FAYETTEVILLE — Florida ended the second-ranked Arkansas baseball team’s record-tying home win streak Saturday.
The Gators won 9-5 in the second game of a doubleheader to snap the Razorbacks’ 27-game win streak at Baum-Walker Stadium. Arkansas lost at home for the first time since Feb. 18 against James Madison.
“We knew we were going to get beat sometime with who we’re playing,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “[The streak has] been amazing. I told the team, ‘Start a new one.’”
The Razorbacks tied the record win streak earlier in the day with a 6-5 victory over the Gators. Arkansas also won 27 consecutive home games during the 1984-85 seasons at George Cole Field.
Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone pitched four innings and hit a game-changing grand slam with two outs in the fourth inning of Saturday’s nightcap. Caglianone’s 26th home run gave the Gators a 7-1 lead and capped a six-run inning against Arkansas right-handers Ben Bybee and Koty Frank.
Caglianone’s 404-foot blast to center field came on a 1-2 pitch from Frank. It followed a two-out bases-loaded walk by Ty Evans to give Florida a 3-1 lead. Evans fell behind 1-2 against Frank, but drew three consecutive balls to extend the inning.
The Razorbacks intentionally walked Caglianone four times during the doubleheader, but had nowhere to put the power left-hander with the bases loaded.
“Believe me, I thought about walking in a run,” Van Horn said. “I honestly did, and I wish I would have. He’s an amazing hitter.”
“That’s why it’s so important to have first base occupied,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Arkansas (37-7, 16-5 SEC) tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the fourth. Peyton Stovall’s two-run double to the wall in right-center field cut the Gators’ lead to 7-3.
After a two-out single by Ben McLaughlin, Wehiwa Aloy was called out looking by plate umpire Javerro January on a 3-2 pitch from Caglianone — his 95th and final pitch of the game.
The in-stadium TrackMan system suggested the pitch was well below the strike zone. January appeared to warn Van Horn who stepped out of the dugout to argue the strike call.
Florida (22-21, 9-12) regained a six-run lead, 9-3, when Evans homered against Dylan Carter in the sixth inning.
Arkansas cut the lead to 9-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Jared Sprague-Lott singled with one out and scored on a two-out throwing error from left field.
The Razorbacks went ahead 1-0 on Stovall’s shift-beating single in the second inning. Stovall doubled twice as part of a 3-for-5 game, scored 1 run and had 3 RBI.
Stovall scored the game’s last run after a double in the eighth inning.
Florida tied the game 1-1 on Michael Robertson’s one-out single against Bybee in the third inning. Bybee allowed 3 runs, 3 hits and 2 walks in 3-plus innings. He struck out 2 and threw 35 of 55 pitches for strikes.
Bybee started in place of Mason Molina, a junior left-hander who sat out the series with an ankle injury.
Caglianone gave up 3 runs, 6 hits and 3 walks in his 4-inning start. He threw 57 of 95 pitches for strikes and struck out 4.
“They put together some good at-bats against him, but he hung in there and he battled like he always does,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously the grand slam was a huge, huge at-bat for us, especially at that part of the game. The thing Jac is going to do, even though he doesn’t have his best stuff, he’s going to give you good effort. He did that for us today.”
Arkansas out-hit Florida 12-8 but stranded 13 base runners. The Razorbacks were 5 for 24 with runners on base and 4 for 17 with runners in scoring position.
“I thought overall we played well [with] three games in 24, 25, 26 hours,” Van Horn said. “It starts to wear on you a little bit, especially when the wind is beating on you the way it was. I mean, it just wears you out.”
Two games remain in Arkansas’ five-game homestand beginning with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch against Missouri State (17-24) on Tuesday.