Men’s College World Series 2023: Florida routs LSU to set up a decisive Game 3

Game 2: Florida 24, LSU 4

That will do it out in Omaha, as the Gators explode for 24 runs on Sunday to force a decisive Game 3.

Top 9th - The Gators keep scoring, and made some MCWS history in the process. The 24 runs scored by Florida are a new MCWS record, topping the 23 scored by Notre Dame in 1957 and Arizona State in 1984.

Top 8th - Langford comes to the plate needing a triple for the cycle, and laces a line drive to the wall in left. He stops at second, keeping him short of the cycle, but the double plates a pair of runs.

Caglianone follows with his second home run of the day, and the Gators bring two more home.

Top 6th - Langford unloads on a hanging slider and launches it deep into the left-field bleachers for a three-run home run. Caglianone follows with a home run of his own to left, and the back-to-back shots give the Gators a nine-run lead. Florida adds another run on a Josh Rivera single, and the Gators are in control.

Top 4th - Florida tacks on another run as a throwing error from Thompson allows Cade Kurland to come around and score.

Top 3rd - Ty Evans, have yourself a day. After a solo shot in the second, Evans goes yard again, lofting a fly ball to left that just gets out of the park for a grand slam. The Gators had already tied it on back-to-back singles from Jac Caglianone and Josh Rivera, and an error on a double-play ball from LSU shortstop Jordan Thompson extended the inning, giving the Gators a chance to get Evans to the plate.

Bottom 2nd - LSU regains the lead on a single from Tommy White which brings Josh Pearson around to score. They add another run on a sacrifice fly from Tre’ Morgan.

Top 2nd - The Gators tie the game on a solo home run from Ty Evans.

Bottom 1st - LSU opens the scoring, with a double from Gavin Dugas bringing home Dylan Crews to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

LSU has a chance on Sunday to capture their seventh national championship at the Men’s College World Series. After defeating Florida 4-3 in extra innings on Saturday, the Tigers have an opportunity to close out the best-of-three series on Sunday.

The Tigers are sending Nate Ackenhausen to the mound today. He got the call in an elimination game against Tennessee on Tuesday, and went six scoreless innings in the Tigers’ win over the Volunteers.

Hurston Waldrep is on the hill for the Gators on Sunday. The right-hander got the start last Sunday against Oral Roberts, pitching six inning and giving up just one run.

If the past two games out in Omaha are any indication, baseball fans should be in for a treat on Sunday.

We’ll be keeping you updated throughout the action this weekend. For recaps of previous games and more, keep reading!

Men’s College World Series Finals - Best two-of-three

Game 1: LSU 4, Florida 3
Game 2: Florida 24, LSU 4
Game 3: Florida vs. LSU - Mon., June 26, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Bracket 1

Florida wins Bracket 1

(Full information on Bracket 1 is below).

Bracket 2

LSU wins Bracket 2

(Full information on Bracket 2 is below).

Teams

No. 1 Wake Forest
No. 2 Florida
No. 5 LSU
No. 7 Virginia
No. 8 Stanford
Oral Roberts
TCU
Tennessee

Bracket

Here is the 2023 Men’s College World Series bracket:

NCAA

You can find the bracket here, courtesy of the NCAA. We will update this post throughout the College World Series, so check back often for scores and updates.

Television coverage

ESPN and ESPN2 will televise every game from the College World Series, with the majority of the games featured on ESPN. You can also find online streaming available through WatchESPN.

