Florida outfielder Blake Cyr, a transfer from Miami, has enjoyed a resurgence in his second season at Florida. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
Gators Notebook: Resurgent Cyr Faces Canes, Lawson Locked In, Chemistry Matters, More Tidbits
Saturday, May 30, 2026 | Baseball, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Blake Cyr was on deck Friday when Brendan Lawson stepped to the plate and crushed the game-winning, walk-off homer to give Florida an 8-7 win over Rider in the opening game of the Gainesville Regional.
On deck for Cyr on Saturday night is his former school, Miami. The Hurricanes beat Troy on Friday night in a weather-delayed game that didn't end until almost 2 a.m. at Condron Ballpark. Cyr played two seasons for the Hurricanes before transferring to Florida.
Cyr entered the NCAA Tournament swinging a hot bat, going 9-for-13 with two homers and eight RBI in last week's SEC Tournament. He went 0-for-4 on Friday and now gets to face the Hurricanes in the postseason for the first time.
Does it feel like a full-circle moment for the senior from Orlando?
"Not really. I'm two years away from it,'' he said. "My sophomore year, I got a season-ending injury early in the year. It's been a long time. I really just think it's another team."
Blake Cyr played at Miami for the first time with the Gators earlier this season. (Photo: Jordan Perez/UAA Communications)
Cyr had the best season of his career as a freshman, hitting .305 with 17 homers and 63 RBI for a Miami team that lost to Texas in the Coral Gables Regional. Coach Gino DiMare stepped down after the season and was replaced by then-pitching coach J.D. Arteaga, now in his third season as Miami's head coach.
Most of Cyr's former UM teammates have moved on, so there won't be a ton of familiar faces to catch up with on Saturday. After a difficult personal stretch following the loss of his father, Steve Cyr, in February 2024, Cyr has rediscovered his stroke and passion for the game. After hitting a career-low .254 last season with nine homers and 34 RBI, Cyr is batting .332 with 13 home runs and 56 RBI.
"Blake Cyr might be one of the most underrated hitters in our lineup,'' UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "I'm not saying [he gets] overlooked, but boy, he's been really good for us for a long period of time."
In deciding to transfer to UF, Cyr said he wanted to challenge himself against the best pitchers in college baseball. He has passed the test.
More importantly, Cyr has rediscovered joy in the game with the help of O'Sullivan, who dealt with his own personal issues in the past year.
Cyr connected with O'Sullivan, and he said their relationship has played a major role in his turnaround.
"I had a tough year last year off the field, being the first full year without my dad. I didn't really know how to separate off-the-field and on-the-field stuff. That mental battle was tough,'' Cyr said at the SEC Tournament. "It's such a blessing to be able to be out here. I give a lot of credit to Sully. He's been an unbelievable person in that process outside the baseball field. He's not just an awesome coach on the field, but off the field, he cares so much about who you are and what's going on, and him constantly checking in on me to lead me coming back this year with such a mental clarity.
"It was just a mental thing for me. I'm just out here having fun playing the game of baseball again, doing exactly what my pops would want me to do."
Meanwhile, in five games against his former team since he joined the Gators, Cyr is 3-for-17 with an RBI. He'll get an opportunity to improve on those numbers Saturday.
UM will likely start sophomore right-handed pitcher AJ Ciscar (5-4, 4.44 ERA). Ace Aidan King (8-2, 2.68 ERA) will start for the Gators. Ciscar pitched seven innings against Florida in the regular-season matchup on Feb. 27 in Coral Gables, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits with six strikeouts. King pitched only 2 1/3 innings in his regular-season appearance against Miami on Feb. 28, giving up three unearned runs before exiting with cramps.
"I think it's nice that Miami is in the regional,'' Cyr said. "It's like, 'alright, we've got a rival in there.' It's a rivalry game, so you know how that's going to be. It will give us that extra 'umph' that we might need."
BRENDAN THE BASHER
Lawson extended his hitting streak to 11 games on Friday with a single in the seventh inning. He topped that in the ninth with his home run to center field.
He wasn't initially sure the 2-1 pitch he hit off Rider reliever Christian Aiello was gone.
"As soon as I hit it, I put my head down and ran out of the box,'' Lawson said. Brendan Lawson has been smiling a lot during his 11-game hitting streak. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
That changed when he heard first base coach Mike Rivera erupt, igniting a celebration that ended with Lawson's long locks soaked from getting doused with a water bucket. Lawson's team-leading 17th homer is the latest blow he has dealt to opposing pitchers recently.
Lawson snapped out of a 0-for-19 slump in the first game of the Kentucky series last month and hasn't cooled off since. He is 15-for-35 (.429) with six homers and 10 RBI during the 11-game hitting streak.
