Jones’ Grand Return to DeLand Lifts No. 12 Florida Past Stetson

Tuesday, February 17

DeLand, Fla.

6:30 PM

Florida Gators

3-1

Stetson

0-4

Florida

Stetson

UAA Communications photo by Jordan Perez

Jones’ Grand Return to DeLand Lifts No. 12 Florida Past Stetson

Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Kyle Jones (2-for-4) launched a grand slam in his return to Conrad Park while rookie Jacob Kendall (2-for-4) produced his first-career hit and home run.

By: Sullivan Bortner

DeLand, Fla. – No. 12 Florida used 13 hits to produce its most runs at Stetson since 2004 en route to a 12-2 victory in seven innings at Melching Field at Conrad Park on Tuesday night.

For much of the contest, the story was true freshman outfielder Jacob Kendall (2-for-4), who recorded his first-collegiate hit and RBI in the second inning and later his first-career homer in the third. Kendall tallied four RBI and two runs on the night, which was only bested by Kyle Jones (2-for-4), who chipped in four RBI and three runs while swatting a sixth-inning grand slam in his Stetson homecoming.

Blake Cyr (3-for-4) also stuffed the stat sheet with one double and three runs while the UF pitching duo of Billy Barlow and Caden McDonald limited the Hatters (0-4) to two runs on four hits, zero walks and nine strikeouts. Barlow was credited with the win in the shortened affair and McDonald chucked three shutout innings to nail down his first-career save.

Starting off the top half of the first, Jones promptly got the Gators (3-1) going by producing his fourth-straight leadoff hit to begin the season – a line-drive single to right field. He swiped second base three pitches later and then stole third on the first pitch of Cade Kurland's at bat, allowing him to scamper home on a 2-0 wild pitch for Florida's first run. Kurland later doubled off the right-field wall, but was left stranded on second base.

Barlow took the mound with a one-run lead in the home half of the opening frame, but the Hatters responded with two runs of their own to steal a 2-1 advantage after one full inning. With two men down and the count full, Yohann Dessureault hit a two-run single to right-center to bring home Juan De la Cruz and Renzo Gonzalez.

Chasing one run, Cyr got the Gators going in the second with a leadoff double to left. After advancing to third on a foul out, Cyr scored as Kendall delivered a two-out, game-tying knock to right-center for his first-career hit and RBI. Two Gators followed with two-out RBI singles to center in Brendan Lawson and Kurland to put Florida back in front at 4-2.

Barlow stranded a Hatter on second base en route to a scoreless second inning and Florida took advantage, extending its lead to 7-2 in the top of the third. Kendall stepped to the dish with two outs and two runners on and demolished a three-run homer down the right-field line for the first long ball of his career.

Florida maintained a five-run lead through the third as Barlow churned out a second-consecutive zero. The redshirt senior kept it rolling through the fourth, striking out the side in order to increase his total to five.

In the top of the fifth, Karson Bowen led off with a double to left while Cyr and Sam Miller quickly followed with singles to load the bases. Competing in his old stomping grounds at Stetson, Jones broke the game open with a two-out grand slam down the left-field line. Marking Jones' first homer in Orange & Blue, the four-run swing extended Florida's advantage to 11-2.

Holding a nine-run lead, McDonald replaced Barlow on the hill to start the home half of the fifth. McDonald blanked the Hatters in his season debut while logging one strikeout in the fifth before firing a clean frame in the sixth.

The top of the seventh went quietly until Lawson stepped to the dish with two outs and the bases empty. On a full count, he bashed a long home run to right field to put the Gators ahead, 12-2, and putting the 10-run rule in effect.

McDonald fanned the first two Hatters in the bottom of the seventh before inducing a pop out to third base to secure his first-career save. He pitched the final three innings with zero runs allowed on one hit and four strikeouts.

Barlow (1-0) logged the victory in the seven-inning affair, tossing four innings of two-run ball on five hits and five strikeouts. He did not issue a free pass.

Stetson starting pitcher Zane Coppersmith (0-1) was saddled with the loss after surrendering three earned runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. He did not issue a walk or strike out a batter.

NOTABLES

Florida has now scored in the first inning of every game this season after plating one run in the first on Tuesday night.
- Florida has scored 15 runs in the first inning through four games.
The Gators scored their most runs vs. Stetson in DeLand since March 3, 2004 (W, 12-8).
Florida posted its second run-rule win and first comeback victory of the campaign.
The Gators have walked one batter in the last three games
Florida has walked zero batters in two of its last three games.
Barlow made his season debut, pitching four innings with two runs allowed on five hits and five strikeouts to earn the victory.
In five midweek starts as a Gator, Barlow has allowed three earned runs allowed in 19 1/3 innings pitched for a 2-0 record, 1.40 ERA and 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Florida has won seven of Barlow's eight starts in Orange & Blue.
Jones led off Tuesday night's game with a single to right and how now led off all four games of the season with base hits (three doubles, one single).
Jones singled and stole his first two bases of the season in the first inning.
Jones later launched a grand slam in the fifth inning for his first home run as a Gator – against his former team in Stetson.
Jones finished 2-for-4 with one homer, four RBI and three runs.
- Jones has multiple hits in all four games this season.
Kendall notched his first-career hit and RBI in his first at bat in the second inning and followed with his first-career home run in his second at bat in the third.
Kendall finished 2-for-4 with one homer, four RBI and two runs scored.
Cyr produced his second three-hit performance in four games this season.
Lawson cranked his second homer of the season in the top of the seventh.
McDonald pitched three shutout innings to close out the game and earn his first-career save.
The Gators have won 20 of their last 26 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
Florida has won four-straight games against Stetson.
Florida is now 89-36 all-time and 38-25 on the road against Stetson.
The Gators are 14-2 including 6-2 in DeLand in the series under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
Tuesday night's official attendance was 2,346.

FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On pushing through the early deficit for a convincing win…
"Yeah, this was a complete game all the way around. We talked to the team and this was the first experiment for us, number one to be on the road, but number two to play against a team that is looking for their first win. This has historically been a difficult place for us to play. I thought Billy [Barlow] threw the ball well—a couple balls got through in the first inning. I don't know how many balls we hit over 100 miles per hour tonight, but it seemed like an awful lot. Obviously, we didn't think the ball was gonna travel very far. I think we had six or so extra-base hits. We played pretty much errorless baseball. We didn't make any errors, only left four on base, and once again had a chance to play some different guys. Tomorrow, we'll switch the lineup again and give some other guys some opportunities. All in all, it was a really good game. I thought Kyle Jones set the tone early. Stole a couple of bases, scored a run there in the first, and then bounced back in the second inning, after giving up two in the bottom half of the first, to score three and to get a two-run lead."

On Jones' stellar performance to open the season…
"He kind of sets the tone, and that's kind of what you're looking for. You're looking for that lead off guy to set the tone. He's certainly done that the first four games, and just goes to show how much we missed him last year. Like I said, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I'm looking at the box here. We were seven for 16 with runners in scoring position, so we had some really good at-bats. We will have a chance to get after it again tomorrow. We'll start Luke McNeillie for an inning or two and have a controlled start, so we can get him going and get ready for the weekend."

On his outlook for the team this season…
" Yeah, it's only four games in. So, other than the first night, we played really well on Saturday and played really well tonight. But, it's really one game at a time. It's a long season and I do like the camaraderie of our team. We're playing loose. We have depth offensively where we're able to play different guys. Once again, we'll have a different lineup tomorrow. We'll get some other guys who haven't had a chance to touch the mound yet and get them going."

UP NEXT
The Gators host the Hatters at Condron Family Ballpark on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+.