Friday, March 6
Gainesville, Fla.
7 PM
Florida Gators
vs
High Point
Ethan Surowiec (10), Karson Bowen (14) and Blake Cyr (5) celebrate Surowiec's home run during the Gators' game against Kennesaw State on Friday, February 20, 2026 at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Erika Brown
No. 9 Gators Aim to Stay Hot vs. High Point
Thursday, March 5, 2026 | Baseball
Florida takes its longest winning streak since 2020 into its first-ever meeting with High Point on the diamond.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 9 Florida Gators carry a nation-leading, 13-game win streak into their final non-conference series of the season this weekend against High Point of the Big South Conference.
The series opener is set for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. with games two and three to follow on Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). All three matchups will air on SEC Network+.
The three-game set represents the first-ever meeting between the Gators (13-1) and Panthers (7-6) on the diamond. Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and the Gators have won 30 of their last 36 regular-season games dating back to last season. Since the start of 2025, Florida is 35-5 in regular-season, non-conference play.
Pitching Matchups
CHECKING OUR POLLS
The Gators moved up one spot this week, sitting at No. 9 in the D1Baseball Top 25. Florida is ranked as highly as No. 7 nationally at Perfect Game while coming in at No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the Baseball America Top 25.
SERIES PROMOTIONS & GIVEAWAYS
Friday night's series opener vs. High Point features a Student Prize-a-Palooza, where UF students may enter to win various prizes every inning. On Sunday, one family in attendance will have the opportunity to win four tickets to Walt Disney World and following the matchup, kids will have the chance to run the bases.
FOOD TRUCKS
There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.
Friday: Cilantro Tacos, Honey Nitro
Saturday: Smoked Biscuit, B'z Gelati
Sunday: Donut NV, Ferley's BBQ
PANTHER PREP
High Point enters at 7-6 on the season and 0-2 on the road, having fallen at Wake Forest and at Liberty in midweek contests. Last weekend, the Panthers took two of three for a home series win over Binghamton, but again dropped a Tuesday game to Liberty (this time at home). As a result, High Point is hitting .265/.379/.461 as a team with 18 homers and 17 steals in 21 attempts. The pitching staff has logged a 4.46 ERA, .243 batting average against and 118-to-58 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 115.0 innings, backed by a .971 fielding percentage.
ON A RUN
With 13-consecutive victories since Opening Night, the Gators rep the longest-active win streak in NCAA Division I Baseball. It is Florida's longest win streak overall since starting the 2020 campaign at 16-0 - a mark the Gators can tie with a weekend sweep. Florida's current streak is tied for the seventh-longest in team history and would move up to tied-for-third with a weekend sweep.
ANOTHER MIDWEEK MANAGED
By defeating FAU (W, 4-0) and Florida A&M (W, 7-5) on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Gators improved to 6-0 in midweek games in 2026 and 18-2 in midweek play dating back to last season. Highlighted by their third shutout of the season on Tuesday vs. FAU, UF pitchers allowed just four earned runs on 13 hits and seven walks in 18.0 innings while fanning 23 this past midweek. Florida also posted its sixth comeback win across its 13-game win streak on Wednesday.
BRAVED THE STORM
Across Florida's two-game sweep of the Hurricanes last weekend, Florida pitchers posted a 1.50 ERA, .209 batting average against and 23-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18.0 frames. The relief corps was particularly brilliant, contributing 10.0 innings with only one run allowed, 12 strikeouts and three walks. Right-handed relievers Jackson Barberi and Ricky Reeth logged victories, tossing 3 1/3 shutout frames and 4.0 innings of one-run ball in games one and two, respectively.
SERIES-LY WINNING
Following a two-game sweep of No. 17 Miami, the Gators have won nine-straight weekend series dating back to last season. That is three series longer than any other active streak in the SEC. After dropping the first-four conference series of the 2025 campaign, Florida has taken down Missouri, Mississippi State, No. 5 Arkansas, South Carolina, No. 1 Texas, No. 18 Alabama, UAB, Kennesaw State and No. 17 Miami across consecutive series. The Gators' last series loss came against No. 23 Vanderbilt from April 4-6, 2025 – a span of 334 days come Friday night's opener vs. High Point.
EARLY & OFTEN
Making a habit of putting teams away early, Florida has outscored its opponents by a 48-15 margin in the first two innings of games. The Gators have plated 22 first-inning runs to opponents' 14 while utterly dominating the second frame to the tune of an 26-1 tally. Florida's third-highest-scoring inning is the fifth frame at 18 runs. The Gators are 8-0 when they cross home plate before their opposition.
