The Florida Gators baseball team walked into one of its biggest tests of the year, as the team traveled to Fayetteville for a date with the No. 4-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Gators responded to the challenge, as the pitching staff recorded 16 strikeouts, highlighted by the performance of freshman Joshua Whritenour. The Tampa native struck out all four batters he faced to earn his third save of the season.
Florida (21-6, 4-3 SEC) took down the Razorbacks (19-8, 4-3 SEC) 9-4 on Friday night to break its three-game losing streak in conference play.
The Gators forced Arkansas into an early jam in the first frame. UF Sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones forced a walk on six pitches to lead off, and sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson was hit by pitch to put runners on first and second with no outs.
But junior infielder Cade Kurland grounded out to a double play, and senior catcher Karson Bowen followed up with a groundout of his own as Florida failed to take advantage of the Razorbacks’ early mistakes.
Gators starting junior pitcher Liam Peterson had to respond from early trouble as well, walking two straight Razorbacks in the opening inning. He worked his way around, stranding a pair with a forced lineout to end the first.
Florida drew first blood in the second frame. Senior outfielder Blake Cyr got things started with a line-drive single to left field. Then, two straight walks from freshman outfielder Cash Strayer and senior catcher Cole Stanford juiced the bags with one out.
Then, freshman infielder Colton Schwarz forced a walk to score Cyr to make it a 1-0 lead for the Gators.
That forced a quick pitching change for Arkansas, as starting junior righty Jake Gaeckle was subbed for sophomore lefty Cole Gibler. Florida tacked on two more scores, as Strayer landed home on a wild pitch and sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones hit a sacrifice fly ball to center field to drive in Stanford.
Despite a leadoff double in the bottom of the second from Arkansas senior outfielder Maika Niu, Peterson battled back, logging three straight outs to strand the runner.
Florida extended its lead in the third thanks to a two-out solo bomb from sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec, as his fourth long ball this year put the Gators up 4-0. The Gators earned loaded bases again due to a single from Cyr and two walks from Strayer and Stanford.
But Schwarz grounded out to leave them stranded as Florida remained with a four-run lead.
Peterson saw trouble again in the fourth, as two walks and a sacrifice fly ball put runners in the corners for the Razorbacks. Once again, he pushed through punching out two straight batters on six pitches to leave the runners deserted.
Senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola relieved Peterson in the fifth, as Florida’s ace logged seven strikeouts and five fly outs while issuing six walks and surrendering one hit.
Arkansas drew within two in the bottom, as junior catcher Ryder Helfrick hammered a two-run homer to right-center field to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Lugo-Canchola limited the damage, retiring the next three Razorbacks to end the frame.
Florida extended its lead in the seventh. Lawson walked on four pitches to lead off and proceeded to steal second on a wild pitch. Then, on a 2-2 count, Bowen went yard to left field, scoring himself and Lawson to make it a 6-2 game.
UF sophomore Cooper Walls took the mound in the seventh, marking his first appearance in relief this season. He set the tone to begin his outing, retiring the first five batters he faced.
But the Razorbacks drew within two in the eighth. Niu led off with a single, and a throwing error from UF senior infielder Sam Miller allowed him to reach second. Then, two straight RBI doubles from freshman catcher Carter Rutenbar and junior infielder Reese Robinett cut the Gators lead to 6-4.
Walls was then relieved for Whritenour, who fanned his first batter and left one stranded to limit the damage.
Florida added insurance in the ninth with three runs. The Gators earned loaded bases after a single down the middle from Bowen and two consecutive forced walks from Surowiec and Cyr.
Strayer singled over third base to send Bowen home, and Stanford drove in Cyr and Surowiec to make it a 9-4 advantage.
Whritenour shut the door on the Razorbacks, logging the final three outs to clinch the upset-victory for the Gators.
Florida will attempt to clinch the series with a win Saturday with first pitch set for 2 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.
