Gators right-hander Caden McDonald fires up the crowd during Monday's loss to Troy in the Gainesville Regional Championship. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Florida's Ending Hurt Because Omaha Felt So Close
Wednesday, June 3, 2026 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators looked the part Monday night when they took the field in their crisp all-white uniforms. They were at home with history on their side.
This was a team peaking at the right time and with Omaha on its mind.
Sure, UF had stumbled on Sunday against Troy, but the Gators had risen twice before under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan in a Gainesville Regional after winning their first two games and then forced into a winner-take-all championship, beating Bethune-Cookman in 2017 on the way to the program's first national championship, and the next season against Florida Atlantic.
But Troy, appearing a bit scraggly as it played its fifth game in four days, was not overwhelmed by the past or the sharp-dressed Gators. The Trojans took an early lead off UF starter Cooper Walls, and in the sixth inning, after O'Sullivan pulled reliever Caden McDonald in favor of Russell Sandefer, erupted for five runs on the way to a 10-2 victory that spoiled Condron Ballpark's anticipated celebration.
The silence spoke volumes.
"You go into these things feeling fully confident that you're going to win, and when it doesn't turn out that way, and the way the last two games have turned, it's going to take a little while to digest it,'' O'Sullivan said. "But obviously it's my responsibility to figure out where we need to improve."
The harsh turn of events in less than 48 hours stunned everyone in Orange & Blue. Florida crushed five home runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in Saturday night's 22-10 win over Miami to turn Condron Ballpark into a frat party. Meanwhile, Troy had to get up early and beat the Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon to stay alive. Check. And then on Sunday night, the Trojans belted Florida 16-11 to force Monday's winner-take-all rematch.
Despite having to face Troy again, the Gators were confident. They had faced adversity and one of the nation's toughest schedules throughout the season. When Walls tossed the first pitch Monday, Florida had won 12 of its last 15 games to become one of the favorites to reach the CWS for the 10th time in O'Sullivan's 19 seasons.
UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is recruiting and holding exit players this week after completing his 19th season leading the program. (Photo: Jordan Perez/UAA Communications)
"We went through a gauntlet toward the end of the SEC and SEC Tournament,'' senior outfielder Blake Cyr said. "And we pulled through. That's what I'm going to remember. We didn't give up. We could have gone to the other side."
Most of the attention afterward focused on O'Sullivan's decision to remove McDonald with one out in the sixth and the Gators trailing 2-1. McDonald retired leadoff hitter Josh Pyne on a sharply hit grounder to shortstop. At that point, he had tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings in relief of Walls (1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO). But with 48 pitches logged and O'Sullivan seeing a fatigued two-way player in the dugout between innings, he decided to go to Sandefer.
Sandefer, a starter who threw 87 pitches in Friday's win over Rider, had nothing to offer. He walked three consecutive batters to load the bases, prompting O'Sullivan to call on lefty Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. The Trojans battered Lugo-Canchola for three hits and two runs, and coupled with the three runs charged to Sandefer, they led 7-2 when the inning was over.
O'Sullivan has proven to be a savvy game manager and handler of pitchers throughout his career, but in this case, his decision backfired, sparking a wave of second-guessing.
"We kind of had it mapped out pitching-wise,'' he said. "All we're looking for from Russ was to give us five outs. I mean, never in my wildest dreams would I think that Russ would come in and walk three and have the leadoff man one and two. I got all the trust in the world in him was fully convinced that he'd be able to give us five outs, and then he was gone, and then we'd go to Ernie for one inning, and then we'd have [Joshua Whritenour] and [Aidan King] if we needed him at the end.
"It just didn't work out that way."
While Sandefer didn't have it, his outing (5 2/3 shutout innings) against Rider was the best performance by a UF pitcher in the regional, followed by McDonald's outing on Monday. Otherwise, Florida's pitchers were about as effective as a pet rock. The starters allowed 22 hits and 17 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings, good for a 10.43 ERA. The bullpen pitched to an 11.51 ERA (20 1/3 IP, 27 H, 26 ER, 15 BB, 20 SO).
And the offense, after averaging 13.7 runs per game in the first three games, managed only two runs and seven hits against Troy's Hayden Smith, Benjamin Stubbs and Noah Thigpen in Game 7 of the regional. The Trojans outscored the Gators 26-13 on Sunday and Monday to advance to an NCAA Super Regional for the first time in program history.
O'Sullivan and his staff immediately turned their attention to the future and are conducting exit meetings with players this week.
The Gators lose Cyr and catcher Karson Bowen, and redshirt junior second baseman Cade Kurland said after the game that he plans to enter professional baseball despite another year of eligibility following his injury-plagued 2025 season. Junior right-hander Liam Peterson is considered a likely first-round pick in the MLB amateur draft and is not expected to return. Young pitchers McCall Biemiller, Matthew Jenkins and Cooper Moss have announced they have entered the transfer portal, which opened Monday through June 30.
Questions remain for several draft-eligible regulars, but O'Sullivan is upbeat about the core of the roster that is returning, led by shortstop Brendan Lawson, SEC Pitcher of the Year King, McDonald, outfielders Cash Strayer and Hayden Yost, and underclassmen relievers Whritenour and Jackson Barberi.
Second baseman Cade Kurland during Monday's game against Troy. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
"We need to evaluate this because we have to be more consistent all the way around,'' O'Sullivan said. "Offensively, we went through some spurts this year where we were a little inconsistent. At this time of the year, we should not be having these issues with the walks and that type of thing. I think the inconsistencies, whether it be offensively or pitching-wise, like this weekend, when you're inconsistent, it's very difficult to make consistent decisions.
"There's not a whole lot of time to reflect. We've got to get better. Obviously, the lineups that we faced in the regional here were not great matchups for us, because we are a little bit short-handed, left-handed pitching-wise. We have to go into the portal and get some left-handed arms. We need to sign a catcher and get some middle-of-the-order bats."
Bowen and Kurland, two of the players who experienced a trip to the CWS – Kurland as a UF freshman and sophomore, and Bowen as a freshman on a TCU team that Florida eliminated in 2023 – have no doubts the Gators will continue to be among the best in the country next season.
"If you want to come to a place with a winning pedigree, this is the place to come,'' Bowen said. "The standard here is to win. Obviously, we fell short of our ultimate goal … but everything here is eat, sleep and breathe win."
Added Kurland: "When you look back at it all, I have no regrets. This place speaks for itself. It's one of the winningest teams all-time in college baseball. I think we have what it takes. This team is incredibly talented."
One that exited the NCAA Tournament on Monday night with an unexpected stain on their all-white uniforms.
