LUBBOCK REGIONAL
Dallas Baptist 11, Florida 8

WHAT HAPPENED: In their NCAA Tournament opener, the Gators fell behind in the first inning but got a two-run homer by freshman third baseman Cory Acton to tie the game in the second. However, in what became a familiar storyline the rest of the night at Rip Griffin Park on the campus of Texas Tech University, the Patriots answered to regain the lead in the bottom of the second and stayed there behind senior right-hander MD Johnson (6 2/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 6 BB, 5 SO), a pair of relievers (including former Gators pitcher MacGregor Hines) and a potent offensive attack that pounded 17 hits against four Gators pitchers. The loss means the Gators' season is on the line Saturday afternoon in a losers bracket matchup against Army.

KEY MOMENT(S): The inning-by-inning line score shows where DBU did most of its damage. Each time the Gators scored in the top of an inning, the Patriots responded in the bottom half, scoring two runs in the second, a run in the seventh and three in the eighth.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: UF starter Tommy Mace entered with solid outings in each of his last two starts, a win at Missouri in the final regular-season series and 6 2/3 innings against Texas A&M in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Gators hoped to get a stellar performance from Mace on Friday to set the tone in their first game in Lubbock. However, Mace never found a rhythm and lasted only 1 1/3 innings, forcing Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan to go to the bullpen early. Mace gave up six hits and four runs in his shortest outing of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS: 3 -- Consecutive innings the Gators got the leadoff hitter aboard to have the next batter ground into a double play (fourth, fifth and sixth innings); 44 -- Pitches thrown by Mace; 5 -- Years since the Gators lost their first game of the NCAA Tournament, a 3-2 home loss to College of Charleston in the 2014 Gainesville Regional.

FROM THE COACH: Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan – On tonight's game: "I think we gave up four innings with two or more runs, so just credit their offense and credit their pitching, they did just enough there at the end and it's a tough loss for us, we got a little bit of ways to go now in the tournament, but we hand the ball off to Jack tomorrow and see what we got."
 
On Tommy Mace's performance: "No, I really don't have an answer. I fully expected him to come in and pitch well. He had nine days to prepare for the start, and I honestly I don't know what happened. I know he had trouble locating his slider down and away. He had two outs, nobody on in the first, and we end up giving up two runs. We gave up four consecutive hits I believe, and I think we hit Sosa to start the second. So obviously it wasn't ideal to go to the pen that early."

UP NEXT: The Gators face Army (35-25) at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday in an elimination game. Army lost 11-2 to host Texas Tech in the opening game of the Lubbock Regional. Florida is 5-1 all-time against Army. The schools have not played since the 2010 season.