Saturday, March 28
Fayetteville, Ark.
2 PM
Florida Gators
22-6, 5-3
7
at
4
Arkansas
19-9, 4-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Florida
0
2
0
0
3
0
0
2
0
7
10
3
Arkansas
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
4
6
0
Jackson Barberi delivers a pitch during Saturday's series-clinching win over No. 4 Arkansas at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, Ark. / UAA Communications photo by Hannah White
Relief Corps Shuts Down No. 4 Hogs as Gators Clinch Series
Saturday, March 28, 2026 | Baseball
Florida secured its first series win at Arkansas since 2016 while rising to 3-0 vs. top-10 foes this week.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Florida clinched its first series win at No. 4 Arkansas since 2016 by prevailing, 7-4, in a back-and-forth affair in game two at Baum-Walker Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
As a result of the win, the Gators (22-6, 5-3 SEC) took the all-time series lead over the Razorbacks (19-9, 4-4 SEC) at 40-39 while improving to a perfect 3-0 against top-10 foes on the week. Florida is 6-0 vs. ranked opponents on the season.
With the outcome of the game teetering in the middle innings, the Florida relief duo of Jackson Barberi and Joshua Whritenour shut down the Arkansas batting order. Barberi twirled 3 1/3 no-hit innings of relief, surrendering a lone unearned run while fanning seven against zero walks to log the victory. Whritenour was nearly as sharp, closing it out with two scoreless frames to nail down his fourth save of the campaign.
Starting pitchers Aidan King and Hunter Dietz exchanged zeros in the first inning of the contest. The Gators stranded Brendan Lawson on second base after a one-out single while King worked a one-two-three frame capped by his first strikeout.
In the top of the second, Blake Cyr barreled a leadoff double to left-center and Cade Kurland followed with a walk. Cash Strayer was plunked on an 0-2 pitch with one out to load the bases, but Dietz buckled down for a strikeout of Colton Schwarz to draw within one out of escaping the frame. Kyle Jones had other plans, lining the first pitch of his at bat to center field for a two-run single and a 2-0 UF edge.
The Razorbacks responded in the home half of the inning, putting together a couple of two-out knocks to cut the Florida lead in half at 2-1. Nolan Souza singled through the left side and then swiped second base before Reese Robinett capitalized with an RBI single to right-center.
One inning later, Arkansas jumped in front for its first lead of the series at 3-2. A bases-loaded wild pitch allowed Carter Rutenbar to scamper home while Ryder Helfrick produced a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Damian Ruiz. King limited the damage by retiring Zack Stewart and Maika Niu for the final two outs.
Chasing one run, the Gators stranded two on base in top-four while King and Barberi teamed up to leave a pair on the bases in the bottom of the inning. Barberi used a 99-mph heater to fan Ruiz for the third out.
Florida came roaring back in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs to regain the advantage at 5-3. Karson Bowen drew a leadoff walk to get it started and moved to second on a balk, later crossing home safely on an RBI single to left-center off the bat of Kurland. One batter later, Cole Stanford uncorked a 405-foot blast into the Hog Pen in left field for a go-ahead, two-run homer.
Holding the momentum, Barberi fired clean frames in the fifth and sixth innings while picking up three more strikeouts to give the hard-throwing righty seven-straight batters retired. Barberi reached nine-straight outs with back-to-back strikeouts to open the seventh, but a two-out fielding error at shortstop snapped the streak. Barberi did not flinch, fanning Camden Kozeal for his seventh strikeout to strand a Razorback on third base.
Searching for insurance runs in the latter innings, the UF offense provided just that with two more runs in the top of the eighth. Jacob Kendall led off with a pinch-hit single to center, followed by back-to-back walks to Jones and Lawson to load the bases with zero outs. A double-play ball off the bat of Ethan Surowiec plated Kendall and Bowen came through with a two-out, RBI double into the left-center field gap to make it 7-3 in favor of the Gators.
Consecutive UF fielding errors at shortstop and third base set the table for Arkansas in the bottom of the eighth. That gave the Razorbacks the ability to cut into the Florida lead with an unearned run on a wild pitch, as Helfrick hustled home safely for a 7-4 ballgame.
After working the Gators out of the eighth, Whritenour returned to the hill in the bottom of the ninth to close it out. Picking up a quick strikeout of the leadoff man, the UF closer navigated around a one-out double by retiring Kozeal and Helfrick in order for his fourth save in four chances. Whritenour finished with two shutout innings pitched on one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Barberi (3-2) logged the series-clinching victory for the Orange & Blue, chucking 3 1/3 no-hit frames with just one unearned run allowed. The sophomore right-hander struck out seven and did not issue a free pass.
