GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Scoring in seven-straight innings to finish the game, No. 12 Florida polished off a sweep of Kennesaw State with a 12-9 victory in the series finale at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
 
Now winners of seven-straight contests, the Gators (7-1) found a way to win game three despite not playing their cleanest baseball of the campaign. Eight different Gators scored runs and seven logged hits, led by Ethan Surowiec (2-for-5) with a four-RBI Day. The sophomore slugger also doubled and scored one run. He was joined by Cole Stanford (2-for-4), who doubled, scored and drove in one run, as the only Gators with multiple knocks. Kyle Jones (1-for-2) continued to stuff the stat sheet with three runs scored, two RBI and two walks.
 
On the hill, sophomore right-hander Jackson Barberi picked up his first victory of the season. He entered with two outs in the fifth to mop up a bases-loaded situation and finished with 2 1/3 shutout frames of relief and three strikeouts.
 
The Owls (3-3) opened the scoring for the first time in series in the finale, plating three first-inning runs to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Trenton Lyons led off with a single and came home on an RBI triple to right by Cooper Williams. Jackson Chirello and Charlie Jones added RBI singles to round out the scoring. UF starter Cooper Walls recorded all three outs in the inning via the strikeout.
 
Walls rebounded for a clean frame in the second, striking out his fourth batter in the process. In the home half, the Gators broke into the scoring column with two runs to cut their deficit to 3-2. Surowiec capitalized on a hit by pitch of Cash Strayer, barreling an RBI double into the left-field corner. The UF first baseman later scored on an RBI groundout to third base off the bat of Sam Miller.
 
In the third, Walls worked another zero while Stanford hosed Williams attempting to steal second for the middle out of the frame. Jones and Brendan Lawson proceeded to set the table with walks in bottom-three and advanced on a fly ball to right and stolen base, respectively. That allowed Strayer to drive in Jones on a groundout to the shortstop, tying the game at three runs apiece through three innings.
 
Blake Cyr (hit-by-pitch) and Stanford (single to left) got on base to start off the home half of the fourth while Colton Schwarz drew a one-out walk. With the bags juiced and one man down, Jones gave Florida its first lead of the day with a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Cyr.
 
Florida’s initial lead was short-lived, as the Owls retied the contest in top-five when Austin Posey scampered home on a wild pitch with two outs. Kennesaw State regained the advantage at 5-4, as Wesley Alig drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Williams.
 
In bottom-five, the Gators answered with one to knot it back up at 5-5. Karson Bowen swatted a leadoff double down the right-field line, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout to second base by Surowiec.
 

After working Florida out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout in the fifth, Barberi induced a 5-4-3 double play en route to a scoreless sixth. That opened the door for the Orange & Blue to post a crooked number in the home half.
 
Erupting for their first big inning of the game, the Gators put up four runs in the sixth to snag a 9-5 lead. Stanford drew a walk and moved to third on a pinch-hit single from Cade Kurland, then scored on an RBI single to center by Jones. Bowen provided a sacrifice fly to right to plate Kurland followed by the big blow from Surowiec – a two-run single back up the middle to increase his RBI total to four.
 
Barberi surrendered a pair of one-out hits in top-seven but fanned Alig and Jones to strand a pair of Owls in scoring position.
 
Florida once again took advantage with two runs in the home half, scoring for the sixth-straight inning to push further in front at 11-5. With two outs, Lawson lined an RBI single to right to drive in Kurland, but a throwing error by Jones at first base allowed Jones to score all the way from first as Lawson advanced to second.
 
At the onset of the eighth, redshirt senior Billow Barlow took over on the mound. The right-hander utilized a 4-6-3 double play for a scoreless frame. The Gators then added a lone insurance run courtesy of back-to-back doubles from Cyr and Stanford.
 
