GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Aggressive baserunning paid off for the Gators in a 4-0 victory over Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, while already leading 2-0, Florida successfully executed a double steal in which Blake Cyr swiped third, and Cole Stanford took second.
Kevin O’Sullivan
While attempting to throw out Cyr, FAU catcher Ian Collier overthrew his third baseman, allowing Cyr to score as the ball sailed into left field. Stanford moved to third and would eventually score on a Colton Schwarz groundout, giving Florida its last run of the ballgame.
“We ran the double steal to perfection,” UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Florida then attempted the double steal in the bottom of the sixth, with Stanford at the dish this time, Cyr on first and Cash Strayer on second.
This time, though, runners were forced to retreat as Stanford popped it up to short. Both runners made it back safely.
O’Sullivan said the decision wasn’t made because of something he saw from Collier behind the plate, but rather by other factors.
“There’s certain things that have to be in place for you to be able to do a double steal,” O’Sullivan said. “Number one, you have to have some guys who can run on the basepaths. The middle infielders got to give you an opportunity to get a good secondary (lead) at second.
“And obviously, you don’t like to do it with a left-handed hitter. I thought we would, we probably would have been successful the second time too if Cole didn’t pop up to the infield.”
UF had seven stolen bases heading into Tuesday night’s game at Condron Ballpark and set a season high of three stolen bases in the win over the Owls, UF’s 12th consecutive win after a loss on Opening Night. Kyle Jones stole second after a leadoff hit in the first.
The Gators’ offense looked to get creative and aggressive on a night when they scored the fewest runs so far this season.
Despite the need for runs at the start of its 10-game homestand, O’Sullivan said that the team seeks to remain on the attack.
“I think what we’re trying to do is be more aggressive on the basepaths,” he said. “You’ll see more of that as we go along.”
Florida has been caught stealing three times this season, giving it a success rate of 81.3%.
Jones leads the team with three stolen bases in four attempts. He swiped 23 bases as a freshman for Stetson in 2024.
The Gators rank in the bottom half of the Southeastern Conference in stolen bases in 2026, but that could soon change.