Florida vs. Miami (FL)
8 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Gators had their way with Miami in each team's first game in Omaha, riding an 11-run explosion in the fourth to a 15-3 victory. The teams now face each other in the loser's bracket with elimination on the line.
Florida is giving Alex Faedo the start today. He has a 3.36 ERA on the season and has struck out 52 batters in 56 innings pitched. He has started 11 games this year, but this will be his first in the postseason. In Florida's 4-3 win over Miami on February 20, he pitched 1.1 innings in relief, allowing two hits but no runs.
Miami is putting its season in the hands of Enrique Sosa, who will tie Thomas Woodrey for team lead in total starts with 17. He has a 4.07 ERA, the highest of the team's four primary starters, and he walks more players per inning than the three other main starters as well. He did well against the Gators earlier this year though, allowing just two runs in seven innings of work in the Hurricanes' 2-1 loss to UF on February 22. A lack of run support lost that game, not anything that Sosa did.
Florida came in as the betting favorite for the CWS, and it would sting to go home before even reaching the final of its half of the bracket—and at the hands of Miami, no less. Expect a spirited effort from both teams in this one.
