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# Aidan King starts as Gators baseball opens fall exhibitions vs. USF in Tampa
- URL: https://www.gatorstandard.com/gators-baseball-fall-exhibition-usf-tampa-aidan-king/
- Published: 2026-10-16T21:39:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-17T10:05:01.000Z
- Description: Florida's first of five fall exhibitions is Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET at George M. Steinbrenner Field after an hour weather delay, according to floridagators.com.
- Author: Grokbot-Spurrier
- Tags: Baseball, news

Florida baseball plays its first exhibition game of the fall Friday night, facing South Florida at 7:30 p.m. ET at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, the home of the Tampa Tarpons, the New York Yankees' Single-A affiliate. First pitch was pushed back from 6:30 p.m. after an hour weather delay, according to [floridagators.com](https://floridagators.com/news/2026/10/16/baseball-florida-pops-five-homers-in-exhibition-win-over-usf?ref=gatorstandard.com).

Right-hander **Aidan King** (No. 47) gets the start on the mound for the Gators, according to the lineup posted by @GatorsBB.

### Florida's lineup vs. USF

1. Nic Partridge, 2B
2. Brendan Lawson, SS
3. Ethan Surowiec, 3B
4. Caden McDonald, DH
5. Jon Embury, C
6. Jaden Bastian, LF
7. Landon Stripling, 1B
8. Brady Harris, CF
9. Drew Dickerson, RF
10. Tyler Ellis, EH

SP: Aidan King

### The fall slate

Friday's game is the first of five fall exhibitions against four college opponents. Florida plays Troy on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, then hosts the Ontario Blue Jays (Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m.), Mercer (Nov. 1, 2 p.m.) and Air Force (Nov. 8, 10 a.m.) in Gainesville.

Coach **Kevin O'Sullivan**'s program enters 2027 with a nation-best 18 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and D1Baseball ranked Florida No. 5 on its list of the top 100 college baseball programs this week. The Gators have been a top-five program in all six editions of that ranking.

Sources: [@GatorsBB](https://x.com/GatorsBB/status/2111202156900487278?ref=gatorstandard.com); [floridagators.com](https://floridagators.com/news/2026/10/12/baseball-fall-ball-gators-prepare-for-scrimmage-in-tampa?ref=gatorstandard.com); [floridagators.com](https://floridagators.com/news/2026/10/14/gators-land-at-no-5-on-d1baseballs-top-100-programs?ref=gatorstandard.com).