Scores and schedule for College World Series

All times Eastern

Bracket 1

Game 1: Oral Roberts 6, TCU 5
Game 2: Florida 6, Virginia 5
Game 5: TCU 4, Virginia 3 (Virginia Eliminated)
Game 6: Florida 5, Oral Roberts 4
Game 9: TCU 6, Oral Roberts 1 (Oral Roberts Eliminated)
Game 11: Florida 3, TCU 2 (TCU Eliminated)

Florida wins Bracket 1

Bracket 2

Game 3: Wake Forest 3, Stanford 2
Game 4: LSU 6, Tennessee 3
Game 7: Tennessee 6, Stanford 4 (Stanford Eliminated)
Game 8: Wake Forest 3, LSU 2
Game 10: LSU 5, Tennessee 0 (Tennessee Eliminated)
Game 12: LSU 5, Wake Forest 2
Game 14: LSU 2, Wake Forest 0 (Wake Forest Eliminated)

Men’s College World Series Finals - Best two-of-three

Game 1: LSU 4, Florida 3
Game 2: Florida 24, LSU 4
Game 3: Florida vs. LSU - Mon., June 26, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Previous updates

Game 1: LSU 4, Florida 3

Bottom 11th - Cooper is still on the bump for the Tigers, and the lefty gets ahead of Rivera 0-2 to start the inning. Rivera works the count full, but eventually flies out to right for the first out.

That brings Riopelle to the plate, and with one home run to his credit already tonight, Gators fans would love to see a second.

They will not, as Cooper strikes out Riopelle for the second out of the inning.

Florida is down to their last out, and in steps Fabian who ran for Heyman in the bottom of the ninth. But there will be no magic for the Gators, as he strikes out looking to end it.

The Tigers take Game 1, 4-3.

Top 11th - Beloso digs in to start the 11th, and we are tied no more. The DH steps into one, launching a blast to right to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead:

Neely gets out of the inning, but the damage is done.

Florida will have their 4-5-6 hitters up in the bottom of the 11th.

Bottom 10th - Michael Robertson — whose catch ended Florida’s win over TCU on Wednesday — flies out to center to start the inning. Halter, the No. 9 hitter, gets hit on the hand with a pitch and is awarded first. LSU head coach Jay Johnson challenges the call, but on review the ruling of HBP is confirmed.

Florida now flips their lineup over, bringing Kurland to the plate. The freshman is 0-for-3 on the night, but after a hard grounder goes off Cooper, Kurland is now 1-for-4 on the night, and the Gators have Langford at the plate with the winning run in scoring position.

The projected top-three pick in the MLB draft drills a liner deep to left, but Pearson snares it for the second out of the inning:

The ball was 112 mph off the bat, but goes in the book as an out.

Caglianone comes to the plate, and can only pop up, and Florida’s threat is over.

Top 10th - Hayden Travinski bats for Milazzo to start the tenth. Travinski has ten home runs on the year, but has been dealing with some rib injuries out in Omaha. He works the count 3-2, but strikes out on an elevated fastball — something of a theme tonight — for the first out of the inning.

However, things get tougher for Neely now as that brings Crews to the plate, with White behind him. Neely words a walk, and it brings White to the plate. Can White walk it off again?

ESPN notes that White’s batting average with Crews on base is .680 this season. Might be notable in a moment.

Neely’s first pitch is just over White’s head, and sails to the backstop. Crews advances to second, and with first base open Florida elects to put White on first, bringing Morgan to the plate with just one out. Morgan was the hero with the glove on Thursday night, can he do it with the bat tonight?

If he does, it will not be on this at-bat, as Morgan pops up for the second out.

Now Neely has to face Dugas, who just needs a triple for the cycle. But you can bet that LSU fans would be happy with just a single to plate Crews. They will not get that, however, as Dugas flies out F8 to end things in the top of the 10th.

LSU has now stranded 16 runners tonight. Should the Tigers go on to lose, that will surely sting.

Bottom 9th - Riley Cooper is in the game, and he gets Rivera to ground out 5-3 to start the bottom of the 9th. That brings Riopelle to the plate, whose HR in the 6th gave Florida the lead. But he grounds out for the second out of the inning.

Heyman works a two-out walk, bringing Richie Schiekofer to the plate, batting for Shelnut. A fastball away gets by Milazzo, advancing Heyman to second. Florida brings on Deric Fabian, who stole five bases this season, to pinch run for Heyman.

