Florida baseball pitcher [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] has now strung together two strong outings versus No. 23 Georgia last weekend and No. 2 Arkansas after mediocre outings against Alabama and LSU. He shut down the potent Razorbacks lineup Friday night to help his team force the rubber match.
The right-hander went 5 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out five. His strong start propelled the Gators toward a 7-2 victory Friday at Florida Ballpark to even the series.
Florida’s lineup came out guns blazing after only recording three hits in an 8-1 defeat Thursday. Center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] doubled after second baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] flew out to center field. Fabian advanced to third on a passed ball and then was driven in by a right fielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] sacrifice fly. Left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] then blasted an opposite-field homer to give them a 2-0 advantage after the first inning.
The Gators picked up where they left off in the next inning. Arkansas starter Hagen Smith loaded the bases and walked third baseman [autotag]Deric Fabian[/autotag] to send a runner home. Halter then drove in shortstop [autotag]Joshua Rivera[/autotag] to push their lead to 4-0. Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] snuck a solo shot over the right-center-field wall to add another run.
Arkansas took advantage of a Halter error in the top of the fifth to finally get on the board. Florida responded quickly, earning that run in the bottom half. Riopelle drove in Thompson via a sac fly and first baseman [autotag]Kendrick Calilao[/autotag] doubled down the left-field line, scoring Langford to increase the lead to 7-1.
The Razorbacks scored one more run when designated hitter Brady Slavens tripled to center field, driving in Braydon Webb.
Florida then held on in the ninth to clinch the 7-2 victory, breaking a six-game losing streak versus SEC opponents. Langford finished the night 2-for-4 with a homer and an RBI. Riopelle went 2-for-3 with a longball and two RBIs. The Gators lineup also only struck out four times versus Arkansas.
They’ll return Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT to play Arkansas at Florida Ballpark for the series victory.
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