Florida’s Season Ends as Troy Earns First Super Regional

Florida baseball succumbed once again against a mid-major team, as an unranked Troy Trojans out-performed the No. 8 Gators for the second straight game, advancing to host the program’s first Super Regional with a 10-2 win at Condron Family Ballpark. 

The road to Omaha presented an easier path than 14 previous trips to the College World Series, with Little Rock awaiting Monday’s NCAA Gainesville Regional winner, but the Gators took every detour imaginable to exit the 2026 season.

“It’s hard to put into words,” Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “You go into these things feeling fully confident you are going to win. It’s my responsibility to figure out where we need to improve. We have to be more consistent all the way around.” 

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Cooper Walls’ season was nothing short of a journey. Named the Sunday starter to start the season, Walls lost his place and was demoted to the bullpen, where he slowly faded behind Florida’s superior arms. Looking for someone to step up in the winner-take-all finale, O’Sullivan called upon him to start against the Trojans.

“We just didn’t get the start that we needed,” O’Sullivan said. “It felt like we were chasing runs the whole last two games. We just didn’t pitch well enough in the tournament.”

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2006 Football National Championship

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Tim Tebow Heisman (2007)

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2017 College World Series Title

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Steve Spurrier Heisman (1966)

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As Gators fans sat on the edge of their seats,  pressure built with every pitch until the moment toppled the weekend host. 

Walls was pulled before he could make it out of the second inning, giving up two hits, two runs and pitching 15 balls to his 14 strikes. He struggled to locate the strike zone, but Florida had a lifeline in Caden McDonald, who stepped up to give Florida a chance. He pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up two hits, no runs and striking out three batters on 43 pitches before Russell Sandefer took over in the sixth inning. 

“I’m the one who sees him in the dugout,” O’Sullivan said on his decision to pull McDonald. “He looked tired.” 

“I made the decision and unfortunately it didn’t work out,” he added. 

But the restlessness started in the fifth inning, before O’Sullivan’s second call to the bullpen, with Florida still searching for its first run in a 2-0 game. Fans slouched back into their seats, heads fell into hands and claps began to fade. The Gators faithful waited for something to give. 

Gators second baseman Cade Kurland provided brief relief, completing his 199th and 200th career hits in the game, and securing a leadoff double in the fifth inning. 

“I committed here at the end of my 8th grade year,” Kurland said. “It’s all I’ve ever known, it’s all I’ve ever wanted … I’m forever grateful.” 

“Let’s go Gators” belted in unison from the stands, as Troy brought in Benjamin Stubbs, their second left-handed pitcher of the game, attempting to keep Kurland stranded. 

However, with every punch that Florida threw, the Trojans dodged, weaved or countered. 

Troy left-fielder Drew Nelson’s diving effort saved a run, but the punches kept coming. After striking out in his previous at-bat, Kyle Jones hit a liner over the heads of the infielders, scoring Kurland, and cutting the lead to 2-1. But as quickly as hope arrived for Florida, it disappeared when Brendan Lawson flew out to end the inning.

O’Sullivan relied on every arm he could to make sure Florida extended its season to a Super Regional in the same ballpark later this week. 

Sandefer walked three consecutive batters to occupy the bases and exited for Ernesto Lugo-Canchola to get out of the jam. However, no matter who stood on the mound for Florida, the Trojans had all the answers to the test. 

“Never in my wildest dreams would I think that Russ(ell Sandefer) would come in and walk three,” O’Sullivan said. 

Nelson began the parade to home plate for Troy with a two-run single. After giving up nine runs in the sixth inning on Sunday, Florida allowed  five runs this time around, even one on a misplayed bunt, breaking the game open for the Trojans. 

Within 30 minutes, the only sound echoing across the ballpark was the Troy fans down the third-base line and the Troy players banging on the dugout padding. For the second straight game Florida had chased its fans out faster than the opposing team’s pitchers. 

Troy’s Jabe Boroff, named Gainesville Regional MVP,  hit a three-run shot for the first home run of the game in the eighth inning, extending the Trojans lead to 10-2. 

Florida baseball struggled all season at home against mid-major teams, consistently playing down to its opponents, who’d come to the game with something to prove. Once SEC play began, the occasional blind eye turned from those struggles amid sweeping Arkansas, and being the only team to win a series against Georgia despite losing in the conference semifinals. 

Yet, what couldn’t be predicted was that Florida would be playing Troy, a mid-major, at home, with the chance to advance. The outcome for Florida’s season was written in the stars all along. Big players and big personalities, who crumbled in the big moment.

After scoring a combined 41 runs in the first three games, Florida only managed two runs on seven hits. Florida’s 2-5 hitters in the lineup went a combined 1-for-15 in the game, failing to allow Florida to get into an offensive rhythm. 

“The standard here is to win,” catcher Karson Bowen said. “We fell short of our ultimate goal. Everything here is just eat, sleep, breathe and win.” 

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