No. 13 Florida Swept Again in SEC Play with 15-4 Loss to Georgia

No. 13 Florida suffered a disappointing defeat to No. 4 Georgia in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Condron Family Ballpark.

The Bulldogs claimed a dominant 15-4 victory in just seven innings.

Georgia (24-2, 5-1 SEC) wasted no time, jumping out to an early lead in the top of the first.

Slate Alford led off with a single to center field, and Ryland Zaborowski drove him in with a one-out, RBI double to left-center.

The Bulldogs extended their advantage to 4-0 in the second inning when Christian Adams hit a three-run homer to right field.

Florida (18-8, 0-6 SEC) answered back in the bottom of the second.

Brendan Lawson launched a solo home run into the left-field bullpen, trimming Georgia’s lead to 4-1.

The Gators then turned to freshman pitcher Jackson Barberi in the third inning after a leadoff walk.

Barberi came through, retiring three consecutive batters, including one strikeout, to keep the score at 4-1.

However, Georgia continued to pull away in the fourth.

Alford hit a two-out, two-run homer to left field, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 6-1.

In the fifth inning, Adams added a solo shot to right field, making it 7-1 in favor of Georgia.

Florida mounted a small rally in the bottom of the fifth.

Luke Heyman was hit by a pitch, and Ty Evans followed with a single to right field, putting two runners on base.

But Georgia’s starter Leighton Finley worked his way out of the jam, inducing two groundouts to second base to strand both runners.

The Bulldogs put the game out of reach in the sixth inning.

Zaborowski and Nolan McCarthy hit back-to-back three-run home runs, increasing Georgia’s lead to 13-1.

Florida showed some signs of life in the bottom of the sixth.

Bobby Boser and Colby Shelton reached base with a single and walk, respectively.

Ashton Wilson singled to center to drive in Boser, cutting the deficit to 13-2.

Cade Kurland grounded out to second to score Shelton, and Heyman delivered a two-strike, two-out single to center to bring home Wilson, making it 13-4.

But Georgia responded in the top of the seventh.

Robbie Burnett hit a two-run homer to left-center, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 15-4.

That would be the final score, as Florida was unable to answer in the bottom of the seventh.

Finley (2-0) earned the win for Georgia, pitching five strong innings.

He allowed just one run on two hits, striking out three and walking one.

Florida's Jake Clemente (1-1) took the loss after allowing four earned runs on five hits in two-plus innings.

He struck out two batters in the outing.

The loss dropped Florida to 15-4 at home this season, and the Gators were swept at home for the first time since April 2022, when Tennessee accomplished the same feat.

Lawson’s home run was his sixth of the season, while Shelton continued his impressive streak, reaching base safely in all 26 games this year.

Florida’s all-time record against Georgia now stands at 195-119-2, with a 102-48-1 record at home.

This marked Florida’s first series loss to Georgia since 2022, when the teams met in Athens.

The Gators’ 0-6 start to SEC play is their worst since 2001, although that season they went on to recover and finish 9-6 in conference play.

Florida will look to regroup as they travel to Jacksonville, Fla., for a neutral-site matchup with rival Florida State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.