Florida vs TCU Baseball Odds, Prediction & Picks (2023 College World Series Semis)

After one-run wins over Virginia and Oral Roberts, the Florida Gators are a win away from reaching the College World Series championship series for the first time since 2017.

Can TCU at least make UF wait another day to wrap up a date with Wake Forest or LSU? The second-seeded Gators (52-15) and Horned Frogs (44-23) will face off this afternoon (2:00 pm ET, ESPN) in the first of today’s CWS semifinal matchups, with the #1 Demon Deacons and #5 Tigers meeting in the second semifinal tonight.

Since the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament went to a 64-team format in 1999, the top two national seeds have met for the national championship only once. That was in the first year of the format, when #1 Miami defeated #2 Florida State in the championship game.

With a win over the Horned Frogs, the Gators will do their part to set up the first #1 vs #2 matchup since the CWS went to a best-of-three championship series in 2003, and they will ensure SEC representation in the title series for the sixth straight time and the 14th time in 15 tournaments.

Florida vs TCU Odds

Moneyline

• Florida -185
• TCU +140

Over/Under

• Over 11 (-115)
• Under 11 (-115)

Run Line

• Florida -1.5 (-135)
• TCU +1.5 (+105)

Can Clicking Klecker Keep the Horned Frogs from Heading Home?

Yesterday, TCU extended their way in Omaha with a 6-1 win over Oral Roberts. While the first meeting between the two teams on Friday featured a lot of late drama, the rematch was all but over after the Horned Frogs plated four in the top of the sixth to blow the game open.

The reward for their season-saving win is a quick turnaround to face Florida, who has been out of action since Sunday’s 5-4 win over Oral Roberts.

With a quick turnaround between games and the prospect of having to play three games in three days in order to reach the championship series, TCU needed to avoid disaster on the mound against Oral Roberts.

They did that, with Cam Brown, Luke Savage, Hunter Hodges, and Cohen Feser combining to hold one of college baseball’s top offenses to just one run and seven hits.

Freshman Kole Klecker will need to be sharp for TCU in today’s matchup. Klecker (10-4, 3.73 ERA) started against Oral Roberts on Friday and allowed one run, five hits, and one walk in five innings.

With Florida the fresher team, the fewer pitchers TCU has to use, the better, if they happen to force a Thursday rematch. Whereas UF’s bullpen would be unlikely to see much action if they were to fall behind by a sizable margin, the Horned Frogs would have no such luxury, which would hamstring their chances of upsetting the odds on consecutive days.

Limiting free passes will be key to that avoiding that issue. TCU entered yesterday’s game allowing 3.9 walks per game, but their quartet of pitchers surrendered eight walks. That marked just the sixth time the Horned Frogs had allowed that many free passes in a game this season.

While ORU wasn’t able to capitalize, continuing that generosity would be asking for trouble against Florida.

The Gators walked only three times against Oral Roberts on Sunday, but they worked six walks in their opener against Virginia, and those free passes were key in the Gators’ 6-5 win. And to state it quite simply, you just don’t want to put extra baserunners on against a team that has 135 home runs in 67 games this season.

Florida vs TCU Prediction and Picks

Prediction for Florida vs TCU: Florida to win

Picks for Florida vs TCU: Florida -1.5 & Florida/TCU over 11.5

Being the fresher team certainly doesn’t always guarantee success, but that’s the direction I am going in this matchup. And after two one-run wins to start their stay in Omaha, I think the margin of victory will be a bit wider today as the Gators wrap up a spot in the College World Series championship series.

The 2023 College World Series will continue through this week and weekend, with the best-of-three championship series scheduled to begin on Saturday. Subscribe to the Betting News newsletter so you don’t miss out on our rundown on this weekend’s most notable sporting events, including the CWS championship series, a ton of MLB action, and more.