{"id":228962,"date":"2026-04-12T21:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/228962\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T21:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T21:08:09","slug":"gators-dismantle-no-4-bulldogs-for-top-five-road-series-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/228962\/","title":{"rendered":"Gators Dismantle No. 4 Bulldogs for Top-Five Road Series Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATHENS, Ga. \u2013 Scoring multiple runs in each of the first-four innings, Florida pulled away from No. 4 Georgia early en route to a 13-7 throttling of the Bulldogs to secure the series victory in the rubber match at Foley Field on Sunday afternoon.
\n\u00a0
\nPlating 13 runs on 13 hits including four homers in the first-four frames alone, the Gators (27-10, 9-6 SEC) finished one knock shy of their season high of 16 hits against the Bulldogs (29-8, 11-4 SEC) to post their second weekend series win over a top-five SEC opponent on the road in the last three weeks. Outhomering the nation’s leader in big flies by a 6-0 margin in the series, Florida rose to 10-1 on the season against ranked opponents, featuring a 6-1 mark vs. top-five foes.
\n\u00a0
\nPosting their ninth series victory in their last 11 SEC series dating back to last season, the Gators handed Georgia its first series loss of the campaign. With the Bulldogs sitting atop the conference, Florida is now just two games out of first place.
\n\u00a0
\nAlthough the Gators received major contributions from up and down the order, Ethan Surowiec<\/a> (3-for-5) and Hayden Yost<\/a> (3-for-4) each collected three hits and homered, with Yost leaving the yard twice for the first time in his career. Playing in his hometown of Athens, Ga., center fielder Kyle Jones<\/a> (5-for-5) one-upped them with a career-high five hits on top of one homer, three runs and two RBI. Surowiec drove in a team-high five runs to tie his career high while Yost finished with three RBI.
\n\u00a0
\nFlorida wasted no time getting on the board in game three, as Jones promptly led off with a single to right followed by a five-pitch walk to Brendan Lawson<\/a>. Surowiec then stepped to the plate and uncorked a three-run shot over the left-field wall on the first pitch he saw to provide the Orange & Blue with an early, 3-0 lead.
\n\u00a0
\nGeorgia answered in the home half of the first, cutting the UF edge to one run at 3-2. With two outs and two Bulldogs in scoring position, Michael O’Shaughnessy singled through the left side of the infield with the shift on to plate a pair.
\n\u00a0
\nAfter trading blows in the opening frame, Yost drilled the first pitch of the second inning for solo homer down the right-field line. Two batters later, Jones connected for a solo shot of his own down the left-field line to extend the Florida advantage to 5-2.
\n\u00a0
\nThe Bulldogs responded again in the bottom of the second by plating three more runs to tie the ballgame at 5-5. Putting together a two-out rally, Daniel Jackson, Jordy Oriach and Rylan Lugo hit three-straight RBI singles for a brand-new ballgame. That prompted UF starter Russell Sandefer’s<\/a> departure in favor of reliever Luke McNeillie<\/a>, who issued a walk to load the bases before fanning Brennan Hudson to escape the jam.
\n\u00a0
\nScoring for the third-straight inning with a six-run frame in the third, Blake Cyr<\/a> led off with a single to center and stole second base while Cade Kurland<\/a> walked to give UF two baserunners. Yost then singled to load the bases and Kolt Myers<\/a> worked a walk after being down 0-2 to force home Cyr for the go-ahead run. On the very next pitch, Jones was plunked to score Kurland for a 7-5 Florida lead. Georgia made its fourth pitching change of the game in just the third inning as a result. It did not disrupt the UF offense, as Lawson followed with a two-run double to left and Surowiec plated two on a single to right for four more runs to push the score to 11-5 in favor of Florida.
\n\u00a0
\nNow pitching with a six-run advantage, McNeillie churned out UF’s first zero of the contest in the third by striking out Jackson to strand two Bulldogs on base. The Gators continued to pour it on in the top of the fourth, scoring for their fourth-straight inning as Yost mashed his second homer of the game \u2013 a two-run blast \u2013 over the scoreboard in right field for a 13-5 Gator advantage.
\n\u00a0
\nMcNeillie fanned two more batters on his way to a scoreless fourth frame in the home half. The Gators failed to score for the first time all day in the top of the fifth, as Cyr was left on second base following a two-out double to left field. After a walk and double to begin the home half of the fifth, southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola<\/a> entered on the hill and registered three-consecutive outs including two strikeouts to strand a pair of Bulldogs.
\n\u00a0
\nIn the sixth, Lugo-Canchola retired the UGA side in order while logging his third strikeout. The left-hander got two outs in the seventh and then passed the torch to closer Joshua Whritenour<\/a> with two on and two out. Whritenour plunked Tre Phelps but rebounded to induce a groundout of Jackson to leave the bags juiced.
\n\u00a0
\nGeorgia scratched across two more two-out runs in the eighth to cut the Florida lead to 13-7. Ryan Black hit an RBI single to right and Kolby Branch doubled to left-center to bring another Bulldog home.
\n\u00a0

