Florida playing with 'house money' as Gators pay a visit to Clemson for super regional (2024)

CLEMSON— Florida, arguably, didn't deserve to be in the NCAA Tournament.

Just a 28-27 record? Going one-and-done in the SEC Tournament to another team, Vanderbilt, with a 13-17 mark in conference play?

Whether the Gators truly had a resume worthy of the postseason or not, they are here now. And a perennial power that was in the finals of the College World Seriesa year ago just rallied past host Oklahoma State to make it to Clemson's super regional, which is all Tigers coach Erik Bakich needed to see.

"It doesn't matter what their record was in the regular season or what happened in February, March, April or May. They are one of the best teams in the country come June," Bakich toldSportsTalk Media Networkon June 4. "They weren't sure if they were going to get in. They got in. It's house money."

A gang of free and loose Gators, armed with MLB prospects and championship experience, stands in the way of the Tigers making their first trip to Omaha, Neb., since 2010. Here is a rundown of the challenges Florida will present.

Charlie Condon 2.0?

In a midweek game against Georgia, Bakich gave slugger Charlie Condon the Barry Bonds treatment, intentionally walking him in the fifth and ninth frames of a 15-inning contest.

It wasn't worth the risk to pitch to a player who went on to smack 36 homers in 57 games.

Florida's Jac Caglianone, who has 33 and 31 homers, respectively, in his last two seasons, might require the same protocols.

"We may not pitch to him," Bakich told SportsTalk."We might just walk him."

Caglianone is, undoubtedly, the Gators' best player. Not only does he have 48 walks to just 23 whiffs — amounting to absurd .411 batting and .526 on-base percentages— but he is also one of Florida's best pitchers.

The junior has a 4.57 ERA in 67 innings, racking up 76 strikeouts.

SoCaglianone is going to impact the series one way or another. The issue for the Gators all season long has been protecting him in the lineup.

They only have two other hitters, Ty Evans (.316) and Ashton Wilson (.319), with batting averages over .285.

Florida is a boom-or-bust team offensively, ranking fourth-worst in the SEC in team batting average (.273)but fourth-best in home runs (125). Considering the smaller dimensions of Doug Kingsmore Stadium, it's going to be on Clemson's pitching staff to limit fly balls.

And probably limit the number of timesCaglianone even has a chance to swing.

Charleston connection

Speaking of Wilson, the sophom*ore transfer from Charleston Southern has been a revelation for the Gators.

Wilson hadn't taken more than one at bat in a game until a mid-May series against Georgia. But the Gators suffered injuries in the outfield, and the native of Orlando, Fla., has responded withhits in seven of his nine starts.

That included a 4-of-5 effort in a regional win over Nebraska and 3-of-4 day in the Gators' first of two consecutive victories over Oklahoma State, which earned Wilson MVP honors in the Stillwater Regional.

"He's just been incredible for us," Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said after the Gators' final win, "and I think it's probably been uplifting for everybody on our team, quite honestly."

O'Sullivan clearly trusts Wilson, because he has the sophom*ore batting in the No. 3 hole, right behindCaglianone.

Figuring out pitching

O'Sullivan, who was Clemson's pitching coach before he departed for Florida, obviously knows how to recruit and develop arms.

The Gators had some struggles with young pitchers early in the year, though.

Cade Fisher, a Freshman All-American in 2023, slumped as a sophom*ore with a 7.08 ERA. Liam Peterson, the Gators' next blue-chip freshman, saw his ERA balloon to 8.31 at the end of March.

That forced the Gators to move closer Brandon Neely, another pro prospect, into a starting role for a time.

But O'Sullivan and his staff have figured things out. The Gators held Oklahoma State to a pair of runs apiece in their last two games, including 3⅓ frames of one-run ball from Fisher followed by 5⅔ shutout innings— plus 11 strikeouts—from Neely to force a Monday game.

Peterson picked up a win in the regional opener against Nebraska with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed in 5⅔ innings.

"There was so much uncertainty with our pitching coming in," O'Sullivan said. "One of the reasons why we were probably in the position that we were, to get into the tournament to begin with, was our young freshmen struggled early in the year ... and they just continue to get better and better and better."

Florida's pitching— which came into the postseason ranked dead last in the SEC in ERA — might not be the weakness it used to be.

Which means the Gators aren't going to be an easy out.

"This is a team that's loaded with prospects and talent. Almost all of their pitchers have mid-90s stuff with plus breaking balls," Bakich said. "We certainly are up for it, but it's going to be a heck of a challenge. There's no doubt."