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Despite being one of the last teams in the NCAA tournament, the Florida Gators have advanced to Super Regionals, where they will face the Clemson Tigers with a spot in the College World Series on the line.

Who:

The Florida Gators (33-28, 13-17 SEC) travel to Clemson to take on the Tigers (44-14, 20-10 ACC).

What:

Florida enters the Clemson super regional on a three game winning streak after working their way back from the loser’s bracket in the Stillwater (Oklahoma State) Regional.

The Tigers swept their way through regional play, defeating High Point 4-3 in the opener before topping Coastal Carolina in consecutive days to advance to super regionals.

The Gators have advanced to the College World Series thirteen times in program history, just one ahead of Clemson’s twelve appearances. Florida was just one win short of last year’s NCAA title while Clemson last reached Omaha in 2010.

When:

Florida and Clemson will faceoff in a Saturday, Sunday, Monday series. Saturday’s contest is scheduled for a 2:00 PM start from Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Sunday’s matchup is slated for a 2:30 PM first pitch. Monday’s start time will be determined by the nationwide results through Sunday.

Where:

The Clemson regional will take place at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on the Clemson University campus. The facility has been around since 1970 and has a capacity of 6,272. In the 54 years of the stadium, the Tigers own a 78% winning percentage at home.

Who To Watch For Clemson:

Blake Wright: .333/.376/.642, 21 HR, 72 RBI

Jimmy Obertop: .300 BA, 20 HR, 54 RBI

Cam Cannarella: .343 BA, 10 HR, 56 RBI, 16 2B, 3 3B

Jacob Hinderleider: .335 BA, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 16 2B

Tristan Smith: 11 GS, 2-0, 3.88 ERA, 62 K, 29 BB

Adrian Knaak: 14 GS: 5-1, 2.96 ERA, 103 K, 26 BB

Ethan Darden: 11 GS, 5-4, 4.96 ERA, 40 K, 14 BB

Austin Gordon: 2-2, 4.46 ERA, 11 SV, 43 K, 15 BB

What Florida Must Do To Advance:

It’s pretty easy to say that Florida needs to be at their absolute best to make it to Omaha. The fact is that Clemson’s starting pitchers are high strikeout throwers and Florida will need to limit those, especially when runners are on base or in scoring position. The Gators will need to be opportunistic and will likely play an aggressive brand of baseball, similar to what we’ve seen the last couple of weeks (bunts, steals, etc.).

But the bats have been there most of the year. The pitching must be more consistent to beat the Tigers. Freshman Liam Peterson has been phenomenal since the first month of the year and he will be tested against a very good lineup with quite a bit of home run potential. If the Gators get solid outings from Peterson and Jac Caglianone, the series could swing the Gators’ way.

Prediction Time:

While Florida making the College World Series in the worst year (record-wise) since Kevin O’Sullivan took over, it seems highly unlikely. Clemson is a really good team and is really well-rounded. Florida could take this to game three, but the atmosphere will be intense as all tickets were sold out before Florida even clinched a berth into supers on Monday. Clemson, two games to one.

Prediction 2:

Jac Caglianone ties the Florida career home run record. He currently sits three homers back of the record set by Matt LaPorta (74) and will need a big weekend to reach this mark, but after being snubbed as a finalist for the Golden Spikes, the college baseball world may have unlocked another side of Jac Caglianone.