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Florida Baseball: Four Keys To Win in 2023 CWS Finals

By Elliot Reeder

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - MAY 12: Jac Caglianone #14 of the Florida Gators runs to first base during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Condron Family Ballpark on May 12, 2023 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - MAY 12: Jac Caglianone #14 of the Florida Gators runs to first base during a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Condron Family Ballpark on May 12, 2023 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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2023 CWS Finals
Florida Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

Get Wyatt Langford and Jac Caglianone going

One of the most surprising things about Florida’s run so far in the NCAA tournament is that they have done it with arguably their two best hitters not hitting very well in the postseason. While Florida starting out 9-1 in the NCAA tournament so far with Wyatt Langford and Jac Caglianone struggling shows how well some of other players have been hitting and how well Florida has been pitching, Florida will also probably need one or both of the players to get going in order to knock off LSU.

Wyatt Langford is just 8-for-37 (.216 batting average) through through the first ten games of the tournament and Caglianone is just 7-for-39 (.179). Caglianone also has failed to hit a homer since he knocked two out of the park against UConn in the third game of Regionals. Since the start of Super Regionals, Langford is 2-for-19 (.105) and Cags is 3-for-19 (.158). Langford is just 2-for-11 (.182) and Cags is just 1-for-12 (.083) here in Omaha. That’s right, Florida’s top two hitters are hitting just .130 (3-for-23) so far here in Omaha (and again, Florida is still 3-0).

The two players have also combined for just 4 homers and 14 RBI while striking out 17 times so far in the tournament. That comes out to a combined 0.4 HR, 1.4 RBI, and 1.7 K’s per game. That’s a far cry from what the duo did in the regular season in which they averaged 0.79 HR and 2.05 RBI per game.

Again, Florida’s lineup is dangerous all the way through with the likes of Josh Rivera, Cade Kurland, Luke Heyman, and BT Riopelle, but the Gators could use Langford and/or Cags getting going.

I fully expect at least one of Langford or Caglianone to get going in the 2023 CWS Finals, they are too-good not to. I mean, Langford is a potential top 5 pick in this year’s MLB draft who hit .363/.493/.758 with 19 HR on the year, and Caglianone led the nation in homers with 31 while hitting .325. They are two of the best hitters in the country. It wouldn’t surprise me if the duo breaks out of their slumps this weekend.

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