Florida baseball kicks off the 2023 College World Series on Friday, June 16, against the Virginia Cavaliers at Charles Schwab Field with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
This year’s trip to the CWS will be the eighth time for the Gators under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. His 2017 squad won the first college baseball national championship in school history.
The Orange and Blue earned a share of the Southeastern Conference’s regular-season title but were unable to earn the tournament crown, getting upended by the Vanderbilt Commodores in the semifinals — Vandy’s first win in five tries during the 2023 campaign. Nonetheless, Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad finished the season ranked second in the nation according to most major polls.
The Gators then went on to win the Gainesville Regionals, taking two out of three from the Texas Tech Red Raiders to advance to the next round while also dispensing of the FAMU Rattlers and UConn Huskies along the way. After that, Florida got revenge for a regular-season sweep against the South Carolina Gamecocks, sending home with two straight wins to earn a spot in the College World Series.
UF carries a 5-3 all-time record against UVA into Friday night’s affair, with the previous meeting coming in the 2015 College World Series. Virginia prevailed over Florida in three games and went on to earn the title that year.
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