DEEP CUTS
Five different Gators wield an OPS above 1.000 entering the weekend series: shortstop Brendan Lawson (1.495), outfielder Kyle Jones (1.159), outfielder Cash Strayer (1.095), corner infielder Ethan Surowiec (1.075) and outfielder Blake Cyr (1.025). Of that group, both Lawson and Surowiec have reached base in all 14 games while Jones has done so successfully on 13 occasions.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
On top of the country's top winning streak, Florida ranks third nationally in shutouts thrown (three), seventh in hits (153), eighth in double plays turned (14), 11th in doubles (34), 11th in sacrifice flies (10), 12th in runs scored (131), 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.55), 17th in walks allowed per nine (2.98), 18th in batting average (.330), 20th in slugging percentage (.539), 28th in ERA (3.27), 29th in home runs (19) and 30th in WHIP (1.19).
JONESIN' TO GET GOING
Ranking second in the nation in doubles (eight), sixth in runs (21) and 11th in hits (23), Jones has led off eight of the 13 games he has started with a base hit (.615). Five of his eight leadoff knocks have been doubles, propelling Jones to seven runs after reaching via his leadoff at bat. Leading off any inning of the game, Jones is batting .538 (14-for-26) with two inning-opening hits in his last start on Tuesday alone. Slashing .426/.492/.667 overall, Jones leads the Gators in at bats (54), runs and hits on top of three steals and 15 RBI despite having led off 26 innings this season.
THE LAW GOES POW
Going 3-for-6 with one homer, four runs and two RBI over the weekend in Coral Gables, Lawson was honored as the SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday. Starting all four games for the Orange & Blue in a 4-0 week, Lawson slashed .571/.667/1.071 while going 8-for-14 and leading the team in total bases (15) and RBI (12) as well as every slash category. He stayed hot into the midweek, drilling his fifth homer of the campaign on Tuesday vs. FAU. On the season, Lawson is hitting a robust .432/.609/.886 with a team-high 1.495 OPS and 22 RBI on top of 17 runs and two steals. The Canadian sophomore ranks seventh nationally while leading the SEC in on-base percentage and sits ninth in the country in RBI.
THIS YEAR'S LP DROPPED
Over his last two starts, ace right-hander Liam Peterson has allowed just two runs on seven hits and three walks in 11.0 innings while striking out 20 batters. The junior hurler eclipsed 90 pitches in both starts and now boasts 14.4 strikeouts per nine and a 2.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season to go along with a 3.77 ERA and .196 batting average against.
KING'S RANSOM
Through his first three starts of the 2026 campaign, sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan King is 2-0 and has yet to allow an earned run over 14 1/3 innings pitched. Entering his Saturday outing, the 2025 Freshman All-American has given up just 10 hits and one walk while striking out 12 batters. Across his last eight starts dating back to 2025, King is 6-1 with a 0.63 ERA and 41-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43.0 innings pitched.
WHRITE'S OUT
In his first five collegiate appearances after redshirting in 2025, right-handed reliever Joshua Whritenour has fired 5 2/3 shutout innings to open his career. The flame-thrower has struck out eight against three hits and three walks while reaching as high as 101 MPH on the mound on Feb. 28 at Miami. Whritenour is coming off his first-career save on Wednesday vs. Florida A&M, retiring all four batters he faced and fanning a pair of Rattlers to lock down the win.
YOU NEED ELC
Starting his UF career with 19-consecutive batters retired, southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola has not missed a beat since having his streak snapped on a dropped-third strike. Rebounding with three-straight scoreless appearances spanning 4 2/3 frames, Lugo-Canchola was instrumental in wins over FIU, Miami and Florida A&M. In fact, the Gators have won all six games the left-hander has pitched in this season, as he totes a 0.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 13.1 strikeouts per nine and a 4.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year through 11.0 innings.
THE BARBARIAN(S)
The trio of Whritenour, Lugo-Canchola and Barberi have combined for 28.0 innings out of the bullpen in 2026. Collectively, they have surrendered just two earned runs and 13 hits for a 0.64 ERA while striking out 38 batters. Barberi has been particularly brilliant, owning an active 9.0-consecutive scoreless innings streak spanning four outings during which he has fanned 10 and walked three. As the winning pitcher in two of those four matchups, Barberi commands a 0.79 ERA and .128 batting average against on the season.
