Takeaways From Gators Tough Loss to Troy in Gainesville Regional

The Troy Trojans upset the Gainesville Regional's top-seeded Florida Gators on Sunday, besting the hosts 16-11 at Condron Family Ballpark. Troy led from start to finish in this one, powered by the bats and with help from the leaky Florida pitching staff.

Here are three takeaways from the Gators’ ugly defeat.

Trojans Hammer Peterson

Florida's starter, Liam Peterson, had arguably his worst start of the season on Sunday. The potential 2026 first-round pick threw five innings against the Trojans but allowed nine earned runs and struck out just four batters.

What plagued Peterson the most in the Gainesville Regional winner's final was his ability to keep the baseball in the ballpark. Troy's offense launched four home runs during Peterson's time on the mound.

The hard-throwing right-hander made several mistake pitches on the day, routinely leaving the ball up in the zone and at a perfect height for the Trojan bats.

If it was Peterson's last outing for the Gators this season, it is certainly one to forget for the junior.

Kurland Continues to Rake

Second baseman Cade Kurland has had a hot start to the NCAA Tournament in Gainesville. He is 5-for-13 across all three games, with five runs scored, 10 RBIs and four home runs. Moreover, he has at least one home run in every game in the regional.

As for the at-bats against Troy, Kurland finished 2-for-4 at the plate, with a grand slam. He was also hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, which moved him into pole position in Florida's history books for the most hit-by-pitches. Throughout his four years with the Gators, Kurland has been hit 52 times.

Florida needs his bat to stay hot on Monday if their offense is going to continue producing at the level it is right now.

Overall Pitching Disaster

The Gators used four pitchers against Troy, and only two turned in at least one inning of work. Peterson finished the first five, while Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, Schuyler Sandford and Billy Barlow claimed the next three. However, Lugo-Canchola and Sandford did not make it out of the sixth inning.

The two accounted for just one out and five runs in the frame. Lugo-Canchola gave up two hits that resulted in two runs. Sandford gave up one hit, one walk and hit one batter that plated three more.

Barlow's day was not that much better either. Despite completing the final 2 2/3 for the Gators, Barlow had a grand slam hit off of him that capped off the nine-run sixth inning for the Trojans.

In total, the Florida pitching staff has had 33 runs put across them, marking the most in a three-game weekend series this year. It gave up seven runs on Friday against Rider, 10 to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday and 16 more to the Trojans on Sunday.

That must change on Monday to advance onto the super regionals.

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