Saturday, May 2
Norman, Okla.
7 PM
Florida Gators
30-17, 0
10
at
5
Oklahoma
30-15, 0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 |
UAA Communications photo by Chad Hamilton
McDonald Pitches, Slugs No. 15/25 Florida to Series-Evening Win Over No. 12/15 Oklahoma
Saturday, May 2, 2026 | Baseball
Caden McDonald (4-for-5) finished with two home runs, two doubles and six RBI (all career highs) while earning the victory on the mound with three scoreless frames of relief.
NORMAN, Okla. – Two-way standout Caden McDonald smacked four hits including two homers while chucking three shutout innings of relief to earn the win in a performance of the ages, lifting No. 15/25 Florida past No. 12/15 Oklahoma, 10-5, and evening the series at Kimrey Family Stadium on Saturday night.
Producing one of the most incredible, single-game performances in recent memory, McDonald went 4-for-5 at the plate with 12 total bases, two home runs, two doubles, six RBI and three runs while shutting down the Sooners (30-15, 12-11 SEC) across three scoreless frames of relief to register the victory. He set single-game career highs in every offensive statistic to give the Gators (30-17, 12-11 SEC) their 30th win of the season including their 13th over a ranked opponent.
Although McDonald stole the show with a four-hit, two-homer game as the winning pitcher, Ethan Surowiec (2-for-4) chipped in two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Florida and Oklahoma are now set up for a decisive game three on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
The first two UF batters of the game were plunked in the top of the first, as Kyle Jones and Brendan Lawson reached safely before the next three Gators went down in order to strand a pair. Oklahoma took advantage, opening a 2-0 lead in the home half on a trio of hits highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Jaxon Willits. Florida starter Liam Peterson punched out Connor Larkin to strand two Sooners in scoring position.
With the Orange & Blue chasing two early runs, OU starting pitcher Cameron Johnson exited the contest prior to the start of the second inning with an apparent injury. Right-hander Michael Catalano took over in his stead and was promptly greeted by a leadoff double to left from McDonald. Landon Stripling followed with an infield single to second base to put Gators on the corners for Hayden Yost, who cut the Oklahoma lead in half at 2-1 with a deep sacrifice fly to the right-field warning track.
Bouncing back for a zero in the second, Peterson surrendered a two-out single followed by a strikeout of Brendan Brock to end the inning. The Gators threw another punch in the top of the third, as Surowiec and Karson Bowen drew two-out walks to set the table for McDonald. After working the count full, McDonald drilled a three-run homer to straightaway center field to put Florida in front at 4-2.
Pitching with the lead for the first time, Peterson retired the side in order in the bottom of the third while fanning Deitan LaChance for the third out. Florida struck again the following half inning, as Surowiec capitalized on a two-out, bases-load situation with a two-run single to right-center on an 0-2 count to extend the UF lead to 6-2.
The Sooners got the runs right back in bottom-four on a two-out, two-run single through the left side by Camden Johnson to make it a 6-4 ballgame. Oklahoma nearly added on again in the fifth after a trio of walks, but McDonald came on in relief and induced an inning-ending fielder's choice to shortstop to strand the bags juiced.
Remaining on the hill in the home half of the sixth, McDonald picked up his first two strikeouts en route to a clean frame. The two-way star registered three quick outs again in the seventh to reach three strikeouts and seven-straight batters retired.
Having taken care of business on the mound, McDonald led off the top of the eighth with his second homer of the night – a 410-foot shot over the right-center field wall to continue his miraculous evening. Stripling followed with a double to left and later scored on an RBI single to center field by Yost to push the Florida advantage to 8-4.
Remaining in control of the contest, McDonald retired the first two batters in bottom-eight via a groundout and his fourth strikeout before surrendering his first baserunner on a walk – snapping his streak of nine-straight Sooners retired. He was replaced by southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola after a subsequent single, who plunked a batter before inducing an inning-ending groundout to third base.
McDonald had one last heroic act left in the ninth. On the heels of a Surowiec single and Bowen walk, he slugged a two-run double to left-center for his fourth hit to put the game on ice at 10-4. LaChance popped a two-out homer to left in the home half of the ninth to bring the score to its final tally of 10-5, as Lugo-Canchola put the finishing touches on his first save of the campaign.
Not only did McDonald (4-1) slug two homers and collect four hits behind six RBI, but he also recorded the victory. The redshirt sophomore righty tossed three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four Sooners.
Having entered at the onset of the second inning, Catalano (3-4) suffered the series-evening loss. The sophomore was charged with four earned runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 frames while fanning a pair.