But the batter in the box is Schiekofer, the transfer from Rutgers. The senior has the chance for the at-bat of his life, and fights off a few tough pitches from Cooper, but ends up striking out to end the inning.

Extra baseball, everyone.

Top 9th - Neely gets a strikeout of Paxton Kling to start the inning, and then freezes Thompson with 97 upstairs for his second strikeout of the inning. Pearson rolls a grounder back to Neely, and the flip to first ends the inning.

The Gators have their 4-5-6 hitters due up in the bottom of the ninth.

Bottom 8th - Floyd remains in the game for the Tigers, which makes sense given that he just struck out the side. But he is facing the top of the Florida order here in the 8th, which could pose some challenges.

Or not, as he strikes out Kurland with another elevated fastball for his 16th strikeout of the night. Now, however, he has to get through Langford and Caglianone.

He does just that, getting Langford to pop out and then striking out Caglianone for his 17th strikeout of the night. That ties the record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game for the MCWS, set by Ed Bane for Arizona State back in 1972.

Top 8th - Crews grounds out to short to start the inning, but Tommy Tanks does it again. White belts a blast to left, almost in the same spot as his walk-off home run from Thursday night, and we are tied again.

Morgan follows that home run with a single into left, and the Gators are going to the pen again, bringing on Brandon Neely.

Neely feeds Dugas a steady diet of sliders away, and retires Dugas on a shallow fly to center for the second out of the inning.

That brings Beloso to the plate, and Neely finally brings the heat, putting a 97-mph heater on the inside corner to start Beloso 0-1, and then 96 mph up and away twice to finish off the at-bat with a strikeout.

However, once again we are tied out in Omaha.

Bottom 7th - Despite the home run given up last inning, Floyd is still dealing. He strikes out the side in the 7th, giving him 15 on the night and keeping the Tigers down by just a run.

Top 7th - Thompson grounds out to third to start the inning for the Tigers. Pearson strikes out on a slider low and away for the second out of the inning, and Fisher gets Milazzo swinging for his fifth strikeout of the game, and the first 1-2-3 inning from a Florida pitcher on the night.

Fisher is feeling it as he comes off the mound too, showing some emotion after the third out of the inning .

Bottom 6th - Caglianone leads off for Florida against LSU, with Floyd still on the bump for the Tigers. But Floyd gets his tenth strikeout of the night, blowing an elevated 95-mph fastball by Caglianone for the first out of the inning. Floyd then gets Rivera with another 95-mph strikeout, this time on the outside corner for his 11th strikeout of the game.

That was also his 21st strikeout of the MCWS, tying a record set by teammate Paul Skenes.

However, he did not strikeout the next batter, Riopelle. Instead the Gators catcher blasts a moonshot to right for the home run, giving the Gators a 3-2 lead.

Five of Riopelle’s six hits this postseason have been home runs for the Gators.

With Gavin Guidry warming for the Tigers, Floyd gets his 12th strikeout of the night to end the inning, and set the new record for strikeouts in a MCWS.

But while Floyd has a new record, the Gators have the lead.

Top 6th - White lines a single to right to start the inning for the Tigers. Morgan grounds into a fielder’s choice featuring an incredible plate at first from Caglianone, who leaps to secure the bouncing grounder and then fires a strike to Rivera at second to get the out.

Dugas then rolls a grounder up the third-base line that he beats out, giving the Tigers two on for Beloso. Fisher gets him on a tough slider tailing away from the left-handed DH for the second out of the inning. Jared Jones comes on to pinch hit for Jobert, giving LSU a righty bat to face the left-handed Fisher. But Jones can only roll a grounder to third, and Halter steps on the third-base bag to force out Morgan and end the inning.

Bottom 5th - Evans jumps on an 0-2 breaking ball that Floyd fails to locate, roping a double to left to start the inning. Halter bunts Evans over to third, and the Gators have their top of the order at the dish, the tying run on third, and just one out.