Razorback reliever Steele Eaves (3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the campaign. The sophomore right-hander was charged with two earned runs on two hits in one inning, striking out one batter.
King did not factor into the decision. The sophomore righty surrendered three earned runs on five hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings while striking out three batters.
Arkansas starting pitcher Hunter Dietz also received a no-decision, throwing four-plus frames with three earned runs allowed on five hits, four walks and four strikeouts.
NOTABLES
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On getting the win in a tough road environment…
"Yeah, this is a really tough place to win at. I mean, every place you go in this league is hard to win, especially here. We haven't had too many teams come in here and win a series, so we've got to be able to enjoy this one, but we've got a chance to sweep a top-five team at home. Starting with the pitching, Aidan battled. Obviously, it wasn't his best start. We got some work to do there. I think a key to the game was, they had bases loaded, nobody out in the bottom of the third and we only surrendered two runs, and we didn't blow up that anything. So, that was key. And then Jackson Barberi, what you can say about his performance again? Josh coming in again against the same team two days in a row, sometimes that's not easy, because they've already got a good look at you. But I thought he held it together."
On Jones early two-run single and other notable performances…
"That two-out RBI was huge after the strikeouts. I thought Ethan put some good swings on the ball today. Obviously, Karson had a couple hits. He had some really good at bats. Overall, it was a game that was really won by controlling the bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the third. And Jackson Barberi just being absolutely dominant tonight, and then Josh coming in and doing his thing."
ON DECK
The Gators and Razorbacks face off in the series finale on Sunday, set for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
As a result of the win, the Gators (22-6, 5-3 SEC) took the all-time series lead over the Razorbacks (19-9, 4-4 SEC) at 40-39 while improving to a perfect 3-0 against top-10 foes on the week. Florida is 6-0 vs. ranked opponents on the season.
With the outcome of the game teetering in the middle innings, the Florida relief duo of Jackson Barberi and Joshua Whritenour shut down the Arkansas batting order. Barberi twirled 3 1/3 no-hit innings of relief, surrendering a lone unearned run while fanning seven against zero walks to log the victory. Whritenour was nearly as sharp, closing it out with two scoreless frames to nail down his fourth save of the campaign.
Starting pitchers Aidan King and Hunter Dietz exchanged zeros in the first inning of the contest. The Gators stranded Brendan Lawson on second base after a one-out single while King worked a one-two-three frame capped by his first strikeout.
In the top of the second, Blake Cyr barreled a leadoff double to left-center and Cade Kurland followed with a walk. Cash Strayer was plunked on an 0-2 pitch with one out to load the bases, but Dietz buckled down for a strikeout of Colton Schwarz to draw within one out of escaping the frame. Kyle Jones had other plans, lining the first pitch of his at bat to center field for a two-run single and a 2-0 UF edge.
The Razorbacks responded in the home half of the inning, putting together a couple of two-out knocks to cut the Florida lead in half at 2-1. Nolan Souza singled through the left side and then swiped second base before Reese Robinett capitalized with an RBI single to right-center.
One inning later, Arkansas jumped in front for its first lead of the series at 3-2. A bases-loaded wild pitch allowed Carter Rutenbar to scamper home while Ryder Helfrick produced a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Damian Ruiz. King limited the damage by retiring Zack Stewart and Maika Niu for the final two outs.
Chasing one run, the Gators stranded two on base in top-four while King and Barberi teamed up to leave a pair on the bases in the bottom of the inning. Barberi used a 99-mph heater to fan Ruiz for the third out.
Florida came roaring back in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs to regain the advantage at 5-3. Karson Bowen drew a leadoff walk to get it started and moved to second on a balk, later crossing home safely on an RBI single to left-center off the bat of Kurland. One batter later, Cole Stanford uncorked a 405-foot blast into the Hog Pen in left field for a go-ahead, two-run homer.
Holding the momentum, Barberi fired clean frames in the fifth and sixth innings while picking up three more strikeouts to give the hard-throwing righty seven-straight batters retired. Barberi reached nine-straight outs with back-to-back strikeouts to open the seventh, but a two-out fielding error at shortstop snapped the streak. Barberi did not flinch, fanning Camden Kozeal for his seventh strikeout to strand a Razorback on third base.
Searching for insurance runs in the latter innings, the UF offense provided just that with two more runs in the top of the eighth. Jacob Kendall led off with a pinch-hit single to center, followed by back-to-back walks to Jones and Lawson to load the bases with zero outs. A double-play ball off the bat of Ethan Surowiec plated Kendall and Bowen came through with a two-out, RBI double into the left-center field gap to make it 7-3 in favor of the Gators.
