OMAHA, NE — Two games of the 2023 NCAA World Series between the LSU Tigers and the Florida Gators are in the books, and only one game remains before a champion will be crowned. On Saturday, LSU survived a contest that went to extra innings to decide a winner and claimed victory, 4-3. On Sunday, Florida could have folded but overcame the adversity of falling behind in the series and hit six home runs on their way to a 24-4 Game 2 win.
It all comes down to one final game on Monday, June 26, at 6 p.m. Which LSU team will show up? Will it be the team capable of championship-level pitching or the team that just gave up six home runs in a rout? Only time will tell. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Tigers as the -150 favorites (risk $150 to win $100) on the money line. The over/under (total number of runs Vegas thinks will be scored) is at 9.5 in the latest LSU vs. Florida odds.
Vegas favors LSU because of their ace Paul Skenes—the 21-year-old projected no. 1 pick in the next MLB draft. Skenes last pitched against Wake Forest to send the Tigers to play Florida in the Championship. His availability is in question because he’s thrown 243 pitches in the last nine days across two starts. Although the young man says he’s feeling good, that’s a lot of pitches.
Florida Gators Baseball
(Credit: ncaa.com)
LSU's Paul Skenes
(Credit: lsusports.net)
Florida has an argument as well. After they lost to LSU on Friday, they bounced back with a record-setting performance with 24 runs in a championship series. While the Gators might not have an ace up their sleeve like LSU’s Skenes, the Gators can play ball. Anyone in their lineup can light up the scorebook each and every at-bat. This game will come down to who pitches for LSU and if the Gators’ bats can stay red-hot.
LSU last won a championship back in 2009. Florida more recently won a title back in 2019. Entertaining is the only way to describe this entire College World Series, and Game 3 should be no different.
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