Florida Set to Open Gainesville Regional Against Rider

Friday, May 29

Gainesville, Fla.

1 PM

Florida Gators

Rider

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Florida Set to Open Gainesville Regional Against Rider

Thursday, May 28, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes Baseball Game Day Guide

Having won 10 of their last 12 games, the Gators are hosting an NCAA Regional for the fourth time in the last six seasons.

By: Sullivan Bortner

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As the No. 8 national seed and host of the Gainesville Regional, the Florida Gators open their 41st NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday against No. 4-seed Rider.

First pitch for game one of the Gainesville Regional is set for 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon on ESPN+. The victor will advance to the winner's bracket to take on either No. 2-seed Miami or No. 3-seed Troy on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. The Gainesville Regional is set to run from Friday, May 29 through Monday, May 1 (if necessary).

Last hosting in 2023, Florida secured a spot in an NCAA Regional for the 18th-straight postseason under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan, now the longest-active streak in the nation. Since O'Sullivan took the reins at UF in 2008, the Gators' 11 top-eight national seeds also rank first in the country. The 2026 campaign represents Florida's 20th as an NCAA Regional host and 13th under O'Sullivan, as Condron Family Ballpark has hosted in four of its six seasons (2021, 2022, 2023, 2026).

Pitching Matchup

	Friday \| 1 ET (ESPN+)
Rider	RHP PJ Craig (9-3, 3.39 ERA)
Florida	RHP Russell Sandefer (3-2, 4.38 ERA)
Links	WATCH \| LISTEN \| LIVE STATS

SECOND TO NONE
Not only does Florida boast the nation's top postseason steak (18) and most top-eight seeds (11) since 2008, but the Gators also pace college baseball with 43 MLB debuts, nine College World Series trips, nine Super Regionals hosted and six SEC titles during O'Sullivan's tenure (2008-present). Florida has advanced to nine of the last 15 College World Series for a total of 14 CWS trips.

REGIONAL REVIEW
Across 40 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, Florida owns a 138-90 record (.605) including a 91-54 mark (.628) in Regional play. The Gators have claimed 16 Regional titles while advancing to Super Regionals 12 times since its inception, most recently doing so in back-to-back seasons from 2023-24 with consecutive trips to the Men's College World Series. Florida's last Regional title came in Stillwater, Okla. in 2024, as the Orange & Blue last won a home Regional in 2023. Should the Gators advance, they have won nine-straight Super Regionals under O'Sullivan since 2010, only once falling in that round during his tenure - to Southern Miss in his 2009 Supers debut.

AGAINST THE FIELD
Taking a look at the Gainesville Regional field, the only opponent Florida has not previously played in a series is first-round foe Rider. The Gators and Broncs played one time on May 21, 1992, with Florida posting a 6-1 victory in Gainesville. As for Troy, the Gators are 7-1 in the head-to-head series featuring six-straight wins since 1996. Florida most-recently swept the Trojans in Gainesville from Feb. 28-March 1, 2020, with the first-ever meeting taking place on April 24, 1935 (W, 3-2).

OUR MIAMI VICE
With a two-game series sweep in Coral Gables, Fla. earlier this season, Florida stole the all-time series lead against Miami at 138-136-1. This marks the first time the Gators have held the series advantage against the Canes for one calendar week since leading at 29-28 from 1969-70. Florida has dominated Miami since O'Sullivan took the reins in 2008, winning 11 of the last 12 series overall including five in a row, and seven of the last eight series in Gainesville. Going 26-9 over the last 35 meetings, Florida's 45-19 record vs. Miami under O'Sullivan translates to a .703 winning percentage. The Gators are 23-10 at home in the series in the O'Sullivan era and 81-52-1 all-time in Gainesville.