DESTINATION OMAHA
Coming off the program's 17th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, O'Sullivan is in his 19th campaign at the helm of the Gators. Since O'Sullivan's 2008 arrival, Florida leads the sport with 305 SEC wins, 41 MLB debuts, 10 top-eight seeds, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles. The Gators have advanced to nine of the last 15 College World Series overall – by far the most in the sport.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans are currently on sale now in addition to single-game tickets. Tickets can be purchased online or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683.
MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP
As a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets:
1) through the Florida Gators app from your mobile device or
2) through FloridaGators.com/myaccount. Fans will also be able to transfer or donate their tickets easily within the app or online.
PARKING/SHUTTLES
Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.
Click HERE for a Parking map.
TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON GAME DAY
Those visiting Condron Family Ballpark on game day should be aware of updated traffic patterns surrounding the ballpark. Fans are advised to utilize Ballpark Way, which will serve as a connecting route to the ballpark from Archer Road. For departures, a postgame traffic flow pattern guide can be found here.
BALLPARK PURCHASES
Condron Family Ballpark food and beverage sales are fully cashless. For convenience and to improve speed of service, all concession stands will only accept credit cards, debit cards, or touchless payment with smartphones. Fans with cash can stop at the first base Concession Stand to exchange cash for a Gift Card. Gift Cards can be used at any concession stand within Condron Family Ballpark.
ON DECK
Florida's lengthy homestand continues into next week, when the Gators host Florida State in a top-25 matchup on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
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The series opener is set for Friday night at 6:30 p.m. with games two and three to follow on Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). All three matchups will air on SEC Network+.
The three-game set represents the first-ever meeting between the Gators (13-1) and Panthers (7-6) on the diamond. Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan and the Gators have won 30 of their last 36 regular-season games dating back to last season. Since the start of 2025, Florida is 35-5 in regular-season, non-conference play.
Pitching Matchups
| Friday | 6:30 ET (SECN+) | Saturday | 4 ET (SECN+) | Sunday | 1 ET (SECN+) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HPU | RHP Wade Walton (1-1, 2.08 ERA | RHP Ty Brachbill (3-0, 3.26 ERA) | RHP Aidan Paul (1-1, 3.45 ERA) |
| Florida | RHP Liam Peterson (1-0, 3.77 ERA) | RHP Aidan King (2-0, 0.00 ERA) | RHP Cooper Walls (2-0, 3.97 ERA) |
| Links | WATCH | LISTEN | WATCH | LISTEN | WATCH | LISTEN |
CHECKING OUR POLLS
The Gators moved up one spot this week, sitting at No. 9 in the D1Baseball Top 25. Florida is ranked as highly as No. 7 nationally at Perfect Game while coming in at No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 14 in the Baseball America Top 25.
SERIES PROMOTIONS & GIVEAWAYS
Friday night's series opener vs. High Point features a Student Prize-a-Palooza, where UF students may enter to win various prizes every inning. On Sunday, one family in attendance will have the opportunity to win four tickets to Walt Disney World and following the matchup, kids will have the chance to run the bases.
FOOD TRUCKS
There will be two food trucks located in the Dizney Grove area beyond the outfield wall on each day of the weekend series.
Friday: Cilantro Tacos, Honey Nitro
Saturday: Smoked Biscuit, B'z Gelati
Sunday: Donut NV, Ferley's BBQ
PANTHER PREP
High Point enters at 7-6 on the season and 0-2 on the road, having fallen at Wake Forest and at Liberty in midweek contests. Last weekend, the Panthers took two of three for a home series win over Binghamton, but again dropped a Tuesday game to Liberty (this time at home). As a result, High Point is hitting .265/.379/.461 as a team with 18 homers and 17 steals in 21 attempts. The pitching staff has logged a 4.46 ERA, .243 batting average against and 118-to-58 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 115.0 innings, backed by a .971 fielding percentage.
ON A RUN
With 13-consecutive victories since Opening Night, the Gators rep the longest-active win streak in NCAA Division I Baseball. It is Florida's longest win streak overall since starting the 2020 campaign at 16-0 - a mark the Gators can tie with a weekend sweep. Florida's current streak is tied for the seventh-longest in team history and would move up to tied-for-third with a weekend sweep.
