CONWAY, S.C. — Gators starter Liam Peterson threw the first pitch of the Conway Regional on Friday shortly after noon. More than 13 hours later, in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Coastal Carolina reliever Jaxon Appelman threw the final pitch of the day at Springs Brooks Stadium.

In between the two pitches, the No. 2-seed Gators lost to No. 3-seed East Carolina, 11-6, and the No. 1-seed Chanticleers defeated fourth-seed Fairfield, 10-2, in a game that was delayed more than four hours due to inclement weather.

The late finish prompted tournament officials to move Florida’s elimination game against Fairfield on Saturday back to 3 p.m. The game was initially scheduled to start at noon.

So, for the Gators (38-21) to keep their roller-coaster season alive, they must defeat the Stags (39-18) to advance to Sunday. Florida freshman Aidan King (6-2, 2.76 ERA) will make the first NCAA Tournament appearance of his career. King will try to do what Peterson was unable to on Friday — get off to a good start and give the Gators a chance.

Following Friday’s loss – Florida trailed 9-0 in the fourth inning – UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan painted a clear picture of the road ahead. If the Gators defeat Fairfield, lefty Pierce Coppola will start Sunday’s first game.

“The only positive is that everyone [in the bullpen] is available still,” he said. “We got Aiden King going. He’s arguably been our best pitcher for the last month. We’ve got Coppola, who’s been throwing the ball good. Jake Clemente hasn’t thrown yet. Everybody was kept at a reasonable pitch count [Friday]. They got some experience in regional play.”

Meanwhile, O’Sullivan pointed out that the Gators lost their second game in the Stillwater Regional last season and came back to win three in a row for the regional title. They will need to win four in a row to claim the Conway Regional crown.

O’Sullivan has seen it happen.

When he was an assistant at Clemson in 1999, the Tigers entered the Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional as the No. 2 seed. They lost 23-5 to No. 4-seed SW Missouri State in their first game. Clemson defeated Delaware and host Arkansas in elimination games the next day, before sweeping a doubleheader against SW Missouri State for the regional championship the following day.

“It’s doable,” O’Sullivan said.

Florida is in this predicament in part due to East Carolina starter Ethan Norby, who struck out 10 and walked none in 7 1/3 innings Friday. The Gators made the score more respectable on a three-run homer by shortstop Bobby Boser in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Jake Hunter.

The Gators will attempt to carry some of their late momentum into Saturday’s game.

“We’ve been in tough positions this year before, nothing new” Boser said. “We’re just going to come out swinging, come out throwing, play some ball and get on a roll.”

If the Gators do get on a roll, Peterson will likely have a chance at redemption after tossing only 48 pitches in 1 1/3 innings Friday. The sophomore right-hander has a team-high eight wins and nasty stuff when he’s on, but he was far from that pitcher against the Pirates.

Peterson faced 11 batters, and five of them got hits. He was replaced by Luke McNeillie, who also had trouble, needing 39 pitches to record four outs.

“He got plenty of rest,” O’Sullivan said of Peterson. “Sometimes that works for you, and sometimes it works against you. He was just not on it today. The last thing I wanted to do was to take him out in the second inning, but I felt like if the game got away from us anymore … we just dug ourselves a bigger hole. McNeillie wasn’t sharp either.

“What we can take from [the loss] is we did creep back in, and if King throws like he’s been throwing and gets us deep into the game, we don’t have to play a doubleheader.”

The Stags managed only three hits on Friday night/Saturday morning against three Coastal Carolina pitchers. Chanticleers starter Cameron Flukey struck out nine in seven innings to drop Fairfield into the loser’s bracket.

The Gators and Fairfield have met only one other time, a two-game midweek series in 2015 that Florida swept at home.

In case you missed the regional preview, here is more on the Stags:

 

4. FAIRFIELD

Record: 39-18 (24-8 vs. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents)

Coach: Bill Currier, 14th year

NCAA Tournament: Third appearance all-time

Season highlight: The Stags advanced by defeating Rider in the MAAC Tournament championship in extra innings. Nolan Colby hit a two-out, solo home run in the top of the 10th to put Fairfield ahead 7-6. Reliever Blake Helmstetter finished off Rider in the bottom of the frame to lift Fairfield to its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2021.

 

Player to watch: Senior third baseman Dean Ferrara (.381/.444/.529) set a school and MAAC record for hits (96) a season ago and has continued to shine in 2025. Ferrara has topped last season’s production with 98 hits, including eight homers and 57 RBI.

Buzz: D1Baseball.com says “don’t sleep on Fairfield.” The last time the Stags made the NCAA Tournament, they ousted Arizona State en route to the Austin Regional finals. Fairfield right fielder Matt Bucciero is a dangerous slugger for opponents to tame. He is hitting .351 and leads the team with 14 home runs and 66 RBI. Meanwhile, the Stags have three dependable starters that keep them in most games: Bowen Baker (8-1, 3.20), Ben Alekson (9-1, 3.24) and Kyle Lesler (5-1, 3.97).