Florida baseball avenged its 2026 Gainesville Regional upset with a 15-5 exhibition victory over Troy in 11 innings at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans struck first with a run in the top of the second, but the Gators responded with one of their own in the bottom half of the frame before adding 13 more unanswered runs — three in the third, eight in the sixth and two more in the seventh — to take a commanding 14-1 lead after seven innings. Troy answered with three more runs in the ninth, and both teams traded runs in the 10th before a scoreless 11th frame wrapped up the game.
The Orange and Blue finished with 18 hits against seven for its opponent, while leaving seven on base against six for Troy. Shortstop Brendan
Lawson paced Florida with a 3-for-4 effort that included a three-run homer in the sixth, finishing a triple shy of the cycle with a team-high four RBI and three runs scored; third baseman Ethan Surowiec also had a 3-for-4 day with three RBIs and a run scored.
Designated hitter Nic Partridge (2-for-5) and third baseman Colton Schwarz (1-for-1) also left the yard in the offensive outburst, with the former driving in and scoring a pair.
The Gators used seven pitchers to get through the 11-inning event, with Aidan King opening things up by allowing a run on three hits while striking out four over two innings, followed by Trey Morris, who earned the win thanks to his three scoreless frames on a hit and a walk plus two strikeouts.
Jackson Barberi threw three scoreless innings, allowing just a walk and striking out four, while Oregon State transfer Zach Edwards failed to record an out while surrendering three runs on two hits and a walk. Joshua Whritenour followed him with a perfect inning, striking out all three batters he saw; Jacksonville State transfer Maddox McDougall allowed a run on one hit while striking out two; Caden McDonald finished things up with a clean frame that included a strikeout.
Troy's offense was headlined by catcher Jimmy Janicki, whose 3-for-5 effort included a pair of solo home runs to give him a pair of RBIs to go along with his three runs scored. First baseman Ty McGraw also went 3-for-5 with a solo shot of his own plus a double en route to a three-RBI, one-run day. Neither of the two struck out.
The Trojans used six pitchers to get through the extended exhibition, with Noah Marschke taking the loss after surrendering three runs in the third. Matteo Pare was the only hurler to hold the Gators scoreless on Saturday with two frames of one-hit, one-walk ball while striking out one.
Next up, the Gators return home for their remaining three fall exhibition games, beginning with a tilt against the Ontario Blue Jays — a Canadian amateur team — on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Florida is also set to host Mercer on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. ET and Air Force on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. ET.
Florida baseball exhibition notes
- Florida has homered eight times and scored 25 runs in two fall exhibition games;
- The Gators have scored double-digit runs in both fall contests;
- Florida has played 20 innings without committing an error this fall;
- UF pitching combined for 11 innings with seven hits allowed, three walks and 16 strikeouts;
- King has now pitched three innings in two games this fall, allowing one run with six strikeouts and zero walks;
- Partridge opened the scoring for UF with his first homer of the fall in the second inning;
- Morris pitched three shutout, one-hit innings of relief with two strikeouts to one walk;
- Lawson crushed a three-run home run to extend the UF lead to 7-1 in the sixth;
- Florida plated eight runs on seven hits in the sixth inning;
- Lawson finished a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with one homer, one double and a team-high four RBI and three runs scored;
- Surowiec finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored;
- Barberi pitched three shutout, no-hit innings with four strikeouts to one walk;
- Whritenour struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning;
- Schwarz launched a solo home run — his first of the fall — in the tenth inning;
- McDonald pitched a clean 11th inning to close out the game;
- Surowiec is now 5-for-7 with two home runs, six RBI and one walk in two fall games;
- Four Gators (Morris, Barberi, Whritenour, McDonald) logged scoreless outings;
- The Gators have won 10-straight fall ball exhibitions since 2022;
- Saturday's official attendance was 4,181
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball avenges regional loss against Troy with 11-inning win
