Gators redshirt sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones had a night to remember against his former team.
In the top of the fifth inning, Jones clobbered the ball to left field for a grand slam in his return to DeLand, Florida.
After missing most of 2025 due to a season-ending shoulder injury, Jones’ hot start to 2026 continued on Tuesday night.
Jones finished 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs to drive No. 12 Florida (3-1) to a 12-2 run-rule win over the Stetson Hatters (1-3) to begin midweek action.
Redshirt senior Billy Barlow started on the mound for the Gators. He struggled in the first, allowing two runs. But he settled in for the rest of his night, ending with five strikeouts and six groundouts in four innings to begin his 2026 campaign.
Florida opened the scoring in the first frame. Jones had another leadoff hit, singling to right field.
Then, after stealing second and third base, Jones scored against his former team after a wild pitch from Stetson redshirt junior Zane Coppersmith to make it a 1-0 ballgame.
But the Hatters responded quickly. Stetson started with two singles from junior infielder Juan De La Cruz and senior outfielder Landon Russell. Graduate infielder Renzo Gonzalez then reached on a fielder’s choice, sending De La Cruz to third.
Then, graduate infielder Yohann Dessureault singled up the middle to score De La Cruz and Gonzalez to make it a 2-1 Hatter lead.
The back and forth continued as Florida scored three runs in the second. Senior outfielder Blake Cyr started with a double, and a fly out from senior infielder Sam Miller, who made his Gator debut after transferring from Columbia, allowed Cyr to take third.
Umpires had to come together for a review as Stetson outfielder Foster Apple caught Miller’s fly ball in foul territory off the wall. Officials ruled that Cyr was safe at third, as Apple did not secure the ball cleanly. UF freshman outfielder Jacob Kendall then singled to right field to score Cyr.
That was enough for Coppersmith to be taken out in favor of redshirt sophomore Jake Gorelick. Coppersmith finished with zero strikeouts and five fly outs while surrendering three runs on four hits in just one full inning.
With Kendall at second and Jones at first from a walk, sophomore infielder Brendan Lawson singled to center field to score Kendall and take a one-run advantage. Then, junior infielder Cade Kurland singled to center field to score Jones, making it a 4-2 ballgame.
Then came a statement from Kendall in the third frame. With runners on first and second, Kendall slammed his first collegiate home run to right field, scoring Cyr and Miller to give the Gators a 7-2 lead.
Another pitching change for Stetson ensued, with junior righty Lathan Haywood replacing Gorelick on the mound.
Jones’ grand slam in the fifth inning led to the third pitching change for the Hatters. Freshman lefty Thomas Achey took the mound for his collegiate debut, replacing Haywood.
Lawson homered for the second time this season to deep right in the seventh to make it a 12-2 game.
Florida held on the rest of the way thanks to the arm of redshirt sophomore righty Caden McDonald, who came in as relief for Barlow in the fifth frame.
McDonald fanned two and forced a fly out in the seventh to ice the ballgame.
Florida and Stetson will face off again Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at Condron Family Ballpark.
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.