He has also shown defensive improvement and has not committed an error after committing 12 through his first 43 games. Lawson's approach includes a batting-practice session at P.K. Yonge High with his father before the Kentucky series, and in his free time to escape the game, playing guitar and going fishing.
"It makes it realize that it's just a game and failure is going to happen,'' he said. "It allows you to clear your head and reset for the next day."
The numbers say it's working.
WEATHER WARRIORS
The Gators were fortunate on Friday that their game against Rider did not endure a weather delay. Of course, Miami can't say the same. The Hurricanes' game was delayed for more than four hours due to inclement weather.
Per NCAA rules, the losers' bracket game between Rider and Troy was moved back from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. And Florida and Miami are scheduled to start at 8. NCAA rules require at least 12 hours between games for teams in regional competition, giving Troy extra time to prepare in its elimination game.
While the Gators went most of the regular season without weather delays due to a prolonged drought in North Central Florida, the weather has changed over the past few weeks. Florida waited out a three-hour delay against Kentucky.
Lawson isn't concerned if the Gators are delayed in the regional.
"This isn't anything new,'' he said. "As long as we're staying up and staying active, we're ready to play whenever."
RATING RUSSELL
Gators starter Russell Sandefer's strong outing got lost in the late-game drama on Friday, but the transfer from UCF turned in an excellent outing in his first career NCAA Tournament start.
Sandefer retired 16 of the first 17 batters he faced until running out of steam in the top of the sixth. In 5 2/3 shutout innings, Sandefer allowed two hits, walked one and struck out five.
The line drive he took off his right forearm in the SEC Tournament was a non-factor.
Russell Sandeferreacts after a strikeout in Friday's win over Rider. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
"It was a little scary when it happened,'' he said. "It didn't really hurt too-too bad. I was just relieved that nothing happened, because it hit me pretty hard. They were kind of adamant I was coming out."
Sandefer exited in the second inning in his start against Georgia, but when he played catch the next day, he knew he would be fine to pitch in the NCAA Tournament.
Sandefer threw 87 pitches Friday and departed with UF leading 3-0 and runners at second and third and two outs in the top of the sixth. Right-hander Caden McDonald came in to get out of the jam.
Sandefer was in line for the win until Rider's Anthony Paskell tied the game 4-4 with a two-out grand slam off UF reliever Jackson Barberi in the top of the eighth.
"I thought he was really good," O'Sullivan said. "It was hot, probably as humid a day as we've had. I thought he ran out of gas. That's why we went to Caden."
QUOTE OF NOTE
"I genuinely feel bad when we score a good amount of runs for the other team to have to go through our pitching staff to try and come back. We're rolling out dudes. I don't want to face that. I had to face it in the fall, and I don't want to have to face it again." — OF Blake Cyr on the depth and talent of Florida's pitching staff
CONNECTED CREW
The Gators certainly didn't draw up Friday's victory the way it transpired. O'Sullivan would have preferred Sandefer to earn the victory, with relievers McDonald, Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, Barberi and Joshua Whritenour putting the game away quietly.
That didn't happen, but Florida's quick-strike ability was on full display in the eighth and ninth innings when McDonald homered, Karson Bowen tripled, and Cade Kurland homered in the eighth to retake the lead, and then Lawson homered in the ninth to win it.
"It was definitely not fun in the top of the eighth,'' Sandefer said. "Our team responded very well. It's very easy when a moment like that happens to crawl into a ball and let the game take over."
"You weren't expecting that, right,'' Kurland said. "We're throwing that punch right back. That's kind of the mentality of our team."
The Gators converged to congratulate Brendan Lawson after his game-winning homer in the win over Rider on Friday at Condron Ballpark. (Photo: Madilyn Gemme/UAA Communications)
The day before the regional started, the Gators reflected on team-bonding activities in the fall to prepare them for moments that matter. During the fall, the Gators gathered on Wednesdays for friendly competitions and to build team chemistry.
They played dodgeball, held swimming competitions, went bowling, played golf in a closest-to-the-pin contest, and tested their shot-making ability in 3-point shoot-offs.
"With all the time we spent away from the field, I think that really brought us closer," Lawson said. "That was so fun."
"I still have memories from each different event, funny things happening,'' Bowen said.
Sandefer showed he can bowl. Cyr has touch from deep on the basketball court. McDonald knows how to swing a golf club.
As for the pool, Gators All-American Josh Liendo had nothing to worry about.
"Some of the guys, they could not make it,'' Cyr said. "We were just dying in the middle of the pool. That was hilarious."
