No. 3 seed Florida softball begins its NCAA Tournament run Friday afternoon vs. Mercer in the Gainesville Regional. Here's how to watch the Gators vs. Bears.

The last time Florida softball took the field at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, it earned its biggest series win in program history.

The Gators took two of three from then-No. 1 Oklahoma with a balanced mix of hitting and pitching. Florida allowed four runs in each of the two wins and scored a total of 15 runs.

Even though UF flamed out in its first game of the SEC Tournament, a 6-3 extra-inning defeat to Ole Miss, Florida still cemented itself as one of the nation’s elite.

The NCAA softball selection committee agreed, awarding the Gators the No. 3 overall seed – the program’s highest seed since 2018.

Awaiting Florida in the Gainesville Regional is Florida Atlantic, Georgia Tech and Mercer. The winner of the regional faces the victor of the Durham Regional – consisting of No. 13 Duke, Coastal Carolina, Georgia and Howard – in the Super Regional.

Florida softball vs. Mercer in 2025 NCAA Gainesville Regional: Start time

First pitch from Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Florida softball vs. Mercer in 2025 NCAA Gainesville Regional: Streaming

You can listen to it here . Live stats are available on Gainesville.com/sports/college .

Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.