Florida forces Game 3 of MCWS Finals with record-setting afternoon
Florida scored 24 runs – the most in a game in Men’s College World Series history – to force a winner-take-all Game 3 in the MCWS Finals against LSU on Monday (7 ET on ESPN). The Gators are seeking their second national championship (2017) while the Tigers are seeking their seventh (first since 2009).
Before Florida’s 24-run outburst on Sunday no team had scored more than six runs in a game at this year’s Men’s College World Series. The 24-4 victory matched the second-largest win in MCWS history: Notre Dame beat Northern Colorado 23-2 in 1957 and Arizona defeated Northern Colorado 20-0 in 1955.
Florida Gators Play Homerun Derby
With the wind blowing out to center at 20 mph, Florida hit six home runs in the game. No team had hit more than four at a Men’s College World Series game since the move to Charles Schwab Field in 2011. The previous record for a MCWS Finals game was five by Texas in 2009 … against LSU.
Ty Evans and Jac Caglianone both hit two homers in the win. Before this game only two players had hit multiple homers in a MCWS Finals game: Russell Moldenhauer in 2009 for Texas and Fresno State’s Steve Detwiler in 2008.
The Gators have hit 14 home runs in this year’s Men’s College World Series, five more than any other team has since the move to Charles Schwab Field in 2011. It’s tied for the third-most homers in *any* Men’s College World Series behind LSU and USC (both hit 17 in 1998).
What went wrong for the LSU Tigers?
LSU allowed more runs in the first six innings (13) than it had in its first six games at the Men’s College World Series (11). It’s the most runs that the Tigers have allowed in 245 NCAA Tournament games in program history.
LSU committed five errors in the game, the most that any team has committed in a MCWS Finals game.
Looking ahead to game 3, seven of the 10 teams to force Game 3 in the MCWS Finals have gone on to win the title, including each of the past five. We will have more on this game during Shemon and Sheppard 2-6pm.