GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Brendan Lawson was not going to let the Florida Gators ' opener in the Gainesville Regional against Rider go to extra innings. With the game tied 7-7 after Rider erased a 4-0 Florida lead in the eighth inning, Lawson led-off the bottom of the ninth inning with one goal in mind: get on base for Blake Cyr. Turns out Cyr was not needed. Lawson, facing a 2-1 count, smacked a fastball 444 feet out past the centerfield wall to clinch the win and put the Gators in the winners' bracket . "As soon as I hit it, I put my head down and ran out of the box, and I could hear (Mike) Rivera yell 'get up,'" Lawson said. "So I looked up, and right before I touched first, I thought that it was gone." — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 29, 2026 Lawson capped off a tremendous hitting performance for Florida, which started and ended with a home run. Kyle Jones hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, while Caden McDonald, Landon Stripling and Cade Kurland each added home runs before Lawson's.…