Tuesday, April 7
Tallahassee, Fla.
7 PM
Florida Gators
at
Florida State
Luke McNeillie unleashes a pitch during the Gators' shutout of the Seminoles on March 24, 2026 at Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Madilyn Gemme
Florida Travels to No. 5 FSU for Season Series Finale
Monday, April 6, 2026 | Baseball
The Gators are looking to secure their eighth regular-season sweep of FSU under Kevin O'Sullivan.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators open a four-game road trip on Tuesday night when they travel to Dick Howser Stadium for the third and final regular-season meeting against the No. 5 Florida State Seminoles.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN2 with Karl Ravech and Chris Burke on the call in Tallahassee, Fla. Having already beaten the Seminoles (24-7) twice this season, the Gators (24-9) are going for their second season sweep in the series in the last four years. Florida has swept the season series seven times under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023) while FSU has accomplished the feat just once (2024) since his arrival.
Following wins over FSU on March 10 (W, 6-3) and March 24 (W, 5-0), the Gators clinched their 11th season series in the previous 17 against the Seminoles featuring victories in 26 of the last 34 meetings. Boasting three-straight wins in the rivalry, Florida defeated FSU in its most-recent trip to Tallahassee on March 10 of last season (W, 7-2) for its second victory in the last three at Dick Howser.
Powered by a dominant 39-23 record vs. the Seminoles under O'Sullivan, the Gators have moved closer in the all-time series to 135-131-1. Playing against FSU in Tallahassee, Florida is 47-72-1 despite O'Sullivan's winning 10-8 mark.
Pitching Matchups
GIANT SLAYERS
As they prepare to visit the No. 5 Seminoles, the Gators will put a perfect 7-0 record on the line against ranked opponents this season. Most recently taking down No. 10 FSU in Jacksonville on March 24 (W, 5-0) and sweeping No. 4 Arkansas on the road from March 27-29 (W 9-4, W 7-4, W 7-6), Florida is 4-0 vs. top-10 foes on the year including 3-0 against the top five. Interestingly enough, all four of UF's top-10 victories have come away from home. Florida also defeated No. 17 Miami twice (W 7-2, W 8-4) and topped No. 20 FSU on March 10 (W, 6-3).
STACKING SHUTOUTS & NCAA RANKINGS
On Friday night against Ole Miss, Florida threw its nation-leading seventh shutout of the season – four shy of the program record of 11 set in 2011. The Gators have produced a shutout in 21.2% of games played (33) this season for 29.2% of their victories (26). In addition to pacing the country in shutouts, Florida ranks eighth nationally in strikeouts per nine (11.7), 12th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.13), 13th with an SEC-high 21 sacrifice flies, 17th in ERA (3.72), 18th in WHIP (1.24), 21st in hits allowed per nine (7.47), 24th in win percentage (.727) and 39th in walks allowed per nine (3.72).
BACK-TO-BACK GEMS
Florida's seventh shutout of the season came on the back of seven scoreless frames from star sophomore Aidan King in the game-two win over Ole Miss. King has now started four of the Gators' nation-leading seven shutouts. King was followed by Russell Sandefer in game three, who one-upped him with a career-high seven scoreless, two-hit frames and 11 strikeouts. The back-to-back gems marked the first time UF had starting pitchers complete seven innings in consecutive games since June 4, 2023 against UConn and Texas Tech in the NCAA Gainesville Regional (Hurston Waldrep and Cade Fisher).
CHECKING OUR POLLS
Despite dropping out of the D1Baseball Top 25, Florida remains ranked by every other major poll led by the NCBWA at No. 18. The Gators sit at No. 21 per Baseball America while coming in at No. 22 and No. 24 according to Perfect Game and the USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively. Meanwhile, every opponent on Florida's schedule this week is ranked inside D1Baseball's top five in No. 5 Florida State and No. 4 Georgia.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
Florida State enters the matchup with a record of 24-7, including an impressive 16-2 mark at home. The Seminoles are currently second in the ACC at a 9-3 but are 0-3 against SEC opponents on the season. On the offensive side of the plate, Florida State has posted a season batting average of .284, OPS of .872, and a slugging percentage of .470. Once getting on base, runners for the Seminoles have stolen 33 bags out of 40 attempts. On the mound, FSU pitchers have delivered a 3.93 ERA and 339-to-121 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 261 innings pitched. Defensively, Florida State has committed 28 errors in 811 chances for a fielding percentage of .973.
MIDWEEK MASTERS
Dropping its first midweek contest of the campaign last Tuesday to Jacksonville (L, 4-3), Florida sits at a stellar 9-1 in midweek play this season. Dating back to the start of 2025, the Gators are 21-3 in midweek games and have lost just twice in 17 contests at home. Since the start of last season, Florida is outscoring midweek opponents, 195-to-97.
