Florida Sweeps No. 4 Arkansas in First Home SEC Sweep Since 2016

Florida's Gators racked up a season-high 17 hits to complete a three-game sweep of the Hogs.

Arkansas Razorbacks' Ryder Helfrick after hitting homer against the Florida Gators. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Florida didn't just win a baseball series at Baum-Walker Stadium on Sunday.

They made history doing it.

For the first time since 2016, an SEC opponent swept the Arkansas Razorbacks at home, with the Gators completing the three-game sweep with a 7-6 victory in the series finale.

The loss dropped No. 4 Arkansas to 19-10 overall and 4-5 in SEC play, putting the Hogs below .500 in conference games for the first time this season.

It was a tough pill to swallow for a program that hadn't lost a three-game home SEC series since 2010 against South Carolina — outside of that 2016 Alabama sweep.

Florida, now 23-6 overall and 6-3 in the SEC, came in swinging and didn't stop. The Gators racked up a season-high 17 hits across the Arkansas pitching staff, and it wasn't just one player doing the damage.

Florida's Middle of Order Does Most Damage

The Gators' No. 2 and No. 3 hitters in the lineup were the story of Sunday's finale.

Shortstop Brendan Lawson and first baseman Ethan Surowiec combined to go 8-for-10 on the day, including back-to-back home runs off Razorback reliever Tate McGuire to kick off the fifth inning.

Those two blasts quickly turned a close game into a four-run Florida lead.

Left fielder Blake Cyr added to the damage in a major way. He went 2-for-5 with three RBIs on Sunday and wrapped up a standout weekend going 6-for-12 in the series.

Cyr got things started in the very first inning, lacing an RBI single off Arkansas starter Colin Fisher to give Florida the early lead.

Fisher didn't last long. He was pulled after just 2⅓ innings after allowing three earned runs.

Kuhio Krush 💪 pic.twitter.com/WEGchjmwlc

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 29, 2026

It's been a tough stretch for the lefty — after going at least five innings in each of his first three starts, Fisher hasn't completed the fifth inning in four straight appearances. His ERA over that stretch sits at 8.10.

Across the entire three-game series, Arkansas starters combined for just 7⅓ innings of work.

One area where Arkansas did find some improvement Sunday was in the walk department. The Hogs had issued 18 walks to Florida in the first two games of the series, but held the Gators to just three free passes on Sunday.

All three walks came in the same seventh-inning sequence with Ethan McElvain on the mound.

It didn't matter much — all nine Florida starters reached base with at least one hit.

Arkansas Keeps Fighting, But Falls Short

The Razorbacks weren't ready to quit, even trailing by multiple runs in the late innings. They got three runs off Florida starter Russell Sandefer across his 5⅔-inning outing, which marked his first SEC start of his career.

Arkansas brought the tying run to the plate in both the seventh and eighth innings and had the winning run at the plate in the ninth.

A key reason the Hogs stayed in it was freshman Carter Rutenbar. With Maika Niu scratched from the starting lineup due to illness, coach Dave Van Horn made a bold call and put Rutenbar — a true freshman — in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career.

Ryde's 8th blast of the season 🚀 pic.twitter.com/GoLythoFtw

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 29, 2026

Rutenbar delivered. He reached base three times on a walk and two singles and forced Sandefer to throw him 22 pitches across three plate appearances. More than a quarter of Sandefer's 83 total pitches on the day went toward facing Rutenbar.

Rutenbar also drew the walk that set up the biggest swing of the day for Arkansas.

With two outs in the seventh, Ryder Helfrick — who'd been just 1-for-10 in the series up to that point — launched a two-run home run off Florida reliever Luke McNeillie to pull the Razorbacks within one.

It was Helfrick's eighth home run of the season.

Big RBI double by Big Country pic.twitter.com/I5wjfmj0ZD

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) March 29, 2026

Late Heroics Aren't Enough for Hogs

Florida got an insurance run back in the top of the eighth when second baseman Cade Kurland singled to left to score Brendan Lawson, pushing the lead back to two.

Arkansas answered again in the bottom half. Kuhio Aloy — who'd gone 2-for-his-last-18 coming into the game — hit his second home run since February 22 to trim the deficit to one.

It was also Aloy's first multi-hit game since March 2 against Stetson, as he finished 2-for-4 on Sunday. His season batting average now sits at .284.

Aloy's day wasn't without its frustrating moments. In the sixth, he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that stalled an Arkansas rally, even though a run scored on the play.

The ninth inning came down to one swing. After the first two batters struck out, Rutenbar singled to keep the game alive.

Pinch runner TJ Pompey came in to run for him, stole second and advanced all the way to third on a catcher's error by Florida's Carson Bowen.

That put the tying run just 90 feet from home plate with Helfrick at the bat.

Helfrick struck out swinging. Florida walked off with the sweep.

Florida did leave 12 men on base throughout the game, giving Arkansas multiple chances to steal a win, but the Razorbacks couldn't land the knock-out blow when it counted most.

What's Next for Arkansas

The Razorbacks won't have much time to dwell on the sweep.

Arkansas heads out on a four-game road trip that begins Tuesday at Missouri State, with first pitch set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The Hogs then travel to Auburn for a weekend SEC series.

In the meantime, the Hogs will try to find a pitcher that can get somebody out and hitters to come through consistently.