GATORS GETTING HOT
The Gators have won 10 of their last 12 games, experiencing an offensive resurgence in that span. In the last 12 contests, Florida has batted .324/.430/.629 for a 1.059 OPS with 32 homers and 30 doubles while outscoring opponents, 117-58. That has resulted in a 10.00 ERA for opposing teams, while the UF pitching staff has worked to a 4.81 ERA, .259 batting average against and 123-to-28 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 101.0 innings. The Gators are averaging 2.67 home runs per game in that span, compared to 1.27 per game with 57 home runs over the first 45 games of the campaign. Florida has homered in 13-straight contests.

THE RESUME
Florida has played to a 24-12 record against unranked teams while sporting the nation's best mark against ranked opponents at 15-7 and second-most Quad 1 wins (16). Backed by the country's No. 4 strength of schedule and No. 11 RPI, Florida has gone a dominant 8-4 vs. top-10 foes featuring a 6-2 mark against the top five.

ROAD WARRIORS
Florida did not drop a series to a ranked opponent on the road, going 10-2 in top-25 away contests. The Gators delivered three upsets against top-15 SEC teams on the road by toppling No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 4 Georgia while sweeping No. 4 Arkansas, in addition to sweeps of No. 20/10/5 Florida State and No. 17 Miami (two games). Adding in neutral-site wins over No. 10 FSU and No. 15 Alabama, the Gators went 12-3 away from home vs. top-25 teams. Seven of UF's eight top-10 victories came away from home. Florida's is 14-5 in away games as they look to bring the same success to Gainesville, where they are 22-13.

STACKING SHUTTIES/NCAA RANKS
Repping the third-most shutouts thrown (seven) in the country, Florida is four shutouts shy of the program record of 11 set in 2011. The Gators also rank fifth nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.36), ninth in walks allowed per nine (3.2), 12th in strikeouts per nine (10.8) and WHIP (1.28), 15th in ERA (4.16), 22nd with an SEC-leading 33 sacrifice flies, 26th in home runs (90), 28th in win percentage (.672) and 34th in hits allowed per nine (8.3).

ONE TRUE KING
2026 SEC Pitcher of the Year and Baseball All-America National Pitcher of the Year Finalist Aidan King has worked to a stellar 8-2 record, 2.68 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 89-to-19 K-to-BB ratio in 84.0 IP over 15 starts. As the fourth underclassman to be crowned SEC Pitcher of the Year, King delivered a .204 BAA and 0.3 HR/9. Entering the NCAA Tournament, King ranks third in the SEC in WHIP (13th nationally), fourth in ERA and H/9 (6.75), seventh in wins and BB/9 (2.04), and 11th in K-to-BB ratio. His 2.68 ERA is line to be the lowest by a Gator since Brady Singer in 2018 (2.55). King fired a team-high eight quality starts including six in SEC play. Pitching into the seventh inning five times against SEC teams, King averaged 6.2 frames per SEC start while his 62.0 SEC innings trailed only Alabama's Tyler Fay. In SEC action, King led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP while tying for the top spot in victories (six). The second-year righty held SEC hitters to a .184 batting average and went 6-1 in 10 conference starts.

MURDERERS' ROW
Going into Regionals, the first five hitters in the UF batting order are all batting over .300 with an OPS above .850. Shortstop Brendan Lawson leads the way with a 1.196 OPS and .308 average, followed by right-handed pitcher/designated hitter Caden McDonald (1.039 OPS, .316 AVG), outfielder Blake Cyr (1.038 OPS, .338 AVG), corner infielder Ethan Surowiec (.964 OPS, .328 AVG) and center fielder Kyle Jones (.856 OPS, .305 AVG).

GATOR TATERS
Over the last 12 games, 10 different Gators have hit home runs led by outfielder Hayden Yost (seven), Lawson (five), Surowiec (four) and McDonald (four). Lawson has homered five times in the last eight contests while Yost has hit four big flies in the last four matchups, and 10 in his last 23 games played. Meanwhile, McDonald has left the yard six times in the last 16 games.