RUNNING THE STATE
Headlined by a pair of wins at No. 17 Miami and two victories over No. 20/10 FSU, the Gators are 11-1 this season vs. teams from the state of Florida. In 28 games against in-state foes since 2025, Florida is 23-5 featuring wins against Stetson (five), Miami (four), Florida State (four), FIU (two), Jacksonville (two), North Florida (two), Florida Atlantic (two) and Florida A&M (two).
WIEC IS LIT
Ever since going 0-for-4 in Florida's SEC opener against South Carolina on March 13, corner infielder Ethan Surowiec has been red hot in the 14 games since. In that span, the sophomore slugger paces the team in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.642), hits (19), total bases (34), homers (three) and runs (14) while getting on base a .452 clip and producing 12 RBI. As the lone Gator to start all 33 games, Surowiec has raised his season battling line to .317/.429/.553 backed by six home runs, nine doubles, 31 RBI, 27 runs, 23 walks and two stolen bases. Tied alongside center fielder Kyle Jones with a team-high 39 hits, Surowiec ranks second on the roster with 12 multi-hit efforts and third with seven multi-RBI performances.
TO THE WALLS
Making his seventh start of the season albeit his first in a midweek capacity, right-hander Cooper Walls gets the ball for Tuesday's rivalry finale against the Seminoles. This will be the first-year Gator's first appearance against FSU as he did not see action in either of the prior meetings this season. In six starts, Walls has gone 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA, .278 batting average against and 20-to-seven strikeout-to-walk ratio across 22 2/3 innings. The 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year has made nine total appearances this season and did not issue a walk in any of his three previous outings.
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE
As one of 45 players on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, shortstop Brendan Lawson is hitting .352/.556/.802 with 11 homers, 34 runs, 31 RBI, 34 walks and eight stolen bases in 30 games played. Lawson leads the entire SEC in walks, on-base percentage and triples, as his .556 OBP is the fifth-best in the county. The Canadian sophomore also sits third in the SEC in slugging (17th nationally) 10th in homers and 12th in runs scored while drawing significantly more walks than strikeouts (25). Lawson has reached safely in 27 of his 30 starts on top of an unearthly 1.358 OPS.
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Florida boasts nine come-from-behind victories through 33 games. In particular, the Gators' five-run comeback on March 8 vs. High Point marked their largest since May 15 of last season against Alabama (five runs).
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 nation with 312 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 country.
ON DECK
The Gators trek to Athens, Ga. for a three-game series against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs from April 10-12. The series opens on Friday night at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.
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First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN2 with Karl Ravech and Chris Burke on the call in Tallahassee, Fla. Having already beaten the Seminoles (24-7) twice this season, the Gators (24-9) are going for their second season sweep in the series in the last four years. Florida has swept the season series seven times under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023) while FSU has accomplished the feat just once (2024) since his arrival.
Following wins over FSU on March 10 (W, 6-3) and March 24 (W, 5-0), the Gators clinched their 11th season series in the previous 17 against the Seminoles featuring victories in 26 of the last 34 meetings. Boasting three-straight wins in the rivalry, Florida defeated FSU in its most-recent trip to Tallahassee on March 10 of last season (W, 7-2) for its second victory in the last three at Dick Howser.
Powered by a dominant 39-23 record vs. the Seminoles under O'Sullivan, the Gators have moved closer in the all-time series to 135-131-1. Playing against FSU in Tallahassee, Florida is 47-72-1 despite O'Sullivan's winning 10-8 mark.
Pitching Matchups
| Tuesday | 7 ET (ESPN2) | |
|---|---|
| Florida | RHP Cooper Walls (3-1, 4.91 ERA) |
| FSU | LHP Cooper Whited (1-1, 3.31 ERA) |
| Links | WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS |
GIANT SLAYERS
As they prepare to visit the No. 5 Seminoles, the Gators will put a perfect 7-0 record on the line against ranked opponents this season. Most recently taking down No. 10 FSU in Jacksonville on March 24 (W, 5-0) and sweeping No. 4 Arkansas on the road from March 27-29 (W 9-4, W 7-4, W 7-6), Florida is 4-0 vs. top-10 foes on the year including 3-0 against the top five. Interestingly enough, all four of UF's top-10 victories have come away from home. Florida also defeated No. 17 Miami twice (W 7-2, W 8-4) and topped No. 20 FSU on March 10 (W, 6-3).
STACKING SHUTOUTS & NCAA RANKINGS
On Friday night against Ole Miss, Florida threw its nation-leading seventh shutout of the season – four shy of the program record of 11 set in 2011. The Gators have produced a shutout in 21.2% of games played (33) this season for 29.2% of their victories (26). In addition to pacing the country in shutouts, Florida ranks eighth nationally in strikeouts per nine (11.7), 12th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.13), 13th with an SEC-high 21 sacrifice flies, 17th in ERA (3.72), 18th in WHIP (1.24), 21st in hits allowed per nine (7.47), 24th in win percentage (.727) and 39th in walks allowed per nine (3.72).
