CORAL GABLES, Fla. – No. 10 Florida rode an elite bullpen performance in game two at No. 17 Miami to clinch the series with an 8-4 victory at Mark Light Field on Saturday night.
 
Securing a fifth-straight series victory over the Hurricanes (10-2) and their sixth-consecutive in Coral Gables, the Gators (11-1) have now won 11-straight games – the program’s longest streak since the 2020 campaign. Florida has claimed 11 of the last 12 series against Miami and have not dropped a series in Coral Gables since 2014.
 
The UF relief trio of Ricky Reeth (4.0 IP), Ernesto Lugo-Canchola (1.2 IP) and Joshua Whritenour (1.0 IP) combined to hold the Hurricanes to one run on four hits and two walks across 6 2/3 innings. They combined to strike out nine batters, led by Reeth, who fanned five on his way to picking up his second win of the year.
 
At the plate, Kyle Jones (2-for-5) smoked two doubles, drove in two runs and scored once. Cash Strayer (2-for-3) also registered a multi-hit night on top of one double and two runs while Ethan Surowiec (1-for-5) put the game on ice with a three-run shot in the top of the ninth.
 
Following a minor weather delay that pushed the start time back to 6:15 p.m., the Hurricanes opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with three runs. After a two-out fielding error at third base, Derek Williams swatted a three-run homer over the left-field wall for a 3-0 Miami lead after one.
 
The Hurricane lead did not last long, as the Gators stormed back with a four-spot in the top of the second. Karson Bowen, Blake Cyr and Strayer got it going with three-straight singles while Sam Miller put UF on the board with a one-out, RBI single to right field. With two men down, Jones lined an 0-2 pitch into the left-center field gap for two more runs and Miller scampered home on a subsequent wild pitch to provide Florida with a 4-3 advantage.
 
UF starting pitcher Aidan King worked a zero in bottom-two, picking up his third strikeout in the process. The sophomore right-hander retired the leadoff man in the third via a groundout to third, but was lifted after issuing a one-out walk and hit-by-pitch. Reeth entered in relief and retired the next two Hurricanes to eliminate the threat and hold the one-run edge through three.
 
Reeth remained on the hill for bottom-four and logged a scoreless frame with one strikeout, but the Hurricanes came back to life in the fifth. Michael Torres doubled to left with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of Daniel Cuvet to knot the contest at 4-4 after five frames.
 

Bouncing back in a big way, Reeth struck out the Miami side in order in the sixth. This time the Orange & Blue took advantage of the zero to retake the edge. Caden McDonald, Strayer and Miller quickly loaded the bases with no outs via a walk, hit-by-pitch and free pass, respectively. After a pair of strikeouts, Miami came within one pitch of escaping the jam but a two-out balk by reliever Ryan Bilka forced home Strayer for the go ahead run at 5-4.
 
After retiring the leadoff man in the home half of the seventh, Reeth was replaced by Lugo-Canchola. The lefty reliever fired a quick strikeout and induced a Cuvet groundout to short for a clean frame.
 
The Gators stranded a two-out double by Strayer in top-eight while Lugo-Canchola navigated around a two-out walk by winning a 13-pitch battle against Cian Copeland – resulting in an inning-ending strikeout.
 
Looking for an insurance claim in the top of the ninth, the Gators produced exactly that to carry a four-run lead into bottom-nine. Jones and Brendan Lawson set the table with a double and intentional walk, bringing Surowiec to the dish. On the third pitch of his at bat, Surowiec unloaded on a 1-1 offering for a three-run homer over the scoreboard in left field for an 8-4 Gators lead.
 
Called on to record the final three outs, Whritenour took the bump in the ninth. Despite allowing a pair of Hurricanes to reach base on a single and walk, he stranded a pair on a groundout back to himself to secure the series-clinching victory.
 
Reeth (2-0) was awarded the win on the heels of four frames of one-run relief. The righty was charged with three hits allowed while issuing zero free passes and fanning five.
 
Hurricanes starter Rob Evans (2-1) was handed his first loss of the campaign, giving up five earned runs in six-plus frames. The left-hander finished with five hits allowed, one walk and 12 strikeouts.
 
King did not receive a decision after throwing 2 1/3 innings with three runs (zero earned) allowed on two hits and one walk. He struck out three.

NOTABLES

• Florida now leads the all-time series vs. Miami at 138-136-1 and will hold the series lead into next season for the first time since 1969-70 (29-28).
• The Gators have won 11 of the last 12 series vs. Miami including a five-series win streak.
• Florida has won six-straight series vs. Miami in Coral Gables, last falling in 2014.
• Florida has won 11-straight games since its Opening Night loss, marking the team’s longest win streak since starting 16-0 in the 2020 campaign.
• The Gators are 18-4 across 22 games vs. in-state foes since 2025.
• King has opened the season with 14 1/3-consecutive innings without allowing an earned run across three starts, allowing 10 hits and one walk while striking out 12.
• Across his last eight starts dating back to 2025, King is 6-1 with a 0.63 ERA and 41-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 43.0 innings pitched.
• Florida relievers combined for 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.
• Jones drove in two runs with his seventh double in the second, then added his eighth double of the season in the ninth inning.
• Jones recorded his eighth multi-hit effort of the season.
• Strayer posted his seventh multi-hit game of the campaign.
• Surowiec paced Florida with three RBI for his fourth multi-RBI game of the season.
• The Gators have won 28 of their last 34 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
• Florida is 33-5 in regular-season, non-conference play dating back to last season.
• Florida is now 138-136-1 all-time vs. Miami including 55-82 in Coral Gables.
• The Gators are 45-19 overall and 20-9 on the road vs. Miami under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
• Florida has won 26 of the last 35 meetings with the Hurricanes.
• Saturday night’s official attendance was 3,555.

 
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On the team’s response after the early deficit…
“Obviously, the error at third hurt us that one inning. But Aidan King was throwing the ball great. The reason we had to take him out, he started cramping. So, it’s nothing serious. But it was great to respond there with four runs in the second. And then from a pitching standpoint, Ricky Reeth was just outstanding coming out of the pen. Made some big pitches to get out of that inning. Ernie comes in and does his job for 34 pitches and battles through that one at bat. I don’t know how many pitches it was, but it was a ton of pitches. And then, Josh comes in in a situation like that and that’s the second really good outing for him. There’s no doubting his stuff, but he was outstanding. And we overcame some adversity tonight. We didn’t play as clean of defense as we have been, but I think the lesson learned, especially with Ethan, he had a tough night at the plate, and the game seems to always come back to you…”
 
On the bullpen rising to the occasion…
“I think we’re about eight pitchers deep that I trust. And that gives us so much flexibility to be able to use Jackson [Barberi] last night for three innings, knowing he’s going to be done for the weekend. And then we had our starter go down early in the game with the cramps. You got Ricky, who’s probably done for the weekend as well, and then Ernie maybe has a hitter or two tomorrow. And then Josh threw 25, he’ll be available tomorrow. But we’ve still got McNeillie. We’ve still got Sandefer. We’ve still got Sandford. We’ve still got Billy Barlow. Our bullpen is starting to come together for us…”

UP NEXT

The Gators and Hurricanes meet in the series finale on Sunday, scheduled for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.