College World Series: Faedo Leads Florida To Finals

Highlights from the 3-0 victory over TCU–which sends us to the #CWS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!!

Side note: Alex Faedo was straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (again) pic.twitter.com/GCWxPgczu0

— Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 25, 2017

OMAHA–With the lights shining the brightest they have all season and a spot in the College World Series finals on the line, Florida righthander Alex Faedo stepped up—again.

Faedo threw 7.1 scoreless innings Saturday against Texas Christian to lead Florida to a 3-0 victory. The win sends the Gators back to the CWS championship series for the first time since 2011. The finals, which begin Monday, will be a showdown between Florida and Louisiana State, the Southeastern Conference’s division winners.

Saturday was Faedo’s second start against TCU in the last week. He struck out 11 batters in seven scoreless innings Sunday in a 3-0 victory in the CWS opener for both teams, and was just as good, if not better, Saturday.

Faedo struck out 11 batters in 7.1 innings Saturday, holding TCU to three hits and four walks. While the results were similar, Faedo said he and coach Kevin O’Sullivan made some slight tweaks to the game plan.

“We looked back at the tape from that game and I figured they did the same thing, so we had to make a few adjustments from what we saw,” Faedo said. “I just executed the pitches that are called and just made timely pitches.”

Faedo, who was drafted 18th overall by the Tigers last week, still relied on the basics. He pounded the strike zone with his low- to mid-90s fastball and mixed in his premium slider. The Horned Frogs had multiple baserunners in an inning against him just twice, allowing him to cruise through their potent lineup.

Faedo’s gem Saturday was just his latest in the postseason. Beginning with his start against Auburn in the SEC Tournament, he has struck out 51 batters in 33.1 innings. He has a 0.54 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP during that stretch and, most importantly, the Gators have won all six games in which he has appeared.

Catcher Mike Rivera said Faedo is on another level from the competition right now.

“I think he’s just above everyone,” Rivera said. “He’s done this for three years. He’s competed like that, he’s won a lot of games for us. Whenever we needed him the most, he’s showed up.”

Faedo improved to 9-2, 2.26 with 157 strikeouts in 123.1 innings this season. With his 11 strikeouts Saturday, he set the program record for most strikeouts in a single season, passing Rob Bonanno, who had 148 strikeouts in 1994. Faedo also moved into first place in the country this season, passing LSU righthander Alex Lange (150).

Florida has had several elite pitchers during O’Sullivan’s 10 years as head coach, such as Brian Johnson, A.J. Puk and Logan Shore. None of them have reached the level of excellence in Omaha that Faedo has. O’Sullivan attributed Faedo’s success this week to his confidence.

“He just exudes aggressiveness, confidence,” O’Sullivan said. “And our team has the utmost respect for him.”

Florida gave Faedo all the support he needed Saturday. Like they did Sunday, the Gators scored three runs against Horned Frogs ace Jared Janczak. They took an early lead, scratching out a run in the second when Austin Langworthy doubled and came around to score on a ground ball from Rivera. DH Christian Hicks helped expand the lead with an RBI double in the fifth that brought home Rivera and a triple in the seventh, scoring on a single from Deacon Liput.

All-American closer Michael Byrne came on for the final five outs to earn his 18th save of the season. He struck out three batters and held TCU to one hit.

Florida played clean defense even after shortstop Dalton Guthrie was forced to leave the game in the third inning due to back spasms. Liput, Florida’s starting second baseman, slid over to shortstop, with Blake Reese manning second base. O’Sullivan said Guthrie will likely be able to pay in the finals.

Florida will need all hands on deck against LSU. The Gators won their series against the Tigers in Gainesville in March, but the Tigers have been one of the hottest teams in the country for the last two months and secured their spot in the finals by beating Oregon State, the No. 1 national seed, on back-to-back days. O’Sullivan said Faedo will likely be unavailable for the finals, as even a potential Game 3 on Wednesday would force the righthander to pitch on three days of rest.

But O’Sullivan and the Gators will have time to work out strategy for the finals later. Saturday was about Faedo’s gem and a return to the finals after two years of disappointment in Omaha.

“Our big thing is just try your best and good things will happen right now,” Faedo said. “And we tried our best today and good things happened.”