Fourth Inning Plagues No. 7/20 Florida in Game Two Loss to 6/13 Auburn

Friday, April 17

Gainesville, Fla.

5:30 PM

Florida Gators

28-12, 10-7

Auburn

26-12, 9-8

Auburn

Florida

Blake Cyr rounds the bases following his home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. / UAA Communications photo by Amelia Martinez

Fourth Inning Plagues No. 7/20 Florida in Game Two Loss to 6/13 Auburn

Friday, April 17, 2026 | Baseball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Starter Liam Peterson and reliever Luke McNeillie allowed two earned runs across nine combined innings.

By: Sullivan Bortner

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 7/20 Florida came up short by a 5-3 tally as No. 6/13 Auburn evened the series in game two at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.

The Gators (28-12, 10-7 SEC) were plagued by three unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning, which allowed the Tigers (26-12, 9-8 SEC) to move in front for the remainder of the game. Ethan Surowiec (3-for-4) was responsible for half of Florida's six hits while reliever Luke McNeillie kept UF within striking distance with four innings of one-run ball.

Blanking Auburn in the top half of the first, UF hurler Liam Peterson stranded a pair of singles on base to get off to a strong start. Surowiec smoked a two-out double into the left-center field gap in the home half but was left stranded in a scoreless first inning.

Peterson surrendered his first home run of the season to lead off the top of the second, as Ethin Bingaman sent a solo shot over the left-center field wall for a 1-0 edge. Peterson buckled down and retired the next three Tigers in order, finishing with a strikeout of Brandon McCraine. He returned to the hill in the third, firing another zero and striking out his second batter.

In the bottom of the third, Florida broke out for a two-spot to steal a 2-1 advantage. Hayden Yost reached on a dropped-third strike and moved to second on a passed ball. Kolt Myers advanced him to third on a sacrifice bunt, but an errant throw from pitcher Jake Marciano to first base allowed Yost to score as Myers raced safely to second base. A subsequent sacrifice bunt from Kyle Jones pushed Myers to second and with two outs, Surowiec cashed in with a go-ahead single through the right side.

Florida's one-run lead was short-lived, as Auburn received three unearned runs top take the lead back at 4-2 in the top of the fourth. With two down, a dropped pop-up at third base allowed Bingaman to score from second, followed by a two-run homer to left off the bat of Mason McCraine. Despite the damage, Peterson fanned Eric Guevara to escape the inning.

After coughing up the advantage, the Gators punched right back in the home half of the fourth. Blake Cyr promptly opened the frame with a solo shot into the visiting bullpen in left field – his second long ball in as many days. Cade Kurland followed with a double off the right-field wall, but was left stranded on third base as a 4-3 ballgame entered the fifth frame.

The Tigers threated again in top-five thanks to a single and two walks, but Peterson left the bags loaded by inducing a fielder's choice at second base from pinch-hitter Caiden Combs. The junior right-hander was then lifted after five complete innings, as McNeillie entered the contest at the onset of the sixth. Auburn struck for a lone run upon Peterson's removal on a solo homer to center by M. McCraine, extending the Tiger lead to 5-3.

Navigating around a pair of baserunners in the top of the seventh, McNeillie churned out a zero to hold the score as the matchup reached stretch time. The UF righty retired the side in order in the eighth while striking out two more Tigers to reach four strikeouts on the night.

McNeillie threw a clean top of the ninth featuring his fifth strikeout to keep the Orange & Blue within two entering the final half inning. The Gators loaded the bases with one out on back-to-back walks and a Surowiec single, but a 5-4-3 double play thwarted the rally and gave the Tigers the series-evening victory.

Tigers reliever Jackson Sanders (3-1) earned the win behind 4 1/3 scoreless innings. The lefty gave up one hit and five walks while fanning six. Right-hander Ryan Hentzler logged the final two outs to pick up his second save.

Peterson (1-3) was the bad-luck loser in game two. He tossed five strong frames with four runs (one earned) surrendered on seven hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Auburn starting pitcher Jake Marciano did not qualify for the decision. The sophomore southpaw pitched four innings with three runs (one earned) allowed on four hits. He struck out six and did not issue a walk.

NOTABLES

Florida dropped to a nation-best 11-2 on the season against ranked opponents.
The Gators have won nine of their last 11 SEC series, going 24-11 across their last 35 SEC games dating back to last season.
Peterson allowed his first home run of the season in the top of the second inning to Bingaman, snapping his streak of 46.0 frames without surrendering a long ball to open the campaign.
- He later hit his first batter of the season with two outs in the third.
Cyr homered for the second-straight game, hitting a solo shot to lead off the fourth inning for his sixth big fly of the season.
Surowiec (3-for-4) recorded his third three-hit game of the season and his 15th multi-hit effort to tie Jones for the team lead.
Florida starting pitchers have allowed four home runs in 165.0 innings pitched, featuring just two homes surrendered in 89.0 SEC frames.
Florida has won 45 of its last 62 regular-season games dating back to 2025.
The Gators are now 122-136-2 all-time and 69-52 at home against Auburn.
Florida is 22-13 overall and 13-7 in Gainesville against the Tigers under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan (all at home).
The Gators have won 32 of the last 47 meetings in the head-to-head series.
Friday night's official attendance was 5,815.

FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On the pitching tonight…
"I mean, you look at the box score, he gave up one earned run over five and I thought he pitched good. I thought he pitched really good. I thought Luke McNeillie did outstanding too, so you know we only gave up two earned runs over nine innings. We faced two really good lefties today. We knew that they were gonna go to Sanders there at some point, both those guys are starters and Sanders, his numbers are outstanding, and they did a really nice job today."

On the importance of McNeillie covering four frames…
"It was good for him. It was good for our team. And good for everybody involved. I thought he pitched with his secondary stuff really good."

On how the one-two punch has pitched the last two weekends…
"It has nothing to do with me, I feel good for the both of them. I feel really pleased with how Liam's been the last two weeks and he should good too, honestly. And obviously, Aidan pitched really well too. So I am just happy for the both of them. It has nothing to do with me. We pitch like this, then we are going to be okay."

ON DECK
The Gators and Tigers meet one last time in the series finale on Sunday, which airs on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. Junior right-hander Russell Sandefer (2-1, 4.56 ERA) draws the starting nod for the Orange & Blue against righty Alex Petrovic (6-1, 2.66 ERA) of Auburn.