Gators fall to Troy to force winner-take-all rematch in NCAA Regional
GAINESVILLE - After a record-setting night at the plate against Miami on Saturday, Florida was buried by an offensive avalanche Sunday evening against Troy.
The Trojans’ 16-11 victory forced a winner-take-all rematch at 6 p.m. Monday in the NCAA Regionals and left Gators’ coach Kevin O’Sullivan searching for pitching options.
“We are just going to have to pitch better if we want to move on,” he said.
O’Sullivan did not name a starter for Monday. He said that if needed, he’ll cycle through his staff to find an effective answer to Troy’s bats.
“We’ve obviously seen Troy can hit,” said redshirt sophomore Cade McDonald, who is 5-1 in relief in 2026. “We just have to be confident in our stuff and really execute. We trust everybody, we know how good our staff is. We just got to go out there and dominate.”
Florida (41-20) could not find anyone on Sunday to slow Troy’s hitters as the Sun Belt champion Trojans (35-30) set a school record for runs against a SEC opponent, bettering their 14 runs against Auburn in 1984 and 2011.
Gators’ football coach Jon Sumrall, who coached at Troy in 2022-23, turned out to see a former school face his new one. But he and a reported crowd of 4,751 witnessed a tough night on the mound for the Gators.
After a 9-6 comeback win earlier in the day eliminated Miami, the Trojans recorded 17 hits, including five home runs.
“Our guys are absolutely going to fight,” Troy coach Skyler Meade said. “When you challenge them, they rise up.”
Starter Liam Peterson struggled from the start, but lasted into the sixth inning. By the time O’Sullivan finally replaced the 6-foot-5 junior right-hander, Peterson had allowed 10 hits and, ultimately, nine earned runs on 104 pitches.
Troy catcher Jimmy Janicki tagged Peterson twice for home runs, beginning with a two-run, 440-foot shot to left field by the 6-foot-4, 223-pound sophomore in the bottom of the first inning.
After Peterson’s exit, the Gators came undone.
Troy scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth while generating seven hits - highlighted by a grand slam from designated hitter Jabe Boroff - and forced two more pitching changes.
“You certainly don’t have that on our bingo card,” Meade said. “It was awesome.”
After Peterson walked a batter and allowed a single to open the inning, O’Sullivan opted for senior left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. He immediately yielded consecutive singles, the second scoring a run, leading O’Sullivan to bring in Schuyler Sandford with the bases loaded and Florida trailing 8-5.
The freshman was not the answer.
After recording an out on a pop-up to shortstop Brendan Lawson, Blake Cavill drew a four-pitch walk off Sandford for a run. He then hit Janicki with a pitch to hand Troy another run.
A Steve Meier single pushed the Trojans’ lead to 11-5, with another walk scoring another run and setting the stage for Boroff’s grand slam.
“The sixth inning was pretty much a disaster,” O’Sullivan said. “It kind of got away from us. The start today wasn't what Liam wanted.”
The Gators tried to stage a comeback.
Second baseman Cade Kurland’s third home run of the regional was a grand slam to cut the lead to 16-9. McDonald’s two-run shot in the top of the ninth made it 16-11.
But with two out, Kurland popped up to shortstop Aaron Piasecki to end the game, leaving Troy a win away from advancing as the No. 3 seed. Meanwhile, Florida aims to avoid squandering a chance to host a Super Regional for the first time since 2023, when the Gators were national runner-ups.
“This has been an exciting weekend,” Troy right fielder Houston Markham said. “Just to see some of the best teams in the country. We talk about this all the time. Just sitting on the couch, watching TV, it’s like, ‘Man, that could be us.'”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 10:05 PM.