GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida pitcher Patrick Keating didn’t give Arkansas many opportunities, and when he did the Razorbacks rarely cashed in. Keating and reliever Stephen Locke scattered seven hits, all singles, and the Razorbacks stranded nine runners Saturday in Arkansas’ 6-1 loss before 3, 524 at McKethan Stadium. The Razorbacks (18-15, 4-9 SEC ) pitched well enough — starter Cliff Springston turned

2 in a gritty 7 / 3 innings — against No. 25 Florida (24-11, 9-5 ), but the Gators scored three runs in the eighth to break open a 3-1 game and even up the SEC series at one game apiece.

Razorbacks Coach Dave Van Horn said his offense didn’t do enough to make Keating work. Leadoff batter Logan Forsythe got Arkansas off to a good start, reaching base his first time at bat and coming around to score for an early 1-0 lead. But the offense dried up after that.

“We weren’t good,” Van Horn said. “Give [Florida ] credit. They pitched well. We had our chances early to get a few hits and bust it open, but we couldn’t do it.”

Keating (6-0 ) didn’t allow an Arkansas player past second base after the first inning. Only twice — Brett Eibner in the fourth and Ryan Cisterna in the seventh— did a Razorback reach second. Eibner advanced on a ground ball and Cisterna stole second.

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“We had a few guys that got a few hits here and there, but we’re not having the same approach up there,” said Eibner, who was 2 for 4 and drove in Arkansas’ lone run. “We need to get the leadoff guy on.”

Even when the leadoff man reached base Saturday, Arkansas did little to advance the runner.

Eibner singled to open the fourth and Cisterna singled to open the fifth, but the Razorbacks had nothing to show for it. Eibner advanced to second, but Aaron Murphree grounded out and Tim Smalling struck out without Eibner moving. Cisterna was stuck on second following Chase Leavitt’s flyout, Forsythe’s deep drive to center that was run down by Matt den Dekker and Sean Jones’ short fly ball to right.

Four different times an inning ended with a Razorback striking out, including the seventh inning, when Jones fouled off a two-strike pitch into Florida catcher Buddy Munroe’s glove with runners on first and second. In all, Keating and Locke combined for eight strikeouts.

“A lot of it has to do with our hitters,” Van Horn said. “We’ve got some guys that obviously needed to do a better job with two strikes. The key to that is maybe not get two strikes and hit it before strike two.

“ A lot of things happened with two outs, and then we didn’t get a [big ] two-out hit. We got one in the first inning, and that was the only one we got.”

Keating, a junior from Harrisburg, Ill., who was a reliever his first two seasons at Florida, is now 5-0 with a 2. 32 ERA and has won all of his SEC starts. He allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5 in 7 innings.

Locke struck out three in two shutout innings for his second save.

“[Keating’s ] competitive,” Florida Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I enjoy seeing him on the mound because you know what you’re going to get. He doesn’t give in.”

Springston (4-2 ) struck out seven and left trailing 4-1 before Evan Cox yielded Clayton Pisani’s two-run home run in the eighth to seal it.