Down three runs in the final inning, No. 9 Florida needed a miracle to avoid a weekend sweep against High Point.
To kickstart the rally, sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson hit his second homer of the day to center field to bring it within two runs. Then, sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec and senior catcher/infielder Karson Bowen were walked to put two runners on base.
“Just selfless team at-bats,” Lawson said. “No one was trying to be the hero.”
Then, sophomore pitcher/infielder Caden McDonald singled to right field to give Florida loaded bases. Senior infielder Sam Miller was walked as the Gators pulled within one.
Senior catcher Cole Stanford forced a walk to tie the game at 11 runs apiece. Then, freshman infielder Colton Schwarz drew the game-winning walk against HPU pitcher Dalton Hitt to avoid a weekend sweep.
Florida (14-3) rallied for a 12-11 win against High Point (9-7) on Sunday afternoon at Condron Family Ballpark, as the Gators got back in the win column.
“We got some production up and down the lineup,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I tip my cap to High Point. I got nothing but respect for their team.”
Once again, it was High Point who touched home plate first in the opening frame. Freshman shortstop Willie Ponce reached on an error from Lawson on a misfire to first base.
Junior outfielder Landen Johnson then singled to right-center field, and the runners advanced bases on a wild pitch from Gators sophomore Cooper Walls. Then, senior outfielder Christian Smith hit a deep 2 RBI double to left field to make it a 2-0 lead.
Senior designated hitter Jake McCarter tripled to left center to score Smith, and freshman catcher Seojun Oh hit a sacrifice fly to score McCarter, as High Point ended their opening frame with a four-run advantage.
But Florida responded in the second, as sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones led off with a solo homer to left field to make it a 4-1 game. Lawson followed up with a solo bomb of his own to cut the Panthers’ lead in half.
Lawson had his first career multi-home run game, as he finished 2-for-4 on the afternoon. The second-year man now has eight long-balls in 2026.
“Every day is a new day,” Lawson said. “If we can just take this momentum that we got in the last couple innings there and keep rolling, it will be huge for us.”
The Gators pulled within one in the second inning, as senior second baseman Justin Nadeau, in his first start of 2026, hit a solo home run to right field.
Then, after a Jones single and a walk from Lawson, Bowen went yard for a three-run long ball, as Florida took a 6-4 advantage after two. It was Bowen’s first home run with the Orange and Blue.
In the third, inclement weather prompted a two-hour delay in action, as play resumed at 4:15 p.m.
Freshman Eli Blair took the mound for Walls after the delay. Walls finished with one strikeout while surrendering six hits and four runs across two full innings of action.
Blair fanned his first Panther on a 3-2 count to strand a pair.
High Point regained the lead in the fourth with six runs. Kohler led off with a double down the left field line, and junior infielder Frank Kelly was hit by a pitch. Runners then advanced on a wild pitch from Blair.
Then, Ponce singled down right field to score Kohler to cut Florida’s lead to one run. Blair was promptly relieved by senior Billy Barlow.
Junior outfielder Lane Allen then hit a 2 RBI double deep to center field as the Panthers took a 7-6 lead.
Senior infielder Landen Johnson reached on a throwing error to first from Bowen, as the Panthers tacked on another to make it a two-run lead after the fielding error.
HPU earned loaded bases right after as McCarter reached first on a single down the middle, as the disastrous fourth inning continued for Florida. Barlow was then relieved for senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola.
Oh hit a 2-RBI single to right field to give the Panthers a 10-6 lead. Lugo-Canchola then forced a groundout double play to stop the bleeding, but the Gators once again found themselves down four runs.
Another fielding error in the sixth led to a run, as Stanford could not get a clean pass to first base, allowing Smith to reach third after what should have been a strikeout.
Lugo-Canchola was then relieved for junior Russell Sandefer after finishing with three strikeouts while surrendering just one hit.
McCarter then singled down the middle to score Smith to give High Point an 11-6 lead.
Sandefer left two stranded with a strikeout, but the Gators still had plenty of work to do to catch up.
Florida inched closer with a run in the bottom of the sixth. After a single and a double from Stanford and junior designated hitter Landon Stripling, Nadeau hit a sacrifice fly to score Stanford to cut High Point’s lead to five runs.
Freshman Jackson Hoyt relieved Sandefer in the seventh in an attempt to slow down the Panthers’ offense.
Hoyt retired the side of the order in the seventh to give Florida a sliver of a chance to come back. But the Gators came up with nothing as their chances continued to dwindle.
After surrendering a walk to Smith in the eighth, Hoyt was subbed for fellow freshman Joshua Whritenour. Hoyt did his best to reel Florida back into the game, finishing with a strikeout and forcing three fly outs in 22 total pitches.
Whritenour retired two Panthers to send it to the bottom of the frame. The first-year arm earned the win for his performance with two strikeouts and three forced fly outs in one full inning of play.
Stripling hit a solo bomb to right field to bring the Gators within three runs at 11-8, but Nadeau popped up to end the inning.
Lawson’s home run propelled the Gators to a comeback victory, scoring the final three runs on walks to win the series finale.
“If you get swept at home, it's a bad feeling,” O’Sullivan said. “Am I pleased with how we played? No. But, a win is a win.”
Florida is back in action Tuesday at Condron Ballpark for a rivalry game against FSU. 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.
