For the first time this season, the Florida Gators baseball team dropped a weekend series and have now lost two in a row.
No. 9 Florida (13-3) succumbed to a 6-2 game two loss to High Point (9-6) Saturday night at Condron Family Ballpark.
“This will be a good learning experience for our players,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Every time we had an opportunity to get a big hit, they made a big pitch. We’ll go back to work.”
It was a rough outing for UF starting sophomore pitcher Aidan King. He saw just three innings of action, surrendering five unearned runs on seven hits with just five strikeouts.
Meanwhile, HPU starting pitcher Ty Brachbill earned his fourth win of the season, allowing just four hits on 98 pitches with four strikeouts.
Neither team scored in the first two frames, but High Point drew first blood in the third. With runners on first and second, senior designated hitter Jake McCarter singled to left field, but the throw to home from UF senior third baseman Sam Miller did not make it, as freshman shortstop Willie Ponce scored to make it a 1-0 game.
Then, freshman catcher Seojun Oh hit a 2 RBI double deep to center field to make it a three-run game. Sophomore third baseman Jace Kohler then singled to left field to score Oh to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
Sophomore outfielder Jake Clark then doubled to center field to score Kohler, as the Panthers scored five runs in the third frame, all with two outs.
Florida had a chance to score in the bottom. UF sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson continued his big weekend with a triple to deep right-center field, which was followed by consecutive walks from sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec and senior catcher Karson Bowen.
But, freshman outfielder Cash Strayer struck out swinging to leave three Gators loaded, as Florida still found itself in a five-run deficit after three.
“They’ve played great defense,” Bowen said. “I feel like we’ve hit a lot of balls hard. You just got to keep competing.”
Sophomore righty Caden McDonald relieved King to begin the fourth. He started off hot, retiring the side of the Panthers’ order. He then left three runners stranded in the next inning, but the Gators had plenty of work to do on the offensive side.
Freshman Schuyler Sandford took the mound for McDonald in the sixth after the delay. He left a Panther stranded on second as he retired three. But, Florida could not get any offense going still, as the batters went down in order for the second straight frame.
High Point did not miss a beat, as McCarter hit a solo bomb to left center field to make it a 6-0 Panthers advantage.
The Gators got on the board in the seventh with two runs. After a two-out double down the left field line from senior infielder Sam Miller, freshman infielder Jacob Kendall scored him with an RBI triple to right field to make it a five-run game.
Then, sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones scored Kendall with a single to right field as Florida inched closer to a 6-2 deficit. Lawson then walked, but Surowiec struck out looking to leave them stranded as Florida’s chances of coming back were running out.
Junior Luke McNeillie subbed out for Sandford in the eighth. He retired three Panthers and left two stranded to give Florida’s offense another chance as it faced its final six outs of the game.
Bowen led off with a single down the middle to get things going, while also stealing second base on a wild pitch. But he was left stranded as Strayer, freshman infielder Colton Schwarz and junior infielder Landon Stripling were retired.
McNeillie retired the High Point order right after, as the Gators were left with one more chance for a miracle.
But the bats could not get hot as Florida went down in order for the last three outs.
“If I did not feel good about this team, you would hear it in my voice,” O’Sullivan said. “I’m not happy that we didn’t win the first two games. We just have to learn from that.”
Florida will attempt to avoid the sweep in game three Sunday at Condron Family Ballpark. First pitch is set for 1:00 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.
