Gators even series with Arkansas, snap SEC losing streak

After 14 days, the Gators are finally back in the win column in SEC play. They defeated No. 2 Arkansas, 7-2, on Friday night at Florida Ballpark to even the series at a game apiece and snap their six-game losing streak against league competition.

UF (20-11, 4-7 SEC) dominated the game in all facets. Offensively, they jumped on Arkansas’ freshman starter, Hagen Smith, for seven runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

On the mound, Brandon Sproat turned in one of his best outings ever, giving up just one run on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He only walked two batters and struck out five.

Defensively, they turned a pair of double plays to help Sproat keep the Razorbacks (23-6, 8-3) off of the scoreboard in the second and third innings.

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said winning this game was very important for the team’s morale.

“We had lost six league games in a row,” he said. “I think the most we’ve ever lost in a row was five, and that was in ’13. Obviously, just getting the win was important. Getting off to a good start offensively was important.

“It was big for [Sproat]. It was big for our team. I think he’s starting to come into his own. I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves, but he pitched really good. I thought he pitched really good last week against Georgia, too. I think that the biggest step forward for him was his curveball tonight. He landed it early in the count often. I think, at some point, he threw 14 of 16 first-pitch strikes. When you do that, you’ve got a chance to be successful, and he did that tonight.”

Sproat set the tone from the jump, striking out three batters in a scoreless top of the first. UF’s offense built on that momentum and never looked back.

With one out in the bottom of the first, Jud Fabian hit a blooper that landed in no man’s land in shallow center field for a double. A passed ball by catcher Michael Turner allowed him to advance to third.

Sterlin Thompson crushed a 1-0 offering from Smith deep into left-center field. Center fielder Braydon Webb made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Thompson of a homer, but Fabian tagged up and scored easily.

Wyatt Langford didn’t experience the misfortune that Thompson did. He lined the first pitch he saw deep into right field. The strong wind blowing out that way caused the ball to sail into the Gators’ bullpen to make it 2-0.

“We came in knowing that he was going to throw a lot of fastballs,” Langford said. “So, I was just looking for a fastball, and I didn’t really think it was going to get out. I thought it was going to hit the fence, so I was running full speed, and then they said it was gone. So, that’s always nice.”

Smith walked Kendrick Calilao on four pitches to lead off the second, and Josh Rivera poked an 0-2 pitch against the shift and through the wide-open right side of the infield for a hit. Mac Guscette tried to advance both runners into scoring position with a bunt, but he popped it high into the air. First baseman Peyton Stovall charged in and called off Smith and Turner, only for the ball to bounce off of his glove in fair territory. The error loaded the bases with nobody out.

Smith walked Deric Fabian to plate a run, and Colby Halter came up just short of a grand slam by hitting a long sacrifice fly to right-center field.

The Gators added another run in the third when BT Riopelle hit what appeared to be a routine fly ball to right. Once again, the wind carried the ball past the fence for a homer to make it 5-0.

Things got a bit scary for Florida in the top of the fifth. Jalen Battles led off by beating out a groundball deep into the hole at short for an infield single. Stovall then slapped a ball the other way into left field. Langford gunned a throw to third to try to get Battles out, but Battles slid in safely. While the ball was in the air, Stovall sprinted for second. Second baseman Colby Halter’s throw sailed into center field, which allowed Battles to score.

Two pitches later, Cayden Wallace hit a groundball to third that Deric Fabian didn’t field cleanly for an error.

While the Gators still led 5-1 at this point, it didn’t exactly feel like they were in a comfortable position. One of their biggest problems during the losing streak was that they too often allowed one or two mistakes to lead to a gigantic inning for their opponent. They haven’t handled in-game adversity very well.

This time, Sproat rose to the occasion. He avoided further damage with a flyout, a pop out and a strikeout.

O’Sullivan identified those three at bats as the most crucial part of the game.

“Those types of things are going to happen,” he said. “Everything is not going to go your way. I think, at times, you guys have seen, that when things have kind of gone against us or not our way, we’ve probably let it affect our pitching or how we play offensively. Obviously, you can’t do that because everything is not going to go the way you want it all the time, and you have to be able to overcome those things. Hopefully, tonight was a step in the right direction.”

Added Sproat: “Errors are going to happen. It’s baseball. I knew I just had to bear down and make some pitches. That doesn’t mean I’m going to lose confidence in my defense. I trust those guys with everything I have. They played a great game behind me tonight.”

UF’s offense immediately expanded the lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the frame. Thompson lined Smith’s first pitch into right-center field for a leadoff single. Langford then pulled a 2-0 pitch just under Wallace’s glove at third for a single. Left fielder Jace Bohrofen unsuccessfully tried to throw out Thompson at third, and Langford advanced to second in the process.

Riopelle lofted a sacrifice fly to left to score one run, and Calilao welcomed reliever Gabriel Starks to the game with an RBI double into the left-field corner.

Sproat exited the game to a standing ovation after giving up a two-out single to Brady Slavens in the sixth.

“Just kind of going first-pitch curveball for a strike,” he said. “I think that threw them off because I think they were sitting fastball first pitch.”

Blake Purnell took the ball and tossed the final 3 1/3 innings and gave up just one run, an RBI triple by Slavens in the eighth.

The Gators will now go for a huge series win on Saturday. Taking two out of three from a top-5 team would significantly bolster their postseason resume, possibly vault them back into the national rankings and give them some momentum heading into another challenging slate of games next week.

Thanks to the way that Sproat and Purnell pitched, they’ll have plenty of arms available for the rubber game.

O’Sullivan knows that pulling off the series win will be a very difficult task, however.

“We’ve got a couple options,” O’Sullivan said. “We’re going to talk about it as a staff, obviously. You’ve got probably three options of guys that haven’t thrown yet. We’ll figure it out. Whoever it is, we’re going to need four or five innings from him, and then we’re going to need all hands on deck. One inning from this guy, one inning from that guy. We’re going to have to pitch well [Saturday] again.”

Ethan Hughes
Ethan was born in Gainesville and has lived in the Starke, Florida, area his entire life. He played basketball for five years and knew he wanted to be a sportswriter when he was in middle school. He’s attended countless Gators athletic events since his early childhood, with baseball being his favorite sport to attend. He’s a proud 2019 graduate of the University of Florida and a 2017 graduate of Santa Fe College. He interned with the University Athletic Association’s communications department for 1 ½ years as a student and also wrote for InsideTheGators.com for two years before joining Gator Country in 2021. He is a long-suffering fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter @ethanhughes97.