The Stetson pitching staff kept the Gators at bay and then the bats put No. 9 Florida away late with a five-spot in the eighth inning to win it.

The 6-1 win ended an eight-game losing streak to Florida and is Stetson's first win over the Gators since 2007.

The Hatters sent 10 batters to the plate in the eighth inning when Ben Specht took over for Christian Scott on the mound. Specht hit the first batter he faced and was quickly in a jam when a single to right field gave Stetson runners on the corners and no outs. A fielder's choice allowed the go-ahead run to score but Stetson was far from done in the frame. Eric Foggo launched a massive two run home run deep into the night sky to extend the lead to 4-1. Specht hit another batter and surrendered a single before O'Sullivan came to get the struggling right-hander. Ryan Cabarcas replaced Specht and struck out the first batter he faced but a wild pitch put. two in scoring position. Gainesville native Andrew MacNeil drove them both in with a double down the right field line to cap the scoring at 6-1.

"The bottom line is we got two hits over eight (innings)," O'Sullivan said after the game. "With how well we've been swinging the bats for almost a month know I'm not quite sure why tonight went the way it did. The game did not come down to the eighth inning. If we would have done what we were supposed to do offensively we might not have been in that position."

The Gators struck for two in the second inning due in part to a couple of free passes. Kirby McMullen walked to start the frame. After two quick outs McMullen advanced to second on a passed ball, Cory Acton walked, and Cal Greenfield reached on a fielding error to load the bases. Jacob Young hit a hard grounder to third, which ate up Banks Griffith and allowed McMullen to score to give Florida a 1-0 advantage.

Florida wouldn't know it at the moment but that would be the extent of their offensive output for the night.

Kirby McMullen accounted for two of the Gators' three hits with Sterlin Thompson getting the final hit in the ninth inning. If not for a few Hatters' miscues Florida would likely have been shut out.

The midweek loss is disappointing, especially given the way the Gators were swinging the bats coming into the game but in the grand scheme of things, it's not important with the next six games all coming inside the SEC.

Potential regional hosts will be announced on Thursday and Florida will certainly be among the 20 potential hosting sites.

"We have a lot to play for," O'Sullivan said. "We put ourselves into a position now where we're being considered a regional host and we still have the SEC within striking distance. If we can make a real run here these next few weekends we can put ourselves in position, possibly, to be one of the eight National Seeds. We've got a lot to play for."

Brandon Sproat has a big arm but an even bigger ERA in 2021. Entering the season he was expected to be a key piece of the Florida bullpen but Sproat had made just 12 appearances on the year. He was given the chance to start his first collegiate game on Tuesday and didn't disappoint. Sproat allowed just one hit over four innings of work, striking out two and walking just one.

"I thought he threw the ball really good," O'Sullivan said. "We had a really good conversation yesterday. I gave him the story of Tyler Dyson in 2017, he got it really going there towards the latter part of the year and was a huge piece of the puzzle and one of the main reasons we won a National Championship that year. I told him even though the year may not have gone the way he wanted it to up to this point that he can certainly still finish strong and I was really pleased with the way he threw the ball."