BACK-TO-BACK GEMS
Florida's seventh shutout of the season came on the back of seven scoreless frames from star sophomore Aidan King in the game-two win over Ole Miss. King has now started four of the Gators' nation-leading seven shutouts. King was followed by Russell Sandefer in game three, who one-upped him with a career-high seven scoreless, two-hit frames and 11 strikeouts. The back-to-back gems marked the first time UF had starting pitchers complete seven innings in consecutive games since June 4, 2023 against UConn and Texas Tech in the NCAA Gainesville Regional (Hurston Waldrep and Cade Fisher).
CHECKING OUR POLLS
Despite dropping out of the D1Baseball Top 25, Florida remains ranked by every other major poll led by the NCBWA at No. 18. The Gators sit at No. 21 per Baseball America while coming in at No. 22 and No. 24 according to Perfect Game and the USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively. Meanwhile, every opponent on Florida's schedule this week is ranked inside D1Baseball's top five in No. 5 Florida State and No. 4 Georgia.
SCOUTING THE SEMINOLES
Florida State enters the matchup with a record of 24-7, including an impressive 16-2 mark at home. The Seminoles are currently second in the ACC at a 9-3 but are 0-3 against SEC opponents on the season. On the offensive side of the plate, Florida State has posted a season batting average of .284, OPS of .872, and a slugging percentage of .470. Once getting on base, runners for the Seminoles have stolen 33 bags out of 40 attempts. On the mound, FSU pitchers have delivered a 3.93 ERA and 339-to-121 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 261 innings pitched. Defensively, Florida State has committed 28 errors in 811 chances for a fielding percentage of .973.
MIDWEEK MASTERS
Dropping its first midweek contest of the campaign last Tuesday to Jacksonville (L, 4-3), Florida sits at a stellar 9-1 in midweek play this season. Dating back to the start of 2025, the Gators are 21-3 in midweek games and have lost just twice in 17 contests at home. Since the start of last season, Florida is outscoring midweek opponents, 195-to-97.
RUNNING THE STATE
Headlined by a pair of wins at No. 17 Miami and two victories over No. 20/10 FSU, the Gators are 11-1 this season vs. teams from the state of Florida. In 28 games against in-state foes since 2025, Florida is 23-5 featuring wins against Stetson (five), Miami (four), Florida State (four), FIU (two), Jacksonville (two), North Florida (two), Florida Atlantic (two) and Florida A&M (two).
WIEC IS LIT
Ever since going 0-for-4 in Florida's SEC opener against South Carolina on March 13, corner infielder Ethan Surowiec has been red hot in the 14 games since. In that span, the sophomore slugger paces the team in batting average (.358), slugging percentage (.642), hits (19), total bases (34), homers (three) and runs (14) while getting on base a .452 clip and producing 12 RBI. As the lone Gator to start all 33 games, Surowiec has raised his season battling line to .317/.429/.553 backed by six home runs, nine doubles, 31 RBI, 27 runs, 23 walks and two stolen bases. Tied alongside center fielder Kyle Jones with a team-high 39 hits, Surowiec ranks second on the roster with 12 multi-hit efforts and third with seven multi-RBI performances.
TO THE WALLS
Making his seventh start of the season albeit his first in a midweek capacity, right-hander Cooper Walls gets the ball for Tuesday's rivalry finale against the Seminoles. This will be the first-year Gator's first appearance against FSU as he did not see action in either of the prior meetings this season. In six starts, Walls has gone 3-0 with a 4.37 ERA, .278 batting average against and 20-to-seven strikeout-to-walk ratio across 22 2/3 innings. The 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year has made nine total appearances this season and did not issue a walk in any of his three previous outings.
THE MOOSE IS LOOSE
As one of 45 players on the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List, shortstop Brendan Lawson is hitting .352/.556/.802 with 11 homers, 34 runs, 31 RBI, 34 walks and eight stolen bases in 30 games played. Lawson leads the entire SEC in walks, on-base percentage and triples, as his .556 OBP is the fifth-best in the county. The Canadian sophomore also sits third in the SEC in slugging (17th nationally) 10th in homers and 12th in runs scored while drawing significantly more walks than strikeouts (25). Lawson has reached safely in 27 of his 30 starts on top of an unearthly 1.358 OPS.
RELENTLESS REPTILES
Florida boasts nine come-from-behind victories through 33 games. In particular, the Gators' five-run comeback on March 8 vs. High Point marked their largest since May 15 of last season against Alabama (five runs).
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 nation with 312 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 country.
ON DECK
The Gators trek to Athens, Ga. for a three-game series against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs from April 10-12. The series opens on Friday night at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
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