2/3 IP), and Ryan Slater (3.51 ERA across 56 1/3 IP). Neely was a first team All-SEC reliever, while Sproat was a second team All-SEC SP. Florida is sixth in the SEC in team ERA at 4.61. However, Florida has the third most strikeouts in the SEC as a pitching staff with 644 total.