The 2024 College World Series continues early Wednesday with a delayed matchup in Bracket 2. The Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats face off for the second time this season to determine who will move on and face Texas A&M Wednesday night in Omaha.
The Gators-Wildcats matchup was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Tuesday but organizers postponed the game due to impending weather. This does put both teams in a bit of a bind; the winner will have just hours to rest up and face Texas A&M with their title chances on the line.
The first time these two teams met in the 2024 season was on May 11, when Florida won 10-1 in Gainesville.
How does the College World Series work?Explaining college baseball's CWS format
Coppola continues his hot hand in the fifth
Florida's starter has notched four strikeouts in a row over the fourth and fifth innings to tie his season-high with eight strikeouts in a game.
Kentucky keeps Florida off the board to close the fourth
Hogan earned two more strikeouts against Wilson and Heyman before the Wildcats retired the Gators' offense. Florida's lead remains 9-2.
Coppola earns strikeout No. 6
Florida's starting pitcher has held strong through four innings. Coppola struck out Kentucky's Devin Burkes and Nolan McCarthy (his sixth on the day) to retire the Wildcats' offense and bring out the Gators with a 9-2 lead.
Is there a College World Series run rule?
There is no mercy or run rule in the College World Series. The Women's College World Series does - a team up by eight or more runs after five innings can win by mercy rule - but that's not the case for college baseball.
Kentucky gets on the board again
Lopez singled to center field for his second hit of the day. Emilien Pitre scored from second to close the deficit slightly to 9-2.
Kentucky closes out third inning
O'Brien struck out Tyler Shelnut to bring the third to an end with two on for the Gators. Florida leads 9-1.
Florida scores two more
Hogan intentionally walked Caglianone to give the Gators loaded bases with two outs. A Kurland single scored Wilson and Donay to make it 9-1 Gators.
Kentucky makes another pitching change
RHP Robert Hogan comes in for O'Brien with one on and no outs in the bottom of the third.
Kentucky challenges double play in the third
After an out at second, Florida's Cade Kurland threw the ball to first for a double play but the throw hit runner James McCoy in the helmet. Kentucky challenged the ruling of a double play but it was upheld. Florida leads 7-1 with the Gators offense set to hit the plate.
Kentucky holds Florida scoreless in the second
O'Brien rebounded from a rough first inning to strike out Florida's first two batters. Emilien Pitre caught a fly to centerfield to end the second frame. Florida still leads 7-1.
Florida's Coppola dealing in the second inning
After Florida's scoring barrage in the first inning, Pierce Coppola struck out Kentucky's first two batters in 10 pitches. A ground out by Nolan McCarthy made it three outs as Kentucky failed to make any impact on the 7-1 deficit.
Nightmare first inning ends for Kentucky
The Wildcats finally get a third out in the first to stop Florida's scoring spree. Gators lead 7-1.
Florida's Brody Donay piles it on with a Grand Slam
Gators' third baseman Dale Thomas singled to right field to reach first and load the bases. One pitch later, Brody Donay homered to right field and score Heyman, Wilson, and Thomas to make it a 7-1 lead for Florida.
Kentucky making a pitching change
After Niman hit Ashton Wilson on a 3-2 count to put the rightfielder at first, the Wildcats are bringing in righty Cameron O'Brien to the mound in the first. Florida has runners on first and second with one out.
Florida takes a 3-1 lead
Catcher Luke Heyman singled to left field to score Kurland and Shelton as the Gators go up 3-1.
Colby Shelton ties it up for Florida
The Gators' shortstop doubled deep to right field to plate Caglianone and bring Kurland to third. It's a 1-1 game with two on and one out.
Florida gets two on with no outs
Wildcats pitcher Dominic Niman hit Florida's Cade Kurland on a 2-2 count and that brings Kurland to first with Caglianone at second.
Caglianone gets to second on error
Florida's Jac Caglianone is leading off for the first time in his college career today and he responded with a single to right centerfield. An error by Kentucky let him reach second.
Lopez caught stealing to end the top of the first
Coppola caught Lopez stealing second to earn the third and send out Florida's offense.
Kentucky gets on the board early
Gators pitcher Pierce Coppola walked Kentucky's Ryan Waldschmidt to open the inning. Waldschmidt stole second before Nick Lopez singled to right center to plate Waldschmidt and make it 1-0.
Kentucky vs. Florida: TV, time, streaming and how to watch
Stream the game:Watch the 2024 College World Series with a fubo subscription
Kentucky vs. Florida: Odds, spread and lines for College World Series
The Wildcats are favored to win and face Texas A&M in the next round of the College World Series, per BetMGM college baseball odds.
Odds current as of Tuesday afternoon.