\nThe ninth inning proved to be much more uneventful. Whritenour sat down the side in order on just seven pitches, cementing another top-five series win on the road for the Orange & Blue.
\n\u00a0
\nMcNeillie improved to 3-0 on the season, as his performance settled the contest down for the Gators after a chaotic start. The junior righty tossed 2 1\/3 shutout frames on three hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
\n\u00a0
\nBulldog relief pitcher Grant Edwards (0-1) was saddled with his first loss of the campaign, giving up two earned runs on two hits and one walk in two-thirds of an inning.
\n\u00a0
\nSandefer received a no-decision as he was pulled after 1 2\/3 frames of five-run ball. He was charged with five hits allowed, two walks and two strikeouts.
\n\u00a0
\nGeorgia starting pitcher Matt Scott did not factor into the decision either, as neither starter made it through two innings. The senior right-hander lasted just 1 1\/3 frames, surrendering five earned runs on five hits including three homers. He walked one and struck out three batters.<\/p>\n

NOTABLES
\n \n<\/p>\n


\n\tFlorida out-homered Georgia, the nation’s leader in big flies, by a 6-0 margin in the series.
\n\t
\n\t\tFlorida limited Georgia to just 14 runs in three games \u2013 the Bulldog’s lowest series total of the season.
\n\t\tThe Gators are the only team to hold Georgia to seven runs or less in all three games of a series.
\n\t
\n\t
\n\tThe Gators rose to 10-1 on the season against ranked opponents.
\n\tFlorida improved to 7-1 vs. top-10 foes and 6-1 against the top-five.
\n\tThe Gators have won nine of their last 11 SEC series, going 23-10 across their last 33 SEC games dating back to last season.
\n\tFlorida has won six of its last seven road games and seven of eight playing away from home (road or neutral) \u2013 with all eight matchups away from home being against top-10 opponents.
\n\tThe Gators have won nine of the last 12 series against Georgia overall including two-straight series victories in Athens.
\n\tFlorida tied its season high for runs in SEC play (13).
\n\tAs an Athens, Ga. native, Jones went 5-for-5 with a career-high five hits on top of one homer, three runs, two RBI and one hit-by-pitch in the series finale. <\/p>\n


\n\tSurowiec launched his seventh homer of the season to give UF a 3-0 lead in the first.
\n\t
\n\t\tSurowiec went 3-for-6 with one homer and a career-high five RBI.
\n\t
\n\t
\n\tYost swatted his third home run of the campaign including his second of the week to lead off the second inning.
\n\t
\n\t\tYost homered again in the fourth for his fourth of the season and third of the week, producing his first-career, multi-homer game.
\n\t\tYost finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, three runs, two homers and one walk.
\n\t
\n\t
\n\tJones connected for his third homer of the year in the second frame.
\n\tFour Gators (Jones, Surowiec, Kurland and Yost) notched multi-hit games by the end of the third inning led by Surowiec, who had three hits in the first three frames.
\n\tFlorida scored 11 runs on 11 hits through the first three innings.
\n\tFlorida starting pitchers have now allowed just two home runs in 152 2\/3 innings pitched, featuring just one homer surrendered in 78.0 SEC frames.
\n\tFlorida has won 44 of its last 59 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
\n\tThe Gators are now 197-120-2 all-time and 90-66-1 in Athens against Georgia.
\n\tFlorida is 34-22 overall including 15-12 on the road vs. the Bulldogs under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan<\/a>.
\n\tSunday’s official attendance was 3,232. <\/p>\n

\u00a0
\nFROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
\nOn getting the offense going early\u2026
\n“Yeah, it’s amazing from one day to the next. The guys really used\u00a0the middle of the field today. Today was one of our best days,\u00a0offensively. Obviously, Kyle Jones<\/a> with a career-high five hits, you know Ethan had a career-high five RBIs, you know Blake Cyr<\/a> had a couple hits again, Cade Kurland<\/a> had a couple hits again. And how about Hayden Yost<\/a>? That’s awesome for him. He’s a tremendously hard worker and he hit two home runs and he was really good. From the pitching side of things, obviously we didn’t get off to a good start we wanted to with Russell, but I thought Luke came in and did a terrific job of holding it right there, and then Ernie with second and third and nobody out, that’s the best he’s looked in a long time. And then obviously Josh just stretched it out to get the last seven outs of the game. It’s a huge win for us.”
\n\u00a0
\nOn the approach at the plate today\u2026
\n“Yeah, I think it’s just something you try to stress and you talk about, but ultimately you can give the players all the information, but they have to go out and play. They have to trust all the information, and one of the biggest at-bats all day was Brendan Lawson<\/a> going the other way for a double that drove in two. The guys in the dugout were outstanding today and obviously a great all-around effort.”
\n\u00a0
\nOn Lugo-Canchola’s performance out of the bullpen\u2026
\n“Ernie, without that performance, I don’t know how that game turns out, with second and third and nobody out. So, hats off to him and like I said, looking forward to getting back on the field with the guys on Tuesday\u2026”<\/p>\n

ON DECK

\nThe Gators return home for an eight-game homestand, beginning with a Tuesday tilt against Bethune-Cookman at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+. Florida then hosts Auburn at Condron Family Ballpark for a three-game series from April 16-18.

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