Miami sophomore right-hander AJ Ciscar grinded through seven innings of work, determined to give his offense a chance to win.
But on a full count to Florida’s designated hitter Jacob Kendall to lead off the eighth, Ciscar hung a slider he wished he could’ve had back.
Kendall launched a go-ahead solo shot into the parking lot in right field, which sparked a five-run rally for Florida to take the series opener 7-2.
The late inning dramatics were fitting for the atmosphere at Mark Light Field — a sold-out affair with 3,555 fans in attendance on their feet the whole night. More than 600 of those fans were students who crowded into the student section and wherever there was space.
Both teams came into this game tied at 136 wins a piece, with the winner taking the opener of the series and all-time bragging rights.
Friday starter Ciscar took the mound for the third time this season aiming for another impressive outing.
But UF had other plans for the Fort Lauderdale native, as Florida shortstop Brendan Lawson launched a solo homer in the first inning.
The draft-eligible sophomore was named Baseball America’s top prospect for the 2027 MLB Draft following his Freshman All American season last year and finished the night 3-3 with two RBI’s.
Despite the first inning shell-shock, Ciscar would settle down, getting out of the inning and through the next two scoreless with four strikeouts.
However he was equally matched by Florida’s starter Liam Peterson. The flamethrowing righty had Miami guessing at the plate early, striking out six in his opening three innings.
Lawson would haunt the Canes again in the top of the fourth, leading off the inning with a two-strike single to right field. The Canadian native would come around to score on a sac fly by right fielder Cash Stayer, giving UF an early 2-0 lead.
Ciscar again bounced back with another scoreless pair of innings, but this time the offense had his back.
Jake Ogden began the bottom of the inning with a checked-swing double down the right field foul line, followed up by a Mikey Torres single to put runners on the corners.
Peterson then sat down third baseman Daniel Cuvet and catcher Alex Sosa on three straight pitches, looking like the Canes would once again be left scoreless again.
But the red-hot Derek Williams would break the offensive lull and shutout simultaneously however, with a weak grounder down the third base line that just stayed fair for an infield RBI single.
Peterson would subsequently be taken out of the game for sophomore relief pitcher Jackson Barberi, but this wouldn’t stop the Canes rally, as West drove a grounder through the third base gap for another Miami run, tying the game at 2-2.
A scoreless seventh followed before the aforementioned Kendall homer broke the game open for UF.
Ciscar was pulled from the game following an error from Ogden on a fly ball in shallow left field.
Over seven innings, Ciscar tallied seven strikeouts with three earned runs, and was replaced by fifth-year reliever Packy Bradley-Cooney.
Bradley-Cooney walked the first batter he faced, immediately replaced by the left-handed Jake Dorn to face the dangerous bat of Lawson on the same side of the plate.
Ultimately the switch was in vain, as Lawson continued to prove himself uncontainable, shooting a ball on the ground past the outstretched glove of West for an RBI single, putting the Gators up 4-2.
The Canes then saw their third pitching change in the eighth as Lazaro Collera took over on the mound to try and limit the damage.
After a walk to load the bases, Collera battled to a 3-2 count where the resulting pitch was returned Cuvet’s way as a chopping grounder. Cuvet would make a play to home, where an outstretched Sosa reigned in his wild throw to keep a run from scoring.
Despite getting the crucial out, Collera couldn’t keep UF at bay, walking a man on to score a run and giving up a sacrifice fly to score another.
Miami’s fourth pitching change of the inning followed as freshman left-hander Jack Durso entered the game for the final out of the eighth.
A line drive would score one, but a laser from Dylan Dubovik in left field ended the inning at the plate.
In need of a miracle down five, the Canes couldn’t make it happen during the final two innings at the plate, suffering their first loss of the season.
Miami (10-1) will look to even the series tomorrow night against Florida (10-1) at 6:30 p.m at Mark Light Field.