Florida Gators Clinch Series Win Over Miami Hurricanes Despite Sunday Setback

The No. 7 Florida Gators (11-1) faced off against the Miami Hurricanes (9-3) in a thrilling three-game series at Condron Family Ballpark this past weekend.

While the Gators emerged victorious in the first two contests, Miami bounced back in the final game to even the series.

The series opener on Friday night saw Florida battle back from two early deficits, scoring five unanswered runs for a 6-2 win.

The victory stretched the Gators’ season-opening win streak to 10 games, their longest since 2020.

Miami struck first, plating a run in the top of the first on Jake Ogden’s two-out RBI single.

But Florida quickly responded, tying the game in the bottom of the second thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Luke Heyman.

The Hurricanes regained the lead in the third, but Bobby Boser’s solo homer and Brendan Lawson’s two-run blast in the bottom of the third gave the Gators a 3-2 advantage.

Liam Peterson earned the win, tossing six innings of two-run ball and striking out seven.

Florida’s bullpen came through with three shutout innings, led by Frank Menendez, Luke McNeillie, and Alex Philpott.

Boser and Lawson each finished with two RBIs, while Peterson improved to 3-0 on the season.

With the win, Florida tied the all-time series against Miami at 135-135-1.

Florida secured the series victory on Saturday with a 6-3 win in front of a program-record crowd of 9,303 fans.

The Gators smashed three homers, including two from Heyman, to extend their win streak to 11 games.

The game was a pitchers’ duel early on, as both teams struggled to score in the first few innings.

However, Florida broke the deadlock in the fourth with Boser’s solo homer.

The Gators then exploded for three more runs in the sixth, including a two-run shot from Heyman and an RBI double from Landon Stripling.

Aidan King was instrumental in the win, pitching a career-high 3 1/3 innings of shutout ball and earning his second win of the week.

Frank Menendez and Alex Philpott combined for 2 1/3 solid innings of relief.

Heyman’s two homers gave him a team-high four RBIs, while Stripling went 3-for-3 and scored twice.

With the win, Florida took the all-time series lead at 136-135-1 for the first time since 1969.

Miami rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to stun Florida with a 13-7 victory in the series finale on Sunday.

The Gators jumped out to an early lead, with Hayden Yost, Bobby Boser, and Landon Stripling contributing key hits in the first three innings.

However, the Hurricanes exploded for 13 consecutive runs, starting in the fourth inning and continuing through the eighth.

Dorian Gonzalez’s two-run single in the fourth ignited Miami’s comeback, and by the time the eighth inning rolled around, the Canes had built a commanding 13-4 lead.

Florida tried to respond in the bottom of the eighth, scoring three runs on timely hits from Colby Shelton, Brody Donay, and Lawson, but it was too little, too late.

Gators starter Jake Clemente didn’t factor into the decision after giving up four earned runs in four innings.

Miami’s Carson Fischer earned the win in relief, and Florida’s bullpen struggled to contain the Hurricanes, giving up eight runs in the final four innings.

Despite the loss, Florida’s offense continued to produce, with Shelton and Donay both registering multi-hit games.

The loss snapped Florida’s 11-game win streak to start the season and tied the all-time series at 136-136-1.

The Gators were unable to finish off the sweep, but they will look to bounce back in their upcoming games.

Following this series, the Gators will travel to UCF on Tuesday, playing at 6 p.m., before returning home to face Florida Atlantic at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.