It had been 756 days since Ryan Larson parked a ball outside McKethan Stadium.
But on Saturday, the UF senior outfielder blasted two home runs — tripling his career total — to power the Gators to a series-capturing 4-3 win over Seton Hall.
While Larson found his stroke over the past week — as did JJ Schwarz, who hammered his first two homers of the year — not all came easy for Florida over Spring Break.
Before taking two of three from the Pirates, UF traveled to Fort Myers Tuesday for the first of a pair of games versus Florida Gulf Coast.
Neither fared well for the Gators (12-5).
UF dropped the first contest 7-3, a loss in which starting pitcher Michael Byrne allowed five runs (one earned) thanks in part to a costly error by third baseman Jonathan India.
The Wednesday 3-2 defeat, meanwhile, featured a common theme from Florida this season: little offense.
UF’s late rally in the ninth came up inches shy. After Schwarz pulled his team within one with a solo shot, India laced what looked to be a sure game-tying double.
That was until FGCU center fielder Gage Morey dove through the air to rob India and the Gators to end the game.
Florida was outhit 7-5.
And with a midweek clash against Florida State looming Tuesday and SEC play beginning this weekend against Auburn, UF can only hope its bats wake up.
Contact Patrick Pinak at ppinak@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @pinakk12.
UF outfielder Ryan Larson walks off the field after Florid'a 2-0 win over Miami on Feb. 25, 2017, at McKethan Stadium.