PAGING DR. MACTANI
Since being inserted into the starting lineup on April 24 vs. Texas A&M, McDonald has reached base safely in 15 of 16 games while slashing .324/.378/.706 with 14 extra-base hits, 23 RBI and 14 runs. Prior to the weekend series at Oklahoma, only two players in UF baseball history had recorded a home run, thrown three-plus scoreless inning and earned the win in the same game: Jac Caglianone and Brian Johnson. McDonald accomplished that feat twice in consecutive series against OU and UK, during which he combined for 7 1/3 scoreless, one-hit innings with 10 strikeouts to zero walks while batting .393/.469/.821 with three homers, three doubles and 10 RBI. All six of his homers occurred in Florida's last 15 games against SEC opponents (including Hoover).

LIT THE WIEC
In 30 SEC games, Surowiec led the squad in batting with a .339/.414/.556 slash line as the only Gator to hit over .300. Seven of his 11 homers came in league play on top of six doubles, 30 RBI and 28 runs. On the season as a whole, Surowiec's 21-multi-hit contests are tied with Cyr for the team lead while his 15 multi-RBI games are second behind Cyr (16).

LAW NEVER SLEEPS
Snapping an 0-for-19 slump with a bases-clearing double in the eighth inning of the Friday opener against Kentucky, Lawson has been on a heater ever since, slashing .419/.600/1.032 with a team-high five homers and 19 runs on top of four doubles and nine RBI. On the season, the Canadian sophomore leads Florida in on-base percentage (.516), slugging (.680), runs (53), homers (16), OPS (1.196), walks (52) and hit-by-pitches (22). Lawson paces the SEC with the nation's 12th-best OBP while sitting second in the conference in walks (16th nationally) and seventh in slugging and runs. If the season ended today, Lawson's .516 OBP would rank sixth all-time in UF history.

LIAM WIT IT, ROCK WIT IT
Forming the nation's top one-two punch alongside King, right-hander Liam Peterson is coming off back-to-back wins against LSU and Alabama during which he threw 12.0 combined innings with two runs allowed and 19 strikeouts to just one walk. In his last three starts, Peterson has chucked 19 2/3 frames, fanned 26 batters and issued two free passes. He twirled his first-career complete game in his 45th-career start on May 15 at LSU, and has pitched seven innings for the first-three times in his career over his last seven turns in the rotation. Peterson carries a 3.86 ERA, .246 BAA and 107-to-35 K-to-BB ratio into his third NCAA Tournament, ranking fourth in the SEC in strikeouts, 12th in K/9 and 14th in ERA.

THE FIVE SHOW
Owning career highs in batting average (.338) and slugging (.621) in his fourth collegiate campaign, Cyr has made himself one of the top seniors on the draft board with 13 homers, 15 doubles, 56 RBI and 50 runs. He leads Florida in multi-hit efforts (21), multi-RBI games (16) and three-hit contests (seven).

ENTER SANDMAN
Drawing the start in game one of the Gainesville Regional is right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer, who has made 17 appearances for a 4.38 ERA, .253 BAA and 55-to-18 K-to-BB ratio this season. Across his 11 starts, Sandefer is 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA, .236 BAA and 48-to-11 K-to-BB ratio, having exited his most-recent outing in the second inning after being struck by a comeback line drive.

THE BARBERIAN
Perhaps the biggest X-factor on the UF roster, right-handed reliever Jackson Barberi has been untouchable with a 2.41 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, .142 BAA and 51-to-14 K-to-BB ratio in 33 2/3 frames while frequently touching triple digits. He has pitched in five of UF's seven shutouts and 11 of his 17 appearances have been scoreless with 10 being four outs or more.

EVERYDAY ERNIE
Pacing the Gators with 27 pitching appearances is southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, who leads the SEC with 13 holds – six more than the next-closest pitcher. Lugo-Canchola has held hitters to a .214 batting average while racking up 47 strikeouts to 10 walks in 33.0 innings.

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.

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