ANOTHER MIDWEEK MANAGED
By defeating FAU (W, 4-0) and Florida A&M (W, 7-5) on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Gators improved to 6-0 in midweek games in 2026 and 18-2 in midweek play dating back to last season. Highlighted by their third shutout of the season on Tuesday vs. FAU, UF pitchers allowed just four earned runs on 13 hits and seven walks in 18.0 innings while fanning 23 this past midweek. Florida also posted its sixth comeback win across its 13-game win streak on Wednesday.
BRAVED THE STORM
Across Florida's two-game sweep of the Hurricanes last weekend, Florida pitchers posted a 1.50 ERA, .209 batting average against and 23-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 18.0 frames. The relief corps was particularly brilliant, contributing 10.0 innings with only one run allowed, 12 strikeouts and three walks. Right-handed relievers Jackson Barberi and Ricky Reeth logged victories, tossing 3 1/3 shutout frames and 4.0 innings of one-run ball in games one and two, respectively.
SERIES-LY WINNING
Following a two-game sweep of No. 17 Miami, the Gators have won nine-straight weekend series dating back to last season. That is three series longer than any other active streak in the SEC. After dropping the first-four conference series of the 2025 campaign, Florida has taken down Missouri, Mississippi State, No. 5 Arkansas, South Carolina, No. 1 Texas, No. 18 Alabama, UAB, Kennesaw State and No. 17 Miami across consecutive series. The Gators' last series loss came against No. 23 Vanderbilt from April 4-6, 2025 – a span of 334 days come Friday night's opener vs. High Point.
EARLY & OFTEN
Making a habit of putting teams away early, Florida has outscored its opponents by a 48-15 margin in the first two innings of games. The Gators have plated 22 first-inning runs to opponents' 14 while utterly dominating the second frame to the tune of an 26-1 tally. Florida's third-highest-scoring inning is the fifth frame at 18 runs. The Gators are 8-0 when they cross home plate before their opposition.
DEEP CUTS
Five different Gators wield an OPS above 1.000 entering the weekend series: shortstop Brendan Lawson (1.495), outfielder Kyle Jones (1.159), outfielder Cash Strayer (1.095), corner infielder Ethan Surowiec (1.075) and outfielder Blake Cyr (1.025). Of that group, both Lawson and Surowiec have reached base in all 14 games while Jones has done so successfully on 13 occasions.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
On top of the country's top winning streak, Florida ranks third nationally in shutouts thrown (three), seventh in hits (153), eighth in double plays turned (14), 11th in doubles (34), 11th in sacrifice flies (10), 12th in runs scored (131), 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.55), 17th in walks allowed per nine (2.98), 18th in batting average (.330), 20th in slugging percentage (.539), 28th in ERA (3.27), 29th in home runs (19) and 30th in WHIP (1.19).
JONESIN' TO GET GOING
Ranking second in the nation in doubles (eight), sixth in runs (21) and 11th in hits (23), Jones has led off eight of the 13 games he has started with a base hit (.615). Five of his eight leadoff knocks have been doubles, propelling Jones to seven runs after reaching via his leadoff at bat. Leading off any inning of the game, Jones is batting .538 (14-for-26) with two inning-opening hits in his last start on Tuesday alone. Slashing .426/.492/.667 overall, Jones leads the Gators in at bats (54), runs and hits on top of three steals and 15 RBI despite having led off 26 innings this season.
THE LAW GOES POW
Going 3-for-6 with one homer, four runs and two RBI over the weekend in Coral Gables, Lawson was honored as the SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday. Starting all four games for the Orange & Blue in a 4-0 week, Lawson slashed .571/.667/1.071 while going 8-for-14 and leading the team in total bases (15) and RBI (12) as well as every slash category. He stayed hot into the midweek, drilling his fifth homer of the campaign on Tuesday vs. FAU. On the season, Lawson is hitting a robust .432/.609/.886 with a team-high 1.495 OPS and 22 RBI on top of 17 runs and two steals. The Canadian sophomore ranks seventh nationally while leading the SEC in on-base percentage and sits ninth in the country in RBI.
THIS YEAR'S LP DROPPED
Over his last two starts, ace right-hander Liam Peterson has allowed just two runs on seven hits and three walks in 11.0 innings while striking out 20 batters. The junior hurler eclipsed 90 pitches in both starts and now boasts 14.4 strikeouts per nine and a 2.9 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season to go along with a 3.77 ERA and .196 batting average against.