Peterson did not qualify for the decision, as he was pulled after 4 2/3 innings and 112 pitches. The junior right-hander finished with four runs allowed on six hits and five walks while striking out five.
Lasting just one inning in his start, Johnson received a no-decision. He struck out two batters.
NOTABLES
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On McDonald's memorable night…
"This is one to remember for sure. He was four for five, six RBIs, pitched three scoreless and only gave up one infield hit, four strikeouts. I mean, you just do not see that very often. Of course you go back and see an offensive performance, like Preston Tucker type stuff from way back in the day. Wyatt Langford, Jac Caglianone type of stuff. Just an unbelievable offensive performance as well. For him to go out there in a tough situation, bases loaded, two outs, and then get a ground ball. And then another three scoreless. I can't say enough about him."
On overcoming the early deficit…
"Yeah, I think the one run we scored in the second inning to cut the lead in half was big. And then the three runs that was hit in by Caden was big to give us the lead. Then in the fourth, we scored two but then turned around and gave up two. So, we hung in there and scored some runs in the eighth and ninth inning to extend our lead. It was a win we needed for sure."
On the defense stepping up…
"Yeah, and the fact that Ethan Surowiec played with a hurt finger… We decided to move him over to third base and he was outstanding defensively. And I thought Stripling made some nice plays at first, as well."
ON DECK
The Gators and Sooners face off in the series finale on Sunday, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Producing one of the most incredible, single-game performances in recent memory, McDonald went 4-for-5 at the plate with 12 total bases, two home runs, two doubles, six RBI and three runs while shutting down the Sooners (30-15, 12-11 SEC) across three scoreless frames of relief to register the victory. He set single-game career highs in every offensive statistic to give the Gators (30-17, 12-11 SEC) their 30th win of the season including their 13th over a ranked opponent.
Although McDonald stole the show with a four-hit, two-homer game as the winning pitcher, Ethan Surowiec (2-for-4) chipped in two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Florida and Oklahoma are now set up for a decisive game three on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
The first two UF batters of the game were plunked in the top of the first, as Kyle Jones and Brendan Lawson reached safely before the next three Gators went down in order to strand a pair. Oklahoma took advantage, opening a 2-0 lead in the home half on a trio of hits highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Jaxon Willits. Florida starter Liam Peterson punched out Connor Larkin to strand two Sooners in scoring position.
With the Orange & Blue chasing two early runs, OU starting pitcher Cameron Johnson exited the contest prior to the start of the second inning with an apparent injury. Right-hander Michael Catalano took over in his stead and was promptly greeted by a leadoff double to left from McDonald. Landon Stripling followed with an infield single to second base to put Gators on the corners for Hayden Yost, who cut the Oklahoma lead in half at 2-1 with a deep sacrifice fly to the right-field warning track.
Bouncing back for a zero in the second, Peterson surrendered a two-out single followed by a strikeout of Brendan Brock to end the inning. The Gators threw another punch in the top of the third, as Surowiec and Karson Bowen drew two-out walks to set the table for McDonald. After working the count full, McDonald drilled a three-run homer to straightaway center field to put Florida in front at 4-2.
Pitching with the lead for the first time, Peterson retired the side in order in the bottom of the third while fanning Deitan LaChance for the third out. Florida struck again the following half inning, as Surowiec capitalized on a two-out, bases-load situation with a two-run single to right-center on an 0-2 count to extend the UF lead to 6-2.
The Sooners got the runs right back in bottom-four on a two-out, two-run single through the left side by Camden Johnson to make it a 6-4 ballgame. Oklahoma nearly added on again in the fifth after a trio of walks, but McDonald came on in relief and induced an inning-ending fielder's choice to shortstop to strand the bags juiced.
Remaining on the hill in the home half of the sixth, McDonald picked up his first two strikeouts en route to a clean frame. The two-way star registered three quick outs again in the seventh to reach three strikeouts and seven-straight batters retired.
Having taken care of business on the mound, McDonald led off the top of the eighth with his second homer of the night – a 410-foot shot over the right-center field wall to continue his miraculous evening. Stripling followed with a double to left and later scored on an RBI single to center field by Yost to push the Florida advantage to 8-4.
Remaining in control of the contest, McDonald retired the first two batters in bottom-eight via a groundout and his fourth strikeout before surrendering his first baserunner on a walk – snapping his streak of nine-straight Sooners retired. He was replaced by southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola after a subsequent single, who plunked a batter before inducing an inning-ending groundout to third base.
