After surrendering just three runs in the first two outings of the weekend, Florida’s pitching struggled to begin on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore Cooper Walls, senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and senior Ricky Reeth combined for six strikeouts while surrendering a total of five runs and four walks in four total frames.
But, the Gators pitching recovered behind Walls’ bounce-back and sophomore Jackson Barberi’s closing effort. Barberi earned the win, finishing with three strikeouts and three groundouts in two innings despite being under the weather all week.
“I was ready to go if needed,” Barberi said. “It’s baseball, things happen.”
Additionally, scores in seven straight innings helped uplift Florida (7-1) to a 12-9 victory against Kennesaw State (3-3) to secure the series sweep.
This time, it was the Owls who drew first blood in the opening frame. Junior left fielder Cooper Williams tripled down the right field line to score junior center fielder Trenton Lyons.
Senior right fielder Jackson Chirello then singled through the right side to Williams, and senior first baseman Charlie Jones singled to center field to send Chirello home to make it a 3-0 Owl advantage.
But, the Gators responded in the second. After freshman outfielder Cash Strayer was hit on the foot by a pitch, sophomore first baseman Ethan Surowiec doubled down the left field line to score Strayer.
Then, a sacrifice fly from senior catcher Cole Stanford sent Surowiec to third, and senior third baseman Sam Miller finished the job with a sacrifice groundout to score Surowiec to cut KSU’s lead to one run.
Florida evened the game in the third after a Strayer sacrifice groundout sent Jones home.
Walls relieved the side in the fourth, marking his third straight scoreless frame after a shaky first inning.
“You can’t really drag your head,” Walls said. “I think I started off bad, but after that I feel like I competed.”
The Gators rewarded Walls’ effort as they took their first lead of the day in the fourth. With bases loaded, Jones hit a sacrifice fly out to score Cyr to make it a 4-3 Florida advantage.
Kennesaw State took back the lead in the fifth, as a wild pitch allowed senior catcher Aaron Posey to score. Then, with bases loaded, sophomore second baseman Wesley Alig walked, sending Williams home.
But, Barberi came in to save the frame, fanning Charlie Jones to leave three Owls stranded.
“He [Barberi] was a big reason that we ended up winning today,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I felt like that was probably the tipping point.”
Florida was back on top in the sixth with four runs. Jones hit a fly ball to center field, but Lyons could not find the ball, and Stanford scored. Then, Bowen’s sacrifice fly ball sent junior infielder Cade Kurland home.
Then, a single to center field from Surowiec plated Lawson and Jones to give the Gators a 9-5 lead after six.
Florida plated two more in the seventh. Lawson singled to right field to score Kurland, and a throwing error from Charlie Jones sent Kyle Jones home to make it a six-run ballgame.
The Gators added another run for insurance in the eighth. With two outs, Cyr doubled to center field. Then, a misplay on a fly ball from Stanford scored Cyr. The Kennesaw State outfield could not communicate as the ball landed in between three Owls to give Stanford an RBI double.
KSU added four runs in the ninth. Lyons scored after a misfire from Lawson to second base. Then, two walks with loaded bases made it a 12-8 game. Sophomore catcher James McGee reached on a fielder’s choice to score Chirello.
But, the Gators stood tall in the end with a flyout caught by Strayer to secure the weekend sweep.
“Good teams figure out a way to win even when you don’t play as well,” O’Sullivan said. “That’s a good example of what happened today.”
Florida will be back in action at Condron Ballpark Tuesday against Florida International, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04.
Adrian is a senior journalism major and the baseball reporter for the Spring of 2026. He previously served as the soccer reporter in the fall of 2025. He enjoys playing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about South Florida sports.