Kurland swings through a pair of 95-mph fastballs to fall behind in the count 0-2, but then fouls off a few pitches to extend the at-bat. Kurland then chops a grounder to Dugas at second, and with the infield in LSU is hoping to cut down the tying run at home. But Dugas cannot field the ball cleanly, and his only play is to first. Evans scores to tie the game at 2.

Langford grounds out to short to end the inning, but we have a new game out in Omaha.

Top 5th - Thompson walks to start the inning, and that will be all for Sproat. O’Sullivan comes to get his starter, and it is lefty Cade Fisher coming out of the pen for the Gators.

Fisher strikes out Pearson for the first out of the inning, bringing No. 9 hitter Milazzo to the plate for LSU. Fisher gets him to roll over on one as Milazzo rolls a slow grounder to third. Halter’s only play is to first, and while that gets the second out of the inning, it brings Crews to the plate with a runner at second.

Fisher gets the better of the potential first-overall selection, striking him out swinging with a 93-mph fastball up and away to end the inning.

Bottom 4th - BT Riopelle pops out to start the inning, bringing Heyman to the plate who strikes out on a tough slider from Floyd, for the second out of the inning. Shelnut then strikes out to end the inning, Floyd’s ninth punchout of the game.

Top 4th - Sproat gets Crews on a flyout to the outfield, and White on a grounder to third. That brings Morgan to the plate, and he roped a two-out single up the middle. Dugas, having homered in his first at-bat of the night, gets kept in the yard this time. He lofted a fly ball off the end of the bat to center that Langford could not get to, and it turns into a double as Morgan advanced to third.

Florida walked Beloso to load the bases, bringing Jobert to the plate with the bags full of Tigers.

Sproat’s pitch count was now closing in on his season-high mark. But on his 111th of the night, he struck out Jobert to get out of yet another jam.

Bottom 3rd - Floyd strikes out Halter to begin the inning, and the Gators then flip the lineup to the top of the order. Kurland makes up for his error in the top of the inning, working a walk to bring Wyatt Langford to the plate.

Langford doubled to the gap in right-center, but Kurland is held at third on a very late hold from the third-base coach. That gives the Gators runners at second and third with just one out. Caglianone — known as “Jactani” around Gainesville for his ability to both hit and pitch — has a chance to swing the game. He hits a tough grounder to Morgan at first that the first baseman cannot field cleanly, but Thompson jumps on the loose ball and flips to Floyd covering first for the out. But Kurland scored on the play, cutting the LSU lead to 1.

Floyd ends the inning by going upstairs to strike out Rivera, jamming him up-and-in with a 97 mph fastball to close out the third.

Top 3rd - Gavin Dugas goes yard to start the third, roping a line-drive shot to left field for his 17th home run of the season to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

Beloso then rockets a liner to right for a single, and that gets Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan out of the dugout to check on Sproat.

Sproat then struck out Jobert for the first out of the inning, bringing shortstop Jordan Thompson to the plate. Thompson spoiled a handful of pitches, driving Sproat’s pitch count up even further, before rolling a jam-shot towards second which second-baseman Cade Kurland mishandled, putting two on for the Tigers.

Pearson grounded out to first for the second out of the inning, bringing Milazzo, the No. 9 hitter, to the plate with runners on second and third. Sprout gets the strikeout, his sixth of the night, with a nasty changeup on his 86th pitch of the night.

Sprout’s season-high is 109, and he’ll face the top of LSU’s order, starting with Crews, in the 4th.

Bottom 2nd - After a leadoff strikeout, Luke Heyman singled to right to give the Gators a runner at first. Tyler Shelnut then struck out looking for the second out of the inning, bringing Ty Evans to the plate.

A passed ball allowed Heyman to advance to second, and for the second-straight inning the Gators had a runner in scoring position with two down.

And for the second-straight inning, that running was stranded, as Floyd got Evans to strike out swinging.

