Florida’s weekend in Norman started slowly but ended with a big bang.
Actually, 2 big bangs, as in 2 offensive explosions, capped by Sunday afternoon’s 13-2 victory over Oklahoma in the rubber game matchup between ranked SEC teams.
After losing Friday’s series opener, 4-3, it was all Gators, whose bats woke up and went wild on Saturday and Sunday. Florida rolled to a 10-5 win in Game 2 on Saturday before bettering that on Sunday with a run-rule victory that only needed 8 innings.
Florida used the long ball to the fullest degree in the series finale, smacking a whopping 7 home runs against Sooners pitching. The Gators blew the game open in the fifth inning, scoring 8 times and belting 4 homers. Hayden Yost, Ethan Surowiec, Karson Bowen and Landon Stripling all went yard for Florida in that high-octane fifth, when Oklahoma was forced to use 4 pitchers.
The only run in that inning that didn’t come via the homer was scored by Cade Kurland, who came home for the eighth run of the frame on a wild pitch.
Surowiec kept the party going in the seventh inning with an RBI double, before Yost put the run-rule situation into play by smacking a 2-run homer in the eighth inning.
While Florida’s offense went wild, Russell Sandefer dominated on the mound for the Gators, allowing only 1 earned run (2 total) on 6 hits in 7 innings. He only walked 1 and struck out 7. Ricky Reeth shut the door in the eighth inning, allowing Florida to not need a ninth inning in Norman.
The Gators improved to 31-17 overall with the win and 13-11 in the SEC, while the Sooners dropped to 30-16 overall and 12-12 in conference play.
Florida took care of Oklahoma this weekend, but the Gators naturally have their sights set on greater things in the coming weeks, with the College World Series the ultimate goal and winning it all in Omaha. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about which teams have the best shot to hold that trophy in Omaha in June:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
