The Gators’ inconsistencies on the mound were apparent on Tuesday night, as UF surrendered 13 hits and nine free passes, summed up by allowing a seven-run seventh inning after tying the game in the sixth.
Meanwhile, UF’s offense could not catch up despite logging 11 hits of its own.
Florida (27-11, 9-6 SEC) fell to Bethune-Cookman (26-11, 12-3 SWAC) 13-7 at Condron Family Ballpark as the Gators dropped its second-straight midweek outing.
“It was a tough game to manage pitching-wise,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “These other guys needed to step up, and unfortunately, we did not.”
UF freshman Jackson Hoyt earned his first collegiate start. After striking out his first batter, the Wildcats struck first blood in the opening frame as senior infielder Andrey Martinez went yard to left field to make it a quick one-run lead.
Hoyt hit the next batter, senior outfielder Michael Rodriguez, but left him stranded with a groundout on a fielder’s choice from UF senior infielder Justin Nadeau.
Florida responded right after in the bottom of the first with three straight two-out knocks. Sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec started things off with a single to right field, and senior outfielder Blake Cyr followed up with a base hit to center field.
Then, junior infielder Cade Kurland barrelled one through the left side to score Surowiec and notch the game at one run apiece.
Hoyt saw more trouble in the second, loading the bases with one out on a walk and two hit-by-pitches. He was relieved right after in favor of senior Billy Barlow.
The Wildcats punished the Gators, plating two off of two hits from senior left-fielder Darryl Lee and Martinez. Barlow limited the damage, stranding two with a groundout.
Senior catcher Cole Stanford led off the bottom of the second for Florida with a walk, and senior second-baseman Justin Nadeau followed with a single down right field to put two runners on with one out.
Then, a failed pickoff attempt on Nadeau from BCU junior catcher Maikol Lucena advanced the runners to second and third.
The Gators took advantage as sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones hit a sacrifice fly to deep center, plating Stanford to make it a one-run game. Sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson singled to first shortly after to put runners in the corners.
Surowiec then forced a walk to load the bases with two outs. That forced a pitching change for Bethune-Cookman as senior lefty Dawson Turner was subbed for fellow senior Anthony Anselmo. However, Cyr flew out to shallow center field to leave the bags juiced.
Barlow retired the first two Wildcats in the top of the third on two pitches, but walked senior shortstop Erick Almonte shortly after. Barlow forced a groundout to strand Almonte off a running throw from Lawson to first base.
After Florida went down in order, Bethune-Cookman extended its lead in the top of the fourth off a lead-off solo bomb from junior designated hitter Jose Fernandez, making it a 4-2 ballgame.
Barlow walked his second batter right after, leading him to be relieved for sophomore Caden McDonald on the hill.
McDonald came in and stranded one, fanning his first batter and forcing a 5-4-3 double-play to settle things down.
Florida threatened in the bottom of the frame, as Nadeau got the offense going with a one-out base hit down the right side, followed by a four-pitch walk forced by Jones. However, the two were left helpless as Lawson and Surowiec flew out.
Bethune-Cookman extended its lead in the fifth, beginning with a walk and a base hit to center field that put runners on the corners with no outs.
Sophomore second baseman Jeter Polledo hit a sacrifice fly to center field to plate junior outfielder Michael Rodriguez to make it a 5-2 advantage.
Cyr led off the bottom of the fifth with a single to center field, as Stripling sent him to third with a base hit down the left side. But, they were left stranded after Stanford flew out and Stripling was ruled out at second on a fielder’s choice.
McDonald surrendered a leadoff single but forced two outs in the sixth before being relieved for another freshman arm in Eli Blair.
Blair forced a flyout against Rodriguez to start off, stranding one runner.
Jones forced his second walk of the game in the bottom of the sixth with one out. Lawson was then hit with a pitch on a 3-2 count as the Gators had two runners on with Jones in scoring position.
That ended the night for Anselmo after he finished with a strikeout while forcing nine fly outs and surrendering three hits on 68 tosses. He was subbed in favor of senior Jean Zambrano.
Cyr proceeded to hammer an RBI single to score Jones, and a double to deep-center field from Kurland scored Cyr and Lawson to clear the bases and notch the game at 5-5.
Blair was relieved for sophomore Cooper Walls in the seventh, as Blair ended his night retiring the one batter he faced.
Walls surrendered a walk and a single to right field from Polledo to start his outing. Almonte bunted right after, and Walls skied a toss over first base as Lucena scored to give Bethune-Cookman a one-run lead.
Then, Rodriguez hammered one up the middle to plate two more Wildcats to make it an 8-5 ballgame.
Walls then hit Fernandez right after to put two runners on, ending his night as he was taken out in favor of freshman Schuyler Sandford. Walls surrendered two hits, two runs and hit one batter on nine total pitches.
Sandford’s first pitch went behind Stanford as the runners advanced to second and third. But, Lee struck an RBI single to right field on a 3-2 count to put the Wildcats up four runs.
The barrage continued as Martinez lined one down left field to score Lee and Fernandez to put Bethune-Cookman up 11-5. Michael Rodriguez proceeded to line one to right field to send Martinez home to extend the lead to seven runs.
After a wild pitch sent Rodriguez to third, Sandford retired the next two batters to end the frame, but the Wildcats capped off a seven-run inning after Florida had just tied the game.
Junior outfielder Hayden Yost and Nadeau walked with one out in the bottom of the seventh, and a wild pitch advanced the runners to second and third.
Jones then hit another sacrifice fly to score Yost, and Lawson doubled deep to center field to plate Nadeau to make it a five-run difference.
“Good teams drop games all the time,” Lawson said. “We always bounce back, and I think we'll do the same thing.”
Sandford retired the side in the eighth, but Florida went down in order right after as the score remained 12-7 after eight frames.
Lee continued to pour it on for the Wildcats with a solo-bomb to right field to extend the lead to six runs. Bethune-Cookman held defensively to secure the win.
“It's just one of those nights,” O’Sullivan said. “I can't let this one affect us going into the weekend. This one's over.”
The Gators now prepare for a weekend series at Condron Ballpark against the No. 13 Auburn Tigers. The series opener on Thursday is set to begin at 7 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.