- Spread:Kentucky (-1.5)
- Moneyline:Kentucky (-130); Florida (+100)
- O/U:10.5
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Kentucky vs. Florida predictions
The Courier-Journal:Kentucky 9, Florida 8
Ryan Black says: "The Gators can mash the ball with the best in the country, tallying 133 homers this season, the fourth-best figure in Division I. And they'll also have the best player on the field: all-world performer and offensive wunderkind Jac Caglianone... Top to bottom, Kentucky is the better team. It won't be easy: Florida is 7-1 in elimination games the past two seasons. But this year's batch of Wildcats have found ways to win in nearly every fashion imaginable. They'll outlast Caglianone and the Gators in a slugfest to set up a rematch with the Aggies."
The Gainesville Sun:Florida 5, Kentucky 3
Kevin Brockway writes: "Florida has played loose and relaxed when facing elimination and expect that trend to continue [Wednesday morning]. Kentucky has a hard time playing uphill with its style of play, and if Florida can jump to an early lead, it should be able to piece another game together with its bullpen and extend its season one more game."
Gators Wire:Florida 9, Kentucky 7
David Rosenberg writes: "Florida is only getting better the deeper this run goes… why end it now? Pierce Coppola clicks, goes four and the bullpen holds on for a 9-7 Gators win."
College World Series bracket: Remaining Schedule
Elimination games will be denoted with an asterisk (*). All times are ET and the away teams are listed first.
Wednesday, June 19
- *Game 10: Florida vs. Kentucky, 11 a.m.
- Game 11: Florida State vs. Tennessee, 3 p.m.
- Elimination game for Florida State
- Game 12: Florida/Kentucky vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m.
- Elimination game for Florida/Kentucky
Thursday, June 20
- Bracket 1 final: Only if Tennessee loses Game 11, time TBD
- Bracket 2 final: Only if Texas A&M loses Game 12, time TBD
Men's College World Series Finals
Best-of-three series between Bracket 1 winner and Bracket 2 winner.
- Game 1:Saturday, June 22, 7:30 p.m.
- Game 2:Sunday, June 23, 2 p.m.
- Game 3 (if necessary):Monday, June 24, 7 p.m.
How did Kentucky get here?
Kentucky entered the 2024 NCAA baseball tournament as the No. 2 overall seed. They powered through the Regional and Super Regional rounds with a 5-0 record, outscoring teams 34-11. The Wildcats rely on an aggressive offense that steals more bases than almost any other team in the country. Top pitcher Trey Pooser is one of the better pitchers in the College World Series.
In the first game of the College World Series against NC State, a clutch home run by Ryan Nicholson tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning. One frame later, Mitchell Daly homered to seal the Wildcats' win and Johnny Hummel earned the win from the mound with a scoreless 10th inning.
Two days later, the Wildcats squared off against SEC foe Texas A&M and suffered their first loss of the tournament. Pitcher Mason Moore gave up four runs in the sixth inning before getting pulled. A Nicholson homer in the ninth prevented a shutout as the Wildcats fell 5-1.
How did Florida get here?
The defending College World Series runners-up, the Gators entered the College World Series with the longest odds to win the title. They were a No. 3 seed in the Stillwater Regional after one of the toughest regular season schedules. They've battled back from a loss in each round of the tournament. In the Regional, Florida lost to Oklahoma State 7-1 before beating Nebraska and then Oklahoma State twice. In the Super Regional, the Gators beat Clemson in Clemson twice in a row to secure their spot in the College World Series. They have the best player left in the tournament in likely top-15 pick Jac Caglianone.
In their first game in Omaha, Florida took on Texas A&M and couldn't stop an early barrage of Aggie runs. By the end of the third inning, the Gators were down 3-0. Two runs in the seventh made it 3-2 by the end of the game.
The second game was another one-run outcome the other way. The Gators took on NC State and used a four-run second inning - highlighted by a three-run homer by Caglianone - to build an early 4-1 lead. Florida held NC State scoreless over the final four frames to seal a 5-4 win.
Kentucky Wildcats Lineup
Florida Gators lineup
Kentucky players to watch
1B Ryan Nicholson: The Wildcats' transfer from Cincinnati is thriving in Lexington. He posted career-highs in batting average (0.308), on-base percentage (0.410), slugging (0.692), and OPS (1.102) with at least 20 plate appearances. In the College World Series, he's 5-for-8 from the plate with two home runs and two RBI.
RHP Johnny Hummel: Kentucky's expected to start fifth-year senior Dominic Niman, who gave up six runs on seven hits in four innings against the Gators in a 10-1 loss to Florida on May 11. Niman may struggle and Kentucky could rely on its bullpen in a must-win game. Hummel came through in the clutch against NC State, throwing 18 strikes on 30 pitches and holding the Wolfpack scoreless.
Florida players to watch
1B/LHP Jac Caglianone: It's hard to run out of superlatives for the Gators' top hitter. He broke the program record for single-season home runs (34) with his homer against NC State. He was top-three in the SEC in most statistics from the plate and has a 4.76 ERA from the mound through 73.2 innings this season.
CF Michael Robertson: Behind Caglianone, Robertson's been the most consistent hitter for the Gators in the College World Series. He's 4-for-8 from the plate with one RBI and one run scored. If he can get it going from the plate early for the Gators, Florida could quickly build a lead.
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