Top 2nd - LSU made a little more noise in the second, starting with the bottom of their order. No. 8 hitter Josh Pearson walked with one out, and No. 9 hitter Alex Milazzo singled to right to bring Crews to the plate with two aboard. Crews worked the count full before walking to load the bases for Thursday night’s hero, Tommy White.

But Sproat got out of the jam.

White jumped on the first pitch of the at bat, lacing a line drive caught by third baseman Colby Halter for the second out of the inning. Then Sproat struck out Tre Morgan swinging to end the threat, getting out of the bases-loaded jam.

Bottom 1st - The Gators get a two-out double from Jac Caglianone, but Floyd gets out of the inning by striking out cleanup hitter Josh Rivera to end the threat.

Top 1st - DH Cade Beloso singles to left, scoring Dylan Crews from second to give the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. Brandon Sproat gets out of the inning but the pitch count is already climbing for the Florida starter.

LSU announced that Ty Floyd will be on the mound in Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series Finals. Floyd finished the year with a 7-0 record, posting a 3.60 ERA. He last pitched on Monday against Wake Forest, going 5.0 innings and allowing a pair of runs in a no decision.

The Gators will counter with Brandon Sproat. The junior right-hander went 8-3 this year with a 4.66 ERA. He got the start for Florida in their opening-game victory over Virginia, going 6.1 innings and allowing one earned run, and striking out seven.

Here are the teams, the brackets, the scores, and how to watch.

Saturday morning: Eight teams arrived in Omaha seeking glory at this year’s Men’s College World Series.

Only two remain.

Thanks to their dramatic walk-off victory against Wake Forest, LSU marches on. The Tigers will take on Florida in an all-SEC Finals, with the best-of-three series set to get underway from Omaha later tonight.

While this is an all-SEC Finals, the two teams did not meet during the regular season, nor did they meet in the SEC Championship Tournament. However, the series will feature three players projected to be the first three selections in the upcoming MLB draft: LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, LSU pitcher Paul Skenes, and Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford.

With Skenes pitching deep into the game Thursday night, it is unlikely that he gets another start, unless this series goes to a decisive third game and he starts on three days’ rest.

We will have you covered here with in-game updates, recaps, and more. Until then, feel free to take a look back at the games so far, find out how to watch or stream the action, or check out this look at the moment that might have saved LSU’s season from Thursday night.

Friday: It is rare in sports when you can have high expectations going into a game, and the contest actually not just lives up to the hype, but exceeds expectations.

That was the case with Thursday night’s decisive game between LSU and Wake Forest in the Men’s College World Series.

With a spot in the Finals on the line against Florida, both teams sent their aces to the mound on four days’ rest. Paul Skenes, the likely top-three selection in the MLB draft next month, took to the hill for LSU. Wake Forest countered with their ace, and a first-round pick of their own, in Rhett Lowder.

Both pitched deep into the game, and both did their jobs, holding the opposition scoreless.

The game remained scoreless into extra innings, and the bullpens for both teams kept dealing.

But a game this great had to end, and it did in the bottom of the 11th. Dylan Crews, perhaps the upcoming first-overall pick in the MLB draft, led off the inning with a single against Michael Massey, who had pitched incredibly well out of the pen for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest went to the bullpen again, pulling Michael Massey in favor of Cam Minacci, one of the best closers in the nation, to face Tommy White.

White sent everyone home:

A big reason why this game made it to extras? This play from LSU first baseman Tre’ Morgan in the top of the 8th:

Just a tremendous night of baseball.

Thursday: It’s Decision Day at the Men’s College World Series.

And baseball fans are in for a treat.

LSU and Wake Forest are set to meet in a decisive game Thursday night, with the winner advancing to the Finals where they will meet Florida in a three-game series slated to begin on Saturday. The loser will see their title dreams come to an end.

