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Starting pitcher Liam Peterson struck out a career-best 13 Friday to help Florida beat No. 5 Arkansas 6-4. Peterson put on a show for the 6, 542 in attendance at Condron Family Ballpark.
He attacked and neutralized an Arkansas (36-8, 13-6 SEC) offense that entered Friday night as one of the best lineups in the country.
“[Peterson] was special tonight,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He deserves all the credit because he pitched extremely well, obviously he gave up a couple of solo home runs in the first and second, but he was special.”
Peterson (7-2) looked in control right from the jump by striking out two of the first three hitters he faced. The lone hitter that did not strike out was shortstop Wehiwa Aloy, who hit a 411-foot home run onto Museum Road to make it 1-0 Arkansas. Following the first-inning homer, first baseman Cam Kozeal hit an opposite-field home run to make it a 2-0 game.
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From that moment, Peterson took off like a jet leaving the runway. He would strike out seven of the next eight batters to post zeroes in the third, fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth, Peterson struck out Kozeal to tie his career-high in strikeouts with 12 and, on pitch 105, struck out Arkansas third baseman Brent Iredale to set a career high in strikeouts with 13.
Career high 1️⃣3️⃣K for LP!!! #GoGators // SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/g2WnaZqkTk
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Peterson talked his way into going back out for the seventh, but walked the leadoff man to mark the end of his night. Peterson finished with a season-high 114 pitches.
“Just let me go out there until anything happens,” Peterson said. “Unfortunately, I walked the leadoff so wasn’t very happy about that.”
While Peterson dealt on the mound, the offense struggled to solve Arkansas’ left-handed starter Zach Root.
“[Root] was as sharp as any starter we’ve seen this year,” O’Sullivan said. “He had all four pitches working.”
Root (5-3) came into Friday with the sixth-most strikeouts in the SEC and certainly was feeling it early on. Root struck out five of the first seven hitters he saw and was an out away from no-hitting Florida (29-14, 7-12) through three innings. However, second baseman Justin Nadeau broke it up on an infield single. It seemed Root had him picked off at first, but he threw it away into right field, allowing Nadeau to come all the way around to score.
It sparked the Gators, who went on to score in each of the next two innings. Florida got the first two batters on to begin the fourth, which allowed Blake Cyr to tie the game at 2-2 on an RBI single.
The Gators had a chance to make it a big inning, but with runners on the corners and one out, Brody Donay laid down a bunt that did not go far enough down the first-base line. It allowed Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick to field it and tag Brendan Lawson out at the plate.
Florida broke the Root Dam with a four-run fifth inning. Lawson had a RBI single that gave the Gators a 3-2 lead. Root exited shortly after but remained responsible for the runners on base. Luke Heyman greeted the Arkansas reliever with a no-doubt three-run home run to extend the lead to 6-2.
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“Three-two I was sitting heater,” Heyman said. ” It was a little up, but I was able to get to it and put a good swing on it.”
Heyman has now homered in five of the seven SEC series this year. It was also his 10th of the year to make it three years in a row with double-digit homers.
Luke McNeillie relieved Peterson in the seventh and gave up a two-run home run to the first batter he faced. O’Sullivan wasted no time pulling him and putting in right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente. Clemente (four saves) did his job at keeping the Florida lead to 6-4.
Clemente continues to be a workhorse out of the bullpen with another impressive performance. He finished the game retiring all eight batters he faced with three strikeouts on 31 pitches. With his pitch count so low, Clemente could be available on Saturday if needed.
“Normally the rule of thumb is you throw 30 or less you are available the next day,” O’Sullivan said. ” So we got a chance to win tomorrow, of course, we’re going to use him tomorrow.”
Friday’s win was a big moment for the Gators, who have now won nine of its last 10 games. Florida will be looking to clinch a series against a top-five opponent for the first time since March 24, 2024, when it took two out of three against No. 5 LSU. It was also Florida’s 12th comeback win of the season and its seventh consecutive home win.
“Arkansas is really good and our guys should be excited about tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “But we better reel this thing back in tomorrow and be ready to go with the same type of focus that we had tonight.”
Looking Ahead
Game 2 is set for 3 p.m. Saturday and will air live on the SEC Network. Fans can also listen on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF and WJXL 1010 AM. Saturday’s starting pitchers are Florida’s righty Aidan King (4-1, 3.63 ERA) and Arkansas RHP Gage Wood (0-0, 6.14). Sunday’s game is a 1 p.m. start (SECN+).