KING'S RANSOM
Through his first three starts of the 2026 campaign, sophomore right-handed pitcher Aidan King is 2-0 and has yet to allow an earned run over 14 1/3 innings pitched. Entering his Saturday outing, the 2025 Freshman All-American has given up just 10 hits and one walk while striking out 12 batters. Across his last eight starts dating back to 2025, King is 6-1 with a 0.63 ERA and 41-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43.0 innings pitched.
WHRITE'S OUT
In his first five collegiate appearances after redshirting in 2025, right-handed reliever Joshua Whritenour has fired 5 2/3 shutout innings to open his career. The flame-thrower has struck out eight against three hits and three walks while reaching as high as 101 MPH on the mound on Feb. 28 at Miami. Whritenour is coming off his first-career save on Wednesday vs. Florida A&M, retiring all four batters he faced and fanning a pair of Rattlers to lock down the win.
YOU NEED ELC
Starting his UF career with 19-consecutive batters retired, southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola has not missed a beat since having his streak snapped on a dropped-third strike. Rebounding with three-straight scoreless appearances spanning 4 2/3 frames, Lugo-Canchola was instrumental in wins over FIU, Miami and Florida A&M. In fact, the Gators have won all six games the left-hander has pitched in this season, as he totes a 0.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 13.1 strikeouts per nine and a 4.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the year through 11.0 innings.
THE BARBARIAN(S)
The trio of Whritenour, Lugo-Canchola and Barberi have combined for 28.0 innings out of the bullpen in 2026. Collectively, they have surrendered just two earned runs and 13 hits for a 0.64 ERA while striking out 38 batters. Barberi has been particularly brilliant, owning an active 9.0-consecutive scoreless innings streak spanning four outings during which he has fanned 10 and walked three. As the winning pitcher in two of those four matchups, Barberi commands a 0.79 ERA and .128 batting average against on the season.
DESTINATION OMAHA
Coming off the program's 17th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, O'Sullivan is in his 19th campaign at the helm of the Gators. Since O'Sullivan's 2008 arrival, Florida leads the sport with 305 SEC wins, 41 MLB debuts, 10 top-eight seeds, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles. The Gators have advanced to nine of the last 15 College World Series overall – by far the most in the sport.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans are currently on sale now in addition to single-game tickets. Tickets can be purchased online or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683.
MOBILE TICKETING & FLORIDA GATORS APP
As a reminder, mobile ticketing is required. There will be two ways to access your tickets:
1) through the Florida Gators app from your mobile device or
2) through FloridaGators.com/myaccount. Fans will also be able to transfer or donate their tickets easily within the app or online.
PARKING/SHUTTLES
Fans are encouraged to park at the Fifield and IFAS lots during the weekend. An increased number of shuttles will be available for transportation to the ballpark each day.
Click HERE for a Parking map.
- General Parking is available in the west Condron Family Ballpark baseball lot and the Fifield parking lot located directly across Hull Road.
- Disabled parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the Condron Family Ballpark west lot with a valid Disabled Placard.
- Fans can follow this link to an interactive parking map.
- RV Parking is available in the Fifield Flat lot. Reserved RV parking is not available for Florida baseball games. All motor home parking is on a first come, first-served basis.
- On-board generators are permitted, however exterior or pull-along generators are prohibited at all times. For safety reasons, all motor homes/RVs are required to utilize exhaust extensions or "smoke stacks" to channel exhaust fumes to the top of the motor home/RV.
- Overnight stays are only allowed on weekend series in the Fifield Flat lot.
- Do Not Park Illegally
- Park in designated parking spots (Do not park on grass or in No Parking Zones).
- Vehicles are subject to towing if they block streets, sidewalks, service drives, or fire lanes, or if illegally parked in a disabled space.
TRAFFIC PATTERNS ON GAME DAY
Those visiting Condron Family Ballpark on game day should be aware of updated traffic patterns surrounding the ballpark. Fans are advised to utilize Ballpark Way, which will serve as a connecting route to the ballpark from Archer Road. For departures, a postgame traffic flow pattern guide can be found here.
BALLPARK PURCHASES
Condron Family Ballpark food and beverage sales are fully cashless. For convenience and to improve speed of service, all concession stands will only accept credit cards, debit cards, or touchless payment with smartphones. Fans with cash can stop at the first base Concession Stand to exchange cash for a Gift Card. Gift Cards can be used at any concession stand within Condron Family Ballpark.
ON DECK
Florida's lengthy homestand continues into next week, when the Gators host Florida State in a top-25 matchup on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
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