Adding to the drama? A pitching duel between two of the top prospects for the upcoming MLB Draft. LSU is calling on ace Paul Skenes tonight, a likely top-three selection next month. Skenes is 12-2 this season with a 1.81 ERA and pitched into the 8th inning against Tennessee on Saturday, still lighting up the radar gun deep into his outing.

Wake Forest counters with Rhett Lowder, their ace and another top-ten prospect for the MLB Draft. The right-hander went 15-0 this season for the Demon Deacons, posting an ERA of 1.99.

Not only are these two of the best pitchers in college baseball this season and a likely pair of early MLB draft picks next month but there is also a convincing case to be made that this is the best pitching matchup in MCWS history.

Both pitchers are making their first start this season on four days’ rest.

Wake Forest appears to have made the call for Lowder, sharing this on social media Thursday evening:

Report from Omaha indicate that Skenes has indeed gotten the call for LSU:

And the Tigers have made it official:

While it might not be a fun night for the hitters, it should make for a tremendous game to watch.

Especially with everything that is on the line.

Wednesday: The first team has advanced to the Men’s College World Series Finals, and that is the Florida Gators. Florida survived against the TCU Horned Frogs Wednesday, pushing the go-ahead run across in the top of the 9th to take a 3-2 victory, sending Florida to the Finals.

To win a national championship, you sometimes need an athlete to persevere and just give themselves a chance to come through in the clutch. For the Gators, that player was Cade Kurland, their leadoff hitter.

The freshman infielder came to the plate in the top of the ninth inning in the midst of a 1-for-14 slump in Omaha, with the go-ahead run just 90 feet away. Kurland fell down in the count 0-2 but laced a grounder deep in the hole to shortstop. The freshman managed to beat out the throw from Anthony Silva, who lost his footing on the throw, and the infield single not only broke the slump, it broke the 2-2 tie.

In the bottom of the ninth, All-American closer Brandon Neely, who had come on in the eight, survived against the top of the TCU lineup in order. Brayden Taylor, TCU’s No. 3 hitter, recorded the third out on a deep fly ball to center that came up just a few feet short of tying the game.

Instead of heading to extra innings, the Horned Frogs are heading home.

Florida will await the winner of Bracket 2, which will be decided starting on Thursday night in what could be a matchup of two of the top pitchers in college baseball. LSU, needing to find a way to win so they can call on Paul Skenes Thursday night, did just that, forcing a deciding game by beating Wake Forest 5-2 on Wednesday.

Early on Wednesday night, it looked like Wake Forest was going to take control from the start. The Demon Deacons put two runs on the board in the top of the second, to take a 2-0 lead, and by that point, the Tigers were onto their third pitcher of the night.

But the Tigers found a way to claw back into the game starting in the bottom of the second. Right fielder Brayden Jobert ripped a hard grounder for a double down the first base line that plated DH Cade Beloso to make it a 2-1 Wake Forest lead.

Beloso was not done.

In the bottom of the third inning LSU loaded the bases, bringing Beloso to the plate with one out. Wake Forest starting pitcher Seth Keener was struggling to find the plate, and with the count 1-0 he bounced a pitch that got away from Bennett Lee behind the plate, bringing a run home to tie the game.

Keener left his next pitch up, and Beloso made him pay the price:

The three-run shot gave the Tigers a 5-2 lead.

That would be enough, thanks to the LSU bullpen. That third pitcher was Griffin Herring, who turned in a gutty performance to keep the Tigers in the game and give their offense a chance to go to work. Herring went 4.2 innings for his longest outing of the season, recording six strikeouts along the way while keeping Wake Forest off the board.

Herring gave way to Gavin Guidry in the seventh, who held the Demon Deacons scoreless into the 8th when Riley Cooper came on. Cooper, the big left-hander, threw 40 pitches in a three-inning save on Tuesday but had enough in the tank to close the door on Wake Forest.

Now the Tigers will likely stare down Wake Forest pitcher Rhett Lowder, the 2023 ACC Pitcher of the Year.

Should be fun.