Consecutive UF fielding errors at shortstop and third base set the table for Arkansas in the bottom of the eighth. That gave the Razorbacks the ability to cut into the Florida lead with an unearned run on a wild pitch, as Helfrick hustled home safely for a 7-4 ballgame.
After working the Gators out of the eighth, Whritenour returned to the hill in the bottom of the ninth to close it out. Picking up a quick strikeout of the leadoff man, the UF closer navigated around a one-out double by retiring Kozeal and Helfrick in order for his fourth save in four chances. Whritenour finished with two shutout innings pitched on one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Barberi (3-2) logged the series-clinching victory for the Orange & Blue, chucking 3 1/3 no-hit frames with just one unearned run allowed. The sophomore right-hander struck out seven and did not issue a free pass.
Razorback reliever Steele Eaves (3-1) was saddled with his first loss of the campaign. The sophomore right-hander was charged with two earned runs on two hits in one inning, striking out one batter.
King did not factor into the decision. The sophomore righty surrendered three earned runs on five hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings while striking out three batters.
Arkansas starting pitcher Hunter Dietz also received a no-decision, throwing four-plus frames with three earned runs allowed on five hits, four walks and four strikeouts.
NOTABLES
- Florida now owns the all-time series lead vs. Arkansas at 40-39.
- The Gators secured their first series victory at Baum-Walker Stadium since 2016, and have now won three-straight games in Fayetteville for the first time since then.
- Florida is 19-7 across its last 26 SEC games dating back to last season.
- The Gators are 3-0 in three games vs. top-10 opponents this week.
- Florida improved to 6-0 against ranked teams this season.
- The Gators delivered their ninth comeback win of the campaign.
- Across his last 12 starts dating back to 2025, King is 7-3 with a 1.27 ERA and 62-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 70 2/3 innings pitched (10 earned runs allowed).
- Lawson snapped his 0-for-12 slump with a one-out single in the first inning.
- Stanford swatted his third homer of the season to give the Gators the lead in the fifth.
- Barberi retired the first-nine batters he faced, finishing with 3 1/3 no-hit innings with one unearned run allowed behind seven strikeouts and zero walks to earn his third victory.
- Whritenour improved to 4-for-4 in save opportunities.
- The Gators have recorded double-digit strikeouts in 19 of the last 24 games.
- Florida scored four of its seven runs with two outs.
- The Gators have won 39 of their last 49 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
- Florida is now 14-18 in Fayetteville against Arkansas.
- The Gators are 22-25 overall and 7-10 on the road vs. the Razorbacks under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
- Florida has won eight of the last 11 including four of six against Arkansas.
- Saturday afternoon's official attendance was 9,847.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On getting the win in a tough road environment…
"Yeah, this is a really tough place to win at. I mean, every place you go in this league is hard to win, especially here. We haven't had too many teams come in here and win a series, so we've got to be able to enjoy this one, but we've got a chance to sweep a top-five team at home. Starting with the pitching, Aidan battled. Obviously, it wasn't his best start. We got some work to do there. I think a key to the game was, they had bases loaded, nobody out in the bottom of the third and we only surrendered two runs, and we didn't blow up that anything. So, that was key. And then Jackson Barberi, what you can say about his performance again? Josh coming in again against the same team two days in a row, sometimes that's not easy, because they've already got a good look at you. But I thought he held it together."
On Jones early two-run single and other notable performances…
"That two-out RBI was huge after the strikeouts. I thought Ethan put some good swings on the ball today. Obviously, Karson had a couple hits. He had some really good at bats. Overall, it was a game that was really won by controlling the bases-loaded, nobody out situation in the third. And Jackson Barberi just being absolutely dominant tonight, and then Josh coming in and doing his thing."
ON DECK
The Gators and Razorbacks face off in the series finale on Sunday, set for 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Barberi, Jackson (3-2)
L: Steele Eaves (3-1)
S: Whritenour, Joshua (4)
Batting:
2B: Bowen, Karson 1 ; Cyr, Blake 1
HR: Stanford, Cole 1
RBI: Jones, Kyle 2 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Kurland, Cade 1 ; Stanford, Cole 2
SH: Cyr, Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Cyr, Blake 1 ; Kurland, Cade 2 ; Stanford, Cole 1 ; Kendall, Jacob 1
CS: Cyr, Blake 1
HBP: Strayer, Cash 1 ; Wilson, Ashton 1
Batting:
2B: Christian Turner 1
RBI: Ryder Helfrick 1 ; Reese Robinett 1
SF: Ryder Helfrick 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Damian Ruiz 1 ; Ryder Helfrick 1 ; Nolan Souza 1 ; Carter Rutenbar 1
SB: Damian Ruiz 1 ; Nolan Souza 1 ; Kuhio Aloy 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
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/ Baseball
RHP
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