McDonald had one last heroic act left in the ninth. On the heels of a Surowiec single and Bowen walk, he slugged a two-run double to left-center for his fourth hit to put the game on ice at 10-4. LaChance popped a two-out homer to left in the home half of the ninth to bring the score to its final tally of 10-5, as Lugo-Canchola put the finishing touches on his first save of the campaign.
Not only did McDonald (4-1) slug two homers and collect four hits behind six RBI, but he also recorded the victory. The redshirt sophomore righty tossed three scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out four Sooners.
Having entered at the onset of the second inning, Catalano (3-4) suffered the series-evening loss. The sophomore was charged with four earned runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 frames while fanning a pair.
Peterson did not qualify for the decision, as he was pulled after 4 2/3 innings and 112 pitches. The junior right-hander finished with four runs allowed on six hits and five walks while striking out five.
Lasting just one inning in his start, Johnson received a no-decision. He struck out two batters.
NOTABLES
- Florida is 13-6 against ranked opponents this season highlighted by 14 Quad 1 wins.
- The Gators produced their 12th come-from-behind win of the season.
- Florida has won nine of its last 13 SEC series dating back to last season, going 26-15 across 41 SEC contests in that span.
- The Gators have won 30 games in 17 of Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan's 18-full seasons at the helm.
- McDonald went 4-for-5 at the plate with two homers, two doubles, six RBI and three runs while pitching 3.0 shutout, one-hit innings of relief to earn the win.
- McDonald set single-game career highs in hits, total bases (12), home runs, doubles, RBI and runs scored.
- McDonald is the first Gator to achieve such a performance since Jac Caglianone hit two homers and threw three scoreless innings against Siena in 2023.
- McDonald launched his third homer of the season to give UF a 4-2 lead in the third inning before swatting his fourth long ball in the eighth.
- All four of McDonald's homers have come in the last five games.
- McDonald is now hitting .393 on the season across 28 at bats and owns a 3.24 ERA across 33 1/3 innings pitched.
- Lugo-Canchola locked down his first-career save.
- Florida has won 47 of its last 69 regular-season games dating back to last season.
- Florida is now 2-3 all-time and 1-1 in Norman against Oklahoma.
- Saturday night's official attendance was 4,679.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On McDonald's memorable night…
"This is one to remember for sure. He was four for five, six RBIs, pitched three scoreless and only gave up one infield hit, four strikeouts. I mean, you just do not see that very often. Of course you go back and see an offensive performance, like Preston Tucker type stuff from way back in the day. Wyatt Langford, Jac Caglianone type of stuff. Just an unbelievable offensive performance as well. For him to go out there in a tough situation, bases loaded, two outs, and then get a ground ball. And then another three scoreless. I can't say enough about him."
On overcoming the early deficit…
"Yeah, I think the one run we scored in the second inning to cut the lead in half was big. And then the three runs that was hit in by Caden was big to give us the lead. Then in the fourth, we scored two but then turned around and gave up two. So, we hung in there and scored some runs in the eighth and ninth inning to extend our lead. It was a win we needed for sure."
On the defense stepping up…
"Yeah, and the fact that Ethan Surowiec played with a hurt finger… We decided to move him over to third base and he was outstanding defensively. And I thought Stripling made some nice plays at first, as well."
ON DECK
The Gators and Sooners face off in the series finale on Sunday, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: McDonald, Caden (4-1)
L: Catalano, Michael (3-4)
S: Lugo-Canchola, Ernesto (1)
Batting:
2B: McDonald, Caden 2 ; Stripling, Landon 1
HR: McDonald, Caden 2
RBI: Surowiec, Ethan 2 ; McDonald, Caden 6 ; Yost, Hayden 2
SH: Kurland, Cade 1
SF: Yost, Hayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Surowiec, Ethan 2 ; Bowen, Karson 2 ; McDonald, Caden 3 ; Stripling, Landon 1 ; Yost, Hayden 1
HBP: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 1
Batting:
2B: Willits, Jaxon 1
HR: LaChance, Deiten 1
RBI: Johnson, Camden 2 ; Willits, Jaxon 2 ; LaChance, Deiten 1
SH: Walk, Jason 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Camden 1 ; Gambill, Trey 1 ; LaChance, Deiten 1 ; Larkin, Connor 1 ; Branch, Kyle 1
SB: Johnson, Camden 2 ; Gambill, Trey 3 ; Harris, Dasan 2
HBP: Johnson, Camden 1
Game Leaders
dh/p
AB
5
R
3
H
4
RBI
6
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballRHP/1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
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