DeLand, Fla. (Interstat) — The seed Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (34-20) face the seed Lipscomb Bisons (26-24) in the opening round of the 2026 ASUN Baseball Championship on Thursday at Melching Field.

Florida Gulf Coast enters the tournament after dropping two of three at Jacksonville last weekend, including a 2-1 loss Saturday in which pitcher Hyatt Richardson threw two scoreless innings. The Eagles’ offense has been inconsistent down the stretch, scoring three or fewer runs in four of their past five games. However, their pitching staff has been reliable, posting a 3.12 ERA over the last 10 contests.

Richardson, a right-handed reliever, is a key arm out of the bullpen. In his last four appearances, he has allowed one earned run over three innings, striking out two. He did not record an out in two of those outings but delivered a clean inning in a 9-8 win at Florida International on May 6.

Lipscomb comes in with momentum, having taken two of three at Central Arkansas last weekend. The Bisons erupted for 16 runs in a win Friday and won 7-4 on Saturday. Outfielder Jordan Thomas was the catalyst, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs in the series finale. Thomas has been on a tear, hitting .333 (9-for-27) with two home runs and 10 RBIs over his last seven games.

The Bisons’ pitching has been erratic, but Adam Jamison and Kaleb Kantola combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings in Saturday’s win. Lipscomb’s offense has been the strength, averaging 6.1 runs per game in May.

Florida Gulf Coast won the regular-season series against Lipscomb 2-1 in March, but the Bisons took the most recent meeting 5-3 on March 30 in Nashville.

Thursday’s winner will advance to face either Central Arkansas or Stetson in the second round Friday. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. ET.