UF sophomore infielders Brendan Lawson and Ethan Surowiec continued to shine for Florida Sunday afternoon. The two sluggers homered once each and combined for seven hits to lead the offense.
But No. 4 Arkansas continued to fight back and found itself down just one run in the ninth inning with a runner on third base. The pressure was on Gators junior pitcher Luke McNeillie, as one run could tie the game and one home run would seal a win for the Razorbacks.
McNeillie, who had his own struggles as he surrendered two home runs earlier in the match, bounced back to ice Arkansas with a final strikeout to leave the runner stranded.
Florida (23-6, 6-3 SEC) edged out the Razorbacks (19-10, 4-5 SEC) 7-6 in Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas, as the Gators secured the weekend sweep and capped off a 4-0 week against ranked opponents.
Once again, Florida got on the board first in the opening frame. With two outs, Surowiec singled to center field and stole second off a wild pitch. Senior catcher/designated hitter Karson Bowen was then hit by pitch to put two runners on base.
To follow up, senior outfielder Blake Cyr picked up right where he left off from yesterday, scoring Surowiec with an RBI single to left field to make it a quick one-run lead for UF.
But the Razorbacks were quick to respond. Freshman catcher Carter Rutenbar started it off with a single to left center and advanced to second off a wild pitch from UF junior pitcher Russell Sandefer.
Then, senior outfielder Zack Stewart scored Rutenbar with a single to left field as Arkansas notched the game at 1-1 after the first inning.
The Gators regained the lead in the third with two runs. Lawson led off with a single up the middle, and Surowiec followed up with a left-field double to put Lawson at third.
Cyr’s hot start continued, as he drove home Lawson and Surowiec with a base hit to left field to make it a two-run lead for Florida.
Meanwhile, Sandefer continued to deal after a shaky first inning, retiring six straight Razorbacks with three strikeouts in the second and third frames.
However, the Razorbacks pulled within one in the fourth. Junior outfielder Kuhio Aloy singled to left field and was scored by a right-field double from junior infielder Reese Robinett to make it a 3-2 differential.
Lawson and Surowiec refused to let up. To begin the fifth inning, the two hit back-to-back long balls to extend Florida’s lead to three runs.
With the long ball, Lawson secured a career-high 11 home runs on the season as his second-year leap continues.
The Gators earned two-straight singles from junior infielder Cade Kurland and senior catcher Cole Stanford. Senior outfielder Asthon Wilson proceeded to score Kurland with an RBI single to left field to make it a 6-2 ballgame.
Sandefer saw trouble in the sixth, as two straight base hits put runners on the corners for Arkansas. Aloy grounded out into a double-play but still plated a Razorback to cut Florida’s lead to three runs.
Sandefer was then relieved for senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola after finishing with six strikeouts and zero walks.
Despite surrendering a double to his first batter, Lugo-Canchola closed the inning with a groundout to strand a Razorback.
Arkansas junior reliever Ethan McElvian proceeded to walk the bases loaded in the seventh, giving Florida an ample chance to extend its lead once again. But freshman infielder Kolt Myers struck out looking, and Jones grounded out to leave the bags juiced.
Lugo-Canchola was relieved in the seventh after surrendering a walk with two outs, as McNeillie took the hill for the Gators.
McNeillie’s first batter, junior catcher Ryder Helfrick, proceeded to barrel one to right-center field for a two-run bomb to cut Florida’s lead to one run.
The Gators responded with a run in the top of the eighth. Lawson and Bowen both earned base hits to put runners on first and second, and Kurland finished it off with an RBI single to left field, scoring Lawson to make it a 7-5 advantage for Florida.
The Razorbacks brought it back to a one-run game as Aloy hammered a solo-bomb to left-center field in the bottom of the eighth.
McNeillie went the rest of the way, logging the final three strikeouts to secure the weekend sweep. He finished surrendering two hits, but logged the final three outs of the ballgame.
Florida is back in action Tuesday at Condron Family Ballpark against Jacksonville University. First pitch is 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.
