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Florida Makes Program History in Dominant Win Over Miami

Florida hit seven home runs in its 22-10 win over Miami, five of which came in the eighth inning.
Cam Parker|
Cade Kurland (4) hit two of Florida's seven home runs on Saturday.
Cade Kurland (4) hit two of Florida's seven home runs on Saturday. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Kevin O'Sullivan said it best when asked about dissecting the weirdness of the Florida Gators' 22-10 win over Miami in Saturday's matchup in the Gainesville Regional.

“I mean it’s kind of crazy," he said. "I was thinking about this, this morning, like the first game of a regional feels like it’s opening night. It’s like jitters and everybody’s not quite themselves and I can’t explain tonight, it’s one of those nights that we swung the bat really well offensively."

"Swung about really well" is an understatement.

Florida set a program NCAA Tournament record with seven home runs, five of which came in the eighth inning alone to set an overall program record. Its 22 runs are the most scored in a single game against the Hurricanes and the second-most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. Cade Kurland and Karson Bowen each went yard twice, while Brendan Lawson, Blake Cyr and Ethan Surowiec each went yard once, totaling over 2,700 feet.

And they all came right when Florida needed them.

Kurland's first, a three-run bomb in the first, set the tone and gave Florida a 6-1 lead. After Miami cut the lead to two in the third inning, Bowen gave some insurance with a solo shot. The teams traded runs until an 8-8 tie turned into a 15-10 lead in the eighth as Florida took advantage of Miami's pitching struggles.

Then came the eighth, and once again, a Kurland solo home run set the tone. Two at-bats later, Lawson hit a two-run shot before Cyr and Surowiec immediately trailed him with solo home runs to go back-to-back-to-back. Bowen's final homer, a two-run shot, capped things off.

“I was probably just like everybody in this room and all the fans. It was amazing," O'Sullivan said. "I mean, it was just one of those weird moments that just doesn’t happen very often, but it was incredible."

Back-to-back-to-back was already crazy enough, but then you add in that Florida did it on four total pitches with two outs.

“I think it’s kind of been building for a while where we can kind of just explode at any moment," Bowen said. "So, I think it really just shows when you really hunt your pitches and it felt like it was all kind of early in the count. So, I think when we hunt out pitches, don’t chase out of the zone, that’s kind of what you can get.”

Then there are the unearned runs.

Florida's seven home runs, totaling 11 runs, would have been enough for the win. Florida plated 11 more non-homer runs on Saturday. Additionally, of the Gators' 22 total runs, 11 were unearned, as the Gators plated 11 runs off of home runs, four runs off of two non-homer hits, three runs off throwing errors, two runs off of bases-loaded walks, one run off a wild pitch and one run off a sac-fly. A bulk of the runs came immediately after the Hurricanes made a pitching change, making them unearned.

To add to the weirdness, Florida's seven-run sixth inning only saw one hit: a bases-clearing double by Kyle Jones.

"I'm just happy we scored 22," O'Sullivan quipped when asked if he preferred the earned runs or the unearned runs. "I'm just glad that a lot of our guys are seeing the ball really well right now."

The challenge now for Florida, as Troy and Miami play in an elimination game with the winner facing the Gators at 5 p.m., will be to move past the blowout and focus on taking care of business.

The 22 runs are the second-most in program history in an NCAA Tournament game. The most? 24 against LSU in Game Two of the 2023 College World Series Final. Florida, of course, were throttled in Game Three to lose the national championship.

“Tomorrow’s a new day. So, it doesn’t matter how many runs you put up," Kurland, a freshman on that 2023 team, said. "You got to do the same thing day after day and it’s as simple as that.”

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Cam Parker
CAM PARKER

Cam Parker is a reporter covering the Florida Gators, Auburn Tigers and Clemson Tigers with a degree in journalism from the University of Florida. He also covers and broadcasts Alachua County high school sports with The Prep Zone and Mainstreet Daily News. When he isn't writing, he enjoys listening to '70s music such as The Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd, binge-watching shows and playing with his cat, Chester, and dog, Rufus.

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