GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 13 Florida was defeated by No. 4 Georgia in seven frames by a final score of 15-4 in the series finale at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Bulldogs (24-2, 5-1 SEC) scored one run in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead over the Gators (18-8, 0-6 SEC). Slate Alford led off with a single to center, then scored on a one-out, RBI double to left-center off the bat of Ryland Zaborowski.
 
Georgia extended its advantage to 4-0 in the top of the second on a three-run homer to right by Christian Adams. Florida got one run back in the home half, as Brendan Lawson connected for his sixth homer of the year on a drive into the left-field bullpen to cut the deficit to 4-1.
 
Following a leadoff walk in the third, the Gators turned to rookie Jackson Barberi out of the pen. The right-hander retired three in a row to hold the score, picking up one strikeout in the process.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs added a pair of runs on a two-out, two-run homer to left from Alford. Georgia pushed its lead to 7-1 in the fifth with a solo home run to right by Adams.
 
Florida threatened in the home half of the fifth. The Gators produced a pair of one-out baserunners as Luke Heyman was plunked and Ty Evans singled to right field, but the two were left stranded in scoring position as UGA starter Leighton Finley induced a pair of inning-ending groundouts to second base.
 
Zaborowski and Nolan McCarthy hit three-run home runs in the sixth to push the Bulldogs further ahead at 13-1.
 
The UF offense came alive in the home half of the sixth, scoring three runs to cut the deficit to 13-4. Bobby Boser and Colby Shelton started it off with a single and walk, with Ashton Wilson singling to center to drive in the former. Cade Kurland then grounded out to second to plate Shelton while Heyman came through with a two-strike, two-out single to center to bring home Wilson.
 
Georgia answered in the top of the seventh, with Robbie Burnett hitting a two-run homer to left-center to bring the score to 15-4. That would prove to be the final in seven innings, as the Gators were unable to push a run across in the home half of the frame.
 
Finley (2-0) picked up the win behind five innings of one-run ball. He finished with two hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts.
 
UF starter Jake Clemente dropped to 1-1. He allowed four earned runs on five hits and one walk over two-plus innings. The righty fanned two batters.

NOTABLES

• Florida dropped to 15-4 at home this season.
• The Gators were swept at home for the first time since April 22-24, 2022 vs. Tennessee.
• Lawson swatted his sixth home run of the campaign.
• Shelton has reached base safely in all 26 games this season.
• Florida is now 195-119-2 all-time against Georgia, including 102-48-1 at home.

  • The Gators are 32-21 overall and 18-9 at home in the series under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
  • Florida lost its first series to Georgia since 2022 in Athens.

• The Gators are 0-6 to start SEC play for the first time since 2001, when they coincidently went on to improve to 9-6 with three-consecutive series sweeps thereafter.
• Sunday’s official attendance was 7,579.

FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On not getting off to a good start again today…
“I mean, I can’t recall a weekend quite like this, to be honest with you. Obviously disappointing. We had a team meeting yesterday after the game, pressed on them a little bit and obviously they did not respond today. We’re going to have to figure out the starting pitching. We just can’t go two innings, three innings and some change. We’re going to have to figure out three guys who can go five or six innings. I know we’re a little banged up on the mound a little bit and that type of thing. At the same time, some other guys need to step up, bottom line. Yeah, just disappointing the way we started. We were chasing runs the entire weekend it felt like… They obviously played great this weekend, obviously they deserved to get the sweep.”
 
On flushing the weekend for the upcoming midweek game vs. FSU…
“We’ve got no choice but to move on. Certainly, our pitching was taxed a little bit this weekend, so we’ll have to figure out who’s going to start on Tuesday and we got a short week because we got Ole Miss on Thursday, Friday, Saturday next week. Like I said, I don’t know who’s going to start yet on Tuesday, but it’s gonna have to be a collective group. And like I said, we’ll have to figure out the pitching. Obviously, what we’re doing right now is not working, so we’ll make some changes.”

UP NEXT

Florida travels to Jacksonville, Fla. on Tuesday for a neutral-site meeting against Florida State at 6 p.m.