{"id":2122,"date":"2026-05-29T22:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122"},"modified":"2026-05-29T22:37:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T22:37:30","slug":"gators-avoid-collapse-to-rider-survive-dramatic-ncaa-regional-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122","title":{"rendered":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>GAINESVILLE \u2014 Florida\u2019s home-run barrage offset a bullpen collapse as the Gators survived a dramatic NCAA Regional opener to set up a possible meeting with rival Miami.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2120\">Florida lawmakers pass $114.5 billion budget<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Star shortstop Brendan Lawson\u2019s walk-off home run to open the bottom of the ninth inning carried Florida past Rider 8-7 as the No. 9 Gators (40-19) avoided a crushing defeat during their first regional game at home since 2023. Lawson drove a 2-1 pitch from senior Christian Aiello to center field to cap a wild finish.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, Florida will host the winner of Friday night\u2019s Miami (38-18) vs. Troy (32-29) game.<\/p>\n<p>Kevin O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s team was cruising along, leading 4-0 entering the eighth inning after No. 3 starter Russell Sandefer rose to the occasion and delivered a gem. Florida\u2019s batters supported him with two home runs, beginning with center fielder Kyle Jones\u2019 solo shot in the opening inning.<\/p>\n<p>But the Gators were just getting started with the long ball on a day they hit five.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rider (33-19), a veteran group from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, featuring 13 seniors, finally began to warm up at the plate. Facing a full count and two outs with the bases loaded, Broncs\u2019 senior outfielder Anthony Paskell smacked a pitch by sophomore Jackson Barberi over the left-field fence to tie the game at 4-4.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2118\">Nearly all musical acts pull out of Trump\u2019s Freedom 250 concert<\/a><\/p>\n<p>O\u2019Sullivan sent in top reliever Joshua Whritenour, but the redshirt freshman allowed a double followed by a home run from junior catcher Nick Shuhet to push Rider\u2019s advantage to 6-4.<\/p>\n<p>Florida responded with a home run from Caden McDonald to open the inning, a triple by catcher Karson Bowen and home run by second baseman Cade Kurland after a strikeout by first baseman Landon Stripling, who had homered in the sixth inning to make it 4-0.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>O\u2019Sullivan had given Sandefer the nod over SEC Pitcher of the Year Aidan King and veteran Liam Peterson in order to save them for bigger games during the double-elimination regional.<\/p>\n<p>Sandefer allowed just two hits and struck out five during 5.2 innings after lasting just an inning in his last appearance during the SEC tournament semifinals against Georgia. The Tampa native in his first season at UF was hit by a line drive against Georgia and left the game.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2116\">Judge says Kennedy Center board broke law putting Trump\u2019s name on building, blocks closure<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Florida overcame a late bullpen collapse as Brendan Lawson\u2019s walk-off homer lifted the Gators to an 8-7 NCAA Regional win over Rider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Florida overcame a late bullpen collapse as Brendan Lawson\u2019s walk-off homer lifted the Gators to an 8-7 NCAA Regional win over Rider.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"headline\":\"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122\"},\"wordCount\":430,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"College Sports\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122\",\"name\":\"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":637},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?p=2122#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Orlando Relocation Report\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/orlandorelocationreport.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report","og_description":"Florida overcame a late bullpen collapse as Brendan Lawson\u2019s walk-off homer lifted the Gators to an 8-7 NCAA Regional win over Rider.","og_url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122","og_site_name":"Orlando Relocation Report","article_published_time":"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"headline":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener","datePublished":"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122"},"wordCount":430,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp","articleSection":["College Sports","Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122","name":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener - Orlando Relocation Report","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-29T22:37:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/870fda867677f671fd33a6fdce6e95ec.webp","width":1024,"height":637},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2122#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gators avoid collapse to Rider, survive dramatic NCAA Regional opener"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/","name":"Orlando Relocation Report","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47d95744296542489ff5c4bd403450f8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com"],"url":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}