{"id":2386,"date":"2026-06-02T04:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T04:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2386"},"modified":"2026-06-02T04:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T04:09:01","slug":"gators-season-ends-with-early-ncaa-tournament-exit-against-troy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=2386","title":{"rendered":"Gators\u2019 season ends with early NCAA Tournament exit against Troy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GAINESVILLE \u2014 Florida\u2019s baseball season did not just come to an unceremonious conclusion against Troy, it unraveled amid a collapse of the Gators\u2019 pitching staff and an offensive no-show during Monday night\u2019s 10-2 loss in deciding game of the NCAA Regionals.<\/p>\n

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Kevin O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s team entered the tournament as the No. 8 national seed and positioned to host the school\u2019s first Super Regional since 2023 in the Gators\u2019 bid for their third College World Series appearance in four seasons. Instead, Florida (41-21) fell for the fourth time during a regional since 2021.<\/p>\n

On paper, Troy was a huge underdog. The Trojans earned the regional\u2019s No. 3 seed and slipped into the 64-team field as an at-large team out of the Sun Belt Conference.<\/p>\n

But for two days at Condron Family Ballpark, the Trojans (36-30) were the superior team in every way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey outplayed us in two games,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cThey deserve to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

A night after Troy recorded five home runs and 17 hits during a 16-11 rout to force a winner-take-all rematch, O\u2019Sullivan sent out Cooper Walls, with the Gators\u2019 pitching options limited after three games in three days.<\/p>\n

Walls, a 6-foot-5 right-hander and Hawaii transfer, immediately struggled, managing just one strike on his first seven pitches.<\/p>\n

Josh Pyne connected on his eighth pitch for a single. Two batters later, Troy star catcher Jimmy Janicki ripped a double down the right-field line to score two runners before Walls struck out the next two batters.<\/p>\n

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After Walls walked the first batter he faced in the top of the second inning, O\u2019Sullivan sent in Caden McDonald, the team\u2019s designated hitter and one of Florida\u2019s better relievers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were some other options, but Coop has started for us before,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t get the start that we needed. Quite frankly, we just didn\u2019t pitch well enough in this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s outing started well enough. Troy\u2019s Jabe Boroff hit into a double play, and Houston Markham flew out to end the inning, beginning a scoreless four-inning stretch by the sophomore right-hander from Tampa.<\/p>\n

Trailing 2-0, the Gators got on the board after Cade Kurland opened the bottom of the fifth inning with a double down the left-field line against reliever Benjamin Stubbs. Florida\u2019s veteran second baseman scored two batters later on a single by Kyle Jones.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

In a regional where 36 home runs were launched in seven games \u2014 and each of the six previous games featured no fewer than 15 combined runs \u2014 the finale was shaping up to be a low-scoring, old-school affair.<\/p>\n

But O\u2019Sullivan then made another pitching change.<\/p>\n

The longtime Florida coach swapped a tiring McDonald for Russell Sandefer with one out in the top of the sixth inning. Sandefer, a UCF transfer, walked the three batters he faced to load the bases, though, which led O\u2019Sullivan to turn to senior left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always easy to second guess,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cBut I saw (McDonald) in the dugout and he looked gassed. I made a decision and obviously it didn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lugo-Canchola, who struggled Sunday night in limited action, gave up five runs. A two-run single by left fielder Drew Nelson and a two-RBI double by Boroff book-ended a squeeze bunt RBI single where no one covered first base for Florida.<\/p>\n

Troy ended the inning ahead 7-1, with the game effectively out of reach.<\/p>\n

Florida did manage a run in the top of the seventh inning on a single by leadoff hitter Jones, scoring Landon Stripling. But with runners on first and second and facing a full count, Florida home-run leader Brendan Lawson hit an infield pop-up to second base to end the inning.<\/p>\n

Troy added to its lead in the top of the eight inning on a three-run home run by Boroff, who broke open Sunday night\u2019s game with a grand slam.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surreal,\u201d said Boroff, who was named the regional\u2019s most valuable player.<\/p>\n

Before routing the Gators on Saturday night, Troy rallied from a 6-2 deficit to beat Miami 9-6. To earn their at-large bid, the Trojans made a run at the Sun Belt tournament title, beating in-state rival South Alabama twice in the double-elimination format to reach the semifinals. It was enough for Troy to join four other Sun Belt schools in the field of 64.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one does that two times in two weeks \u2014 come on,\u201d coach Skylar Meade. \u201cThis team\u2019s built for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Troy\u2019s mettle and hitting have set up an improbable Super Regional meeting on the Trojans\u2019 home field against Arkansas-Little Rock (36-26). Little Rock, of the Ohio Valley Conference, was the No. 4 seed and champion of the Hattiesburg Regional at Southern Miss. Whichever school wins the Super Regional \u2014 both are the Trojans \u2014 there will be a surprise participant in the College World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really tough in baseball,\u201d Meade said. \u201cBeautiful things do happen where unpredictability prevails. There\u2019s a reason college baseball \u2026 the excitement is through the roof. It is an absolutely great thing for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UF lost to Troy 10-2 during the deciding game of the NCAA Regional as the Sun Belt Conference champions stun the tournament’s No. 8 seed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nGators\u2019 season ends with early NCAA Tournament exit against Troy - 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=2386\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gators\u2019 season ends with early NCAA Tournament exit against Troy - 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