Five Gators Earn All-Regional Status

Kurland had the best weekend at the plate for the Gators. While he did not have the highest average, with Jones taking that spot, he had the most productive weekend with a bat in his hands. Florida’s second baseman went 7-for-16 (.438) in the regional, with four homers, one double, 10 RBI and two walks. 

As for Jones, he finished 7-for-14 (.500) across all four contests, launching one homer, hitting one double, walking four times and nine RBIs. His best game in the regional came against the Miami Hurricanes, where he hit 3-for-5, with one home run and two RBI. 

Lawson had a strong end to the 2026 season. He was 7-for-18 (.353) in the batter’s box, collecting three home runs, one double, one walk and four RBIs. The highly touted shortstop’s most important hit came in the opening contest of the regional. Leading off the bottom of the ninth against Rider on Friday, Lawson torched a ball to right-center field to earn an 8-7 win for the Gators. 

McDonald ended the regional 6-for-18 (.333) with the bat. He had three home runs, one double, four RBI and one walk on the weekend. His best performance came on Sunday in the first loss to Troy, where he had two long balls and three RBIs. 

Lastly, Sandefer’s only start came in the opening win over Rider. The righty tossed five and ⅔ shutout innings en route to a victory, striking out five, walking one and giving up two hits. Unfortunately for Sandefer, he did not end the tournament as he had hoped in his appearance out of the bullpen on Monday. In the defeat to Troy in the regional final, he walked three and allowed three earned runs. 

Despite the promising performances from these five, Florida’s season still ended in disappointment on Monday. 

The Gators won the first two games in the NCAA Tournament, beating Rider on Friday and Miami on Saturday. A major reason they found success was the offense’s production. The offense combined to score 30 runs across both games, with 22 coming against the Hurricanes and eight against the Broncs. 

However, two straight defeats to the Troy Trojans followed those performances, which meant they bowed out of the tournament early for the second year in a row. 

The first loss to Troy came on Sunday. Even with 11 runs, the Gators still fell thanks to the pitching staff allowing 16 runs to their opponents. Then, on Monday, Florida surrendered another 10 runs, a number that was insurmountable for the home team, which ended their 2026 campaign.

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