Florida Baseball: Gators win 9-7 against #2 Arkansas Razorbacks
![Florida infielder Deric Fabian #23 reacts to scoring as catcher Mac Guscette #9 congratulates during the second inning Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville. The annual game, Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown, between the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators, resumed after two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Florida downed Florida St. 6-3. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]Jki 033122 Uffsubaseball 08](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2Fdd55becaf517f1a4af3ff3422275dfa31b7098184f5f5e2106d4023a4f498d72.jpg "Florida infielder Deric Fabian #23 reacts to scoring as catcher Mac Guscette #9 congratulates during the second inning Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 121 Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville. The annual game, Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown, between the Florida State Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators, resumed after two year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Florida downed Florida St. 6-3. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]Jki 033122 Uffsubaseball 08")
Florida Gators beat #2 ranked Razorbacks 9-7 and take the series
Florida baseball took a huge win this afternoon against the #2 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks, winning 9-7. This win means the Gators won 2/3 in the series against Arkansas and obviously won the series by doing so. This game was back and forth the whole way, with scoring starting off in the 3rd inning with the Gators going up 4-0, but the Razorbacks coming back 4-4 the next inning. The game was won however on a go-ahead single by Deric Fabian, bringing in a runner and breaking the tie, taking the lead 8-7. Jud Fabian would then bring in the 9th run on an RBI single.
https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1512885071816011777?s=20&t=BJ_tOMxKAHXJjpExJ_IIRw
However, we need to note the closing pitcher for this game, as he did an exceptional job on the last four outs of the game. That being Blake Purnell. Purnell would come in with 2 outs in the 8th inning, and get the last batter to ground out (Braydon Webb). Then, Purnell would strike out the first batter in the ninth and get the next two to ground and fly out respectively, closing the game and securing the series for Florida baseball. Purnell has proven himself to be an extremely valuable relief pitcher for Florida, closing quite a few games this season and being exceptional at doing so.
Monumental series win for Florida this weekend.
— Carson Cashion (@CarsonCashion) April 9, 2022
Blake Purnell has shown himself to be THAT guy for the #Gators relief.
The road doesn’t get any easier, though. Vandy next weekend and UT after that.
This series was HUGE for Florida baseball, as it would be the determining factor in if they could keep up with the top teams in college baseball or not. Spoiler. They can. After losing the first game of the series Thursday by a score of 8-1, some lost hope that this team could keep up. However, Florida would go on to win Friday by a score of 7-2, which evened up the season and brought some life back to the team. While this afternoon’s game was a true battle and lasted all the way up until the end, Florida baseball proved that they are a threat to their SEC counterparts and to college baseball.