WHAT HAPPENED: Florida fell to UCF 4-2 on Wednesday night at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville.

UCF struck first in the opening frame. Ray Alejo led off the game with a double and Rylan Thomas made it 2-0 with his fourth home run of the season.

Both starting pitchers settled in and kept the offenses in check until the bottom of the fifth, when UCF starter Joe Sheridan lost control and walked four batters to allow the Gators to get on the board.

Florida starter Jordan Butler was solid after allowing the home run in the first inning, giving up just one hit over the next four innings before being replaced by Tommy Mace.

The Knights immediately got the run back in the sixth inning on Matthew Mika's solo home run to left field. UCF made it 4-1 in the seventh with a RBI single from pinch hitter Chandler Robertson.

Blake Reese's RBI single in the eighth cut the deficit to two runs, but the Gators left the bases loaded as UCF closer Bryce Tucker escaped the inning.

FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan on the team facing adversity: "To be honest with you, no one likes to lose but we've learned a lot about our team the last two days. We ran a bunch of freshmen out there on the mound, started Brady [Smith] behind the plate today. It just gives us a lot more to learn about our team moving forward and that's really what you're trying to do at this point -- figure out who can do what, who can handle certain situations. I thought Jonah [Girand] had a really good pinch hit at bat [in the eighth].

"Quite honestly, things have been a little bit easy for us up to this point. No one likes to lose, like I said, but to be honest with you this is probably what this team needs. It needs a little motivation. Hopefully this will motivate us to play a little better this weekend."

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jonah Girand – With two outs and runners on the corners in the eighth inning, Girand came off the bench to pinch hit. He was called upon despite having just three at bats on the year (one hit) and came through, working the count full and drawing a walk on nine pitches to load the bases.

STANDOUT STAT: 11.0 – Michael Byrne has yet to allow a run through 11.0 innings pitched this season. Dating back to the end of last season, Byrne has a streak of 18.0 scoreless innings.

UP NEXT: Florida will host a three-game series against Rhode Island this weekend. Friday's series opener starts at 6 p.m. There will be no live video of Friday night's game, but it will air live on the Gators IMG Radio Network (98.1 FM/AM850 in Gainesville).