Wyatt Langford opens up Game 3 of College World Series final with 401-foot home run
Wyatt Langford showed up early for Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series against LSU, hitting a towering 401-foot home run over the left-field wall to give the Gators a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
The homer gives Langford his second long ball of the series, having hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning during Sunday’s 24-4 victory.
Watch the big-time moment below:
What followed in the second inning what utter dominance at the plate from LSU. The Tigers ended up scoring six runs while seeing 11 runners reach base. Florida’s two-way star Jac Caglianone allowed just one hit in the inning but walked three before logging two outs.
Cade Fisher relieved him with the bases loaded, but the damage had already been done.
Find out whether Florida can march back into this matchup, or if LSU will run away with the score — tune in to ESPN as a new national champion is set to be crowned before the end of the night.
Florida to become first team to win multiple titles in football, basketball, baseball with CWS win over LSU
Florida is a large brand within the world of college athletics. Whether it’s their team’s play, their atmosphere down in The Swamp in Gainesville, or their logo, they’re near the top of the most recognizable programs in the NCAA.
However, if Florida comes back to win the College World Series over LSU in Omaha on Monday night, they would put their athletic department in a league of their own. That’s because, per Neil Blackmon of Saturday Down South, a title for the Gator baseball team would make them the only program in the nation with multiple titles in football, men’s basketball, and baseball.
Some of that history happened more recently than others. Even so, all three have at least accomplished those feats in the 2000s.
In the case of Florida football, they’re a three-time national title winner. While that does include Steve Spurrier’s win in 1996 that gave their program their first, the pair of titles in a three-year stretch from Urban Meyer, with a pair of teams that included one Tim Tebow, are likely more well-known.
As for Florida basketball, they are college basketball’s most recent repeat. They won their pair of national championships in 2006 and 2007. That also means they won a title in the same year that Meyer won his first on the gridiron. Still, Billy Donovan left a legacy of his own with his two teams that featured future NBA players like Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Marreese Speights.
We then reach the most recent champions in the Florida baseball program. This year’s club is the 13th group of Gators to reach the College World Series. They’re the third to reach the final series, alongside their 2005 and 2017 teams. Now, they could join the 2017 squad as the second to hoist a national championship for their school.