Florida baseball will begin its 40th NCAA Tournament appearance overall and 17th under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan facing East Carolina in the Conway, S.C., regional on Friday, May 30.
The Florida Gators (38-20) rebounded from an 20-14 start overall and 1-11 start in SEC play to win 18 of their final 24 games and secure a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Regional that includes host No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina (48-11), No. 3 seed ECU (33-25) and No. 4 seed Fairfield (39-17).
Stream Florida baseball vs. East Carolina, free trial
Florida will send sophomore righty Liam Peterson (8-3, 4.10 ERA) to the mound against East Carolina lefty Ethan Norby (7-5, 3.81 ERA).
Florida is 4-0 all-time against ECU, although the two schools haven’t met since 1994. East Carolina earned an automatic bid to the tournament as American Athletic Conference champions and has won six of its last eight games.
UF is vying for its third straight College World Series appearance after reaching the CWS Finals in 2023 and CWS semifinals in 2024. The Gators have reached the CWS 14 times in school history and nine times under O’Sullivan.
ECU scores two more runs in third inning vs Florida baseball
East Carolina scores two more runs in the top of the third inning to extend its lead to 6-0 over Florida baseball on a two-out, two-RBI single by right fielder Jack Herring. Righty Luke McNeillie is pulled for freshman righty Blaine Rowland, who gets Dixon Williams to pop out to end the inning. ECU 6, Florida 0 mid-3rd.
ECU extends lead over Florida baseball in second inning
East Carolina extends its lead over Florida to 4-0 in the second inning on a sac fly by Dixon Williams and RBI single by Collins. ECU 4, Florida 0 mid-2nd.
Florida baseball pulls starter Liam Peterson in second inning
Liam Peterson lasts just 1 1/3 innings as Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulls him with one out and the bases loaded in the top of the second. Peterson wasn’t fooling anyone out there, surrendering five hits in 10 batters. Righy Luke McNeillie on for the Gators.
ECU takes early lead on Florida baseball as Liam Peterson struggles in first inning
East Carolina scores two runs in the first inning on a squeeze bunt RBI single by John Collins and sac fly by Colby Wallace. Florida starter Liam Peterson labored through a long first inning, falling behind hitters, hitting one batter and uncorking a wild pitch. A dropped ball by catcher Brody Donay on the squeeze bunt play also proved costly as UF could have gotten Braden Burress out at home had Donay held onto the ball. East Carolina 2, Florida 0 mid-1.
East Carolina baseball lineup
2B Burress, RF Herring, SS Williams, DH Collins, CF Johnson, 3B Wallace, 1B Irby, LF Peltier, C Barron
Florida baseball lineup
SS Boser, 1B Lawson, DH Evans, C Donay, LF Cyr, CF Yost, RF Wilson, 3B Stripling, 2B Nadeau
SS Colby Shelton not in starting lineup for Florida baseball
Colby Shelton remains out of the starting lineup for Florida today against East Carolina. Florida was targeting a potential return for Shelton in time for regionals, but that appears now not to be the case. He’s been out since late April with a broken hamate bone in his hand. Shelton is batting a team-high .377 with 7 home runs, 19 doubles and 35 RBIs.
What TV channel is Florida baseball vs East Carolina on today?
Florida and East Carolina will air on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN+ and Fubo, which offers a free trial for new subscribers.
Florida baseball vs East Carolina baseball start time
First pitch is set for noon at Spring Brooks Stadium.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: What TV channel is Florida baseball vs East Carolina on today? Time, TV schedule for NCAA Regional
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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