Starter eats up innings GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It looked like Arkansas would be calling on its bullpen quickly Saturday after Cliff Springston sputtered in the first two innings, but he found his groove and worked into the eighth inning, giving the Razorbacks plenty of chances to win. Florida didn’t nail down its 6-1 victory until the eighth, when a two-out infield hit led to three runs that sealed the victory. Springston, who hasn’t won since March 14 — four starts ago — and has a 6. 07 ERA during that span, stayed 2 tough over 7 / 3 innings. His pitch count soared to 56 after three innings Saturday, but he needed only 29 more to reach the seventh inning.

When he was pulled in the eighth, the junior left-hander had thrown 115 pitches and allowed 5 earned runs, 3 walks and 8 hits.

“He started throwing over the plate a little bit more and he was just missing,” Coach Dave Van Horn said. “So we had our catcher set up a little bit more over the plate and he started hitting his spots.” Springston’s recovery allowed Arkansas to at least save its bullpen for today. The Razorbacks will start Justin Wells today, and they take an almost fresh bullpen into the series finale. Arkansas has an opportunity to win its first SEC series this season. The Razorbacks have lost four consecutive SEC series. “Tomorrow we’re going to come out and hit the ball and Wells is going to pitch really well and we’re going to get the series,” Springston said. “I think we’re really strong on the mound [today ].” Jones’ woes Arkansas had the same lineup Saturday as in Friday’s series opening victory, but a few changes could be in store as the team struggles to find any offensive rhythm. Jacob House and Andrew Darr have yet to play in the series, and outfielder Sean Jones continues to be bothered by a sore hand and is probably out. “We’ve got a few guys who are a little tired and banged up,” Coach Dave Van Horn said. “[Jones’ ] hand is not in great shape. You can see the look in his eyes.” No daily double Arkansas’ infield looked ready to turn another double play in the seventh, but Buddy Munroe’s ground ball to the right side took a tricky last-second hop at Razorbacks second baseman Ben Tschepikow, bounced off his glove at shoulder level and rolled into right field. The play was originally scored an error, then changed to a single.

“It’s en error all the way,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “It’s a tough error, but by that fourth or fifth inning that dirt became hard as concrete.” If fielded cleanly, it probably would have been the fifth double play in the series’ first two games. The Gators hit into only 10 in the first 33 games, which is a sign of just how fast the Gators are.

It also was evident in the eighth inning when Matt den Dekker’s slow bouncing ball to Tschepikow with two outs forced a perfect throw that just pulled Aaron Murphree off first base and scored the first of three Florida runs.