Let's play 2 ... or 3

Gators fight to stay alive, Gamecocks look to finish off a championship. History says it could go either way in game two.

OMAHA, Neb. – Does the 2011 college baseball season end Tuesday night or can Florida force a third game in the College World Series championship series to extend it one more day?

The odds are 50-50 for the Gators, and the same for the Gamecocks if the series does go to a third contest.

In the eight previous best-of-three series since the format was adopted in 2003, four have gone three games and four have been decided in two.

Of those four that have gone three games, the team that lost the first game has bounced back to win the next two – Oregon State in 2006 and Fresno State in 2008.

South Carolina lost the national championship three times when it was a one-game showdown, falling to Texas in 1975, Arizona State in 1977 and Texas again in 2002.

Florida’s only other appearance in the finals was 2005 when the Gators dropped two straight games to the Longhorns.

College World Series
Best-of-three championship series

2003: Rice beat Stanford 2-1
2004: Cal State Fullerton 2-0
2005: Texas beat Florida 2-0
2006: Oregon State beat North Carolina 2-1
2007: Oregon State beat North Carolina 2-0
2008: Fresno State beat Georgia 2-1
2009: LSU beat Texas 2-1
2010: South Carolina beat UCLA 2-0