Owning 12-5 lead after eight, the Owls made things interesting in the ninth with a four-run frame. Lyons scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Avery Wilson, followed by a bases-loaded walk and hit-by-pitch of Alig and Josh Gibbs to force home an additional two runs. The final tally came via Chirello on a fielder’s choice to second by Jake McGee. With two on and the tying run at the plate, right-hander Schuyler Sandford induced a line out of Shamaar McDuffie to center field as the Orange & Blue escaped with a 12-9 victory and a series sweep.
 
Barberi (1-1) earned his first win of the season, shutting the Owls down over 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. The sophomore flame-thrower allowed two hits and one walk while fanning three batters.
 
Owls reliever Ryan Renfroe (0-1) was stuck with the loss. The righty was charged with one earned run on one walk in two-thirds of a frame.
 
Walls received a no-decision in his second start as a Gator, going four-plus innings and giving up four earned runs on five hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
 
Kennesaw state starting pitcher Cole Royer also did not factor into the decision after throwing two-plus innings of three-run ball on one hit, two walks and two strikeouts.

NOTABLES

• The Gators have won eight-straight series dating back to the 2025 season.
• Florida scored in seven-straight innings (second-through-eighth) after not scoring in the first.
• Eight Gators scored a run, seven had hits and seven drove in runs on Sunday.
• Florida delivered its second come-from-behind win of the campaign.
• Across three starts this weekend, Florida’s starting pitching combined to pitch 15 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 11 hits allowed and 22 strikeouts to three walks.
• Jones failed to lead off the game with a hit for Florida for just the second time in eight games.

  • Jones still managed to lead off the third inning with a walk.

• Stanford threw out his first would-be base stealer in Orange & Blue in the third inning.
• Southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola retired 19-consecutive batters to begin his Florida career before the 20th batter he faced reached first on a wild pitch on a strikeout.

  • Lugo-Canchola has yet to allow a hit in three appearances this season.

• Kurland pinch-hit in the sixth inning and knocked a single.
• Surowiec tied his season high with a team-high four RBI (second four RBI game of series).
• Surowiec logged his third multi-hit effort of the season and second of the series.
• Stanford (2-for-4) had his first multi-hit game in Orange & Blue.
• Barberi earned his first win of the season behind 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief.
• Florida has won seven-straight games since its Opening Night loss.
• The Gators have won 24 of their last 30 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
• Florida improved to 3-0 all-time against Kennesaw State on the diamond.
• Sunday’s official attendance was 6,707.

 
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Walls battling through after the first inning and Barberi’s relief outing…
“I thought he pitched really well after that. His stuff looked a little down today from what it has been in the preseason. And that’s typical. Usually that second start, usually they back up a little bit. But I thought he settled in and pitched really well. Obviously, just pitching behind the count at first, and then took advantage of them. The fifth inning was a bit ugly, and they loaded the bases with no hits, and we walked a guy in when we had him with a 1-2 count. But I thought, I wasn’t planning on bringing Jackson in that early in the game, but it felt like that was probably the tipping point of the game because we had fought so hard to get back into the game and take the lead. So, he was a big reason that we ended up winning today, and he’s been sick this week, too. You could tell he was running out of gas there a little bit, but I thought our situational hitting was outstanding today…”
 
On Sandford finishing it in the ninth…
“Well, he came in a difficult situation. I mean, they ended up getting the tying run to the plate, which I did not foresee happening with a seven-run lead, but you know he got through it. Like I said, he had thrown so well last night. I am not trying to make excuses but I think you saw it from both sides. It was a bit ugly on the mound. Sometimes it is really hard to get a grip on that breaking ball you know when the wind is between 20-25 miles per hour.”

On scoring in seven-straight innings after coming up empty in the first…

“Yeah, that’s what I am saying. I think halfway through the game, I think we only had two hits, but we manufactured some runs. I do not know how many sac flies we had, quite a few, and once again I thought our baserunning was good.”

UP NEXT

The Gators remain home through the midweek, hosting FIU in a pair of in-state bouts on Feb. 24 (6:30 p.m.) and Feb. 25 (6 p.m.) Both matchups will air on SEC Network+.