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Kentucky vs. Florida: Preview, keys to watch in CWS elimination game
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kentucky vs. Florida prepares to take center stage in Tuesday’s primetime matchup at the College World Series. The 2 SEC foes have experience against each other from the regular season, but now they face off in a win-or-go-home meeting in Omaha.
Kentucky began its CWS journey with a win, escaping NC State in a dramatic 5-4 affair. Unfortunately, the Wildcats went cold in a 5-1 loss to Texas A&M to fall to the losers bracket.
As for Florida, the Gators were similarly cold against A&M in their opener, losing to the Aggies by a 3-2 final score. Florida would rally in a Monday elimination game, riding a 3-run home run from Jac Caglianone to a 5-4 win over NC State and into Tuesday night’s matchup.
Heading into Tuesday’s game, Kentucky is a 1.5-run favorite per DraftKings, and the Wildcats are listed -130 to win and advance. The Gators are +100 to win and avoid elimination. Fans can use SDS DraftKings Kentucky promo to get in on the action.
Tuesday’s game is currently scheduled for 7 pm ET (6 pm local) on ESPN, but the weather in Omaha bears monitoring. The forecast currently calls for a heavy thunderstorm threat increasing between 4 and 5 pm local time, and there is a heavy chance of storms from 6pm onward.
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Will Jac Caglianone get a chance to do damage?
Jac Caglianone is one of the most lethal bats in the country, and he was 2-for-3 with a walk against A&M as the rest of Florida’s lineup struggled. He would get his chance with men on base against NC State, and the Wolfpack made the dubious decision to pitch to the slugger with a base open.
Caglianone would drill the 3-run home run to give Florida a lead it would never relinquish before drawing 2 walks later in the game. When looking at the regular-season matchup against the Wildcats, it’s unlikely Kentucky will give Caglianone any chance to do damage Tuesday night.
Across a 3-game series in May, Caglianone was walked by Kentucky 8 times and scored 6 runs, but he had just 1 home run and 1 double as the Wildcats took 2 of 3 games in Gainesville. In Florida’s lone win, a 10-1 victory, Caglianone was just 1-for-2 but walked 4 times.
If the Gators want to win, they will likely need other players to provide the big hit with Kentucky looking to avoid the same fate as NC State.
Can Kentucky’s big hitters wake up?
Kentucky has lived off its starting pitching in Omaha, and the top of the lineup has been a major afterthought. After the first 4 spots in the order combined to go 2-for-15 with 1 run and an RBI in a win over NC State, that group was nearly shut down entirely vs. A&M.
The top of Kentucky’s lineup was just 1-for-14 against the Aggies, and it’s safe to say that will need to change against Florida. It’s time to find out if Ryan Waldschmidt (14 home runs, team-high 64 runs) or Emilien Pitre (55 runs, 20 doubles) can do something to spark the Wildcats.
Which pitching staff runs out of gas first?
Who wins Tuesday night will have to turn right around and face A&M on Wednesday, but this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for both pitching staffs. Neither side gets the benefit of playing it safe against elimination, so both coaches will empty the bullpen if necessary to survive and advance.
That could put Florida in a tough spot after Caglianone covered just 1 inning in Monday’s game. Cade Fisher (4 innings; 75 pitches) and Brandon Neely (3 innings; 45 pitches) both worked extensively to beat the Wolfpack while Jake Clemente (1 inning; 10 pitches) was used in the game.
As for Kentucky, the Wildcats did get 5 innings out of Mason Moore against A&M and used Cameron O’Brien (1 inning; 28 pitches) and Evan Byers (3 innings; 41 strikes) in relief.
Some early runs for either team would add extra pressure to a pair of pitching staffs fighting for survival.
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Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
