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The No. 10 Florida Gators began their three-game series against the Dayton Flyers on Friday night with a 13-1 win at Condron Family Ballpark.
On a cold night in Gainesville, where temperatures got down into the low 40s, the Gators (5-0) remained red-hot both on the mound and at the plate.
It did not take long for Florida to get the offense going. The Gators jumped on Dayton in the opening frame with a three-spot. The inning was headlined by a towering home run from third baseman Bobby Boser, who now has home runs in back-to-back games.
“I was just looking for something away, to move the runner, fortunately he kept it up and I was able to do something with it,” Boser said.
Only right that Bobby Boser serves up a TACO on National Margarita Day.
Some crazy backside pop for the Gators pic.twitter.com/o7C4LpNCrU
— SEC Unfiltered (@SECUnfiltered) February 22, 2025
The scoring didn’t stop in the second inning, as Florida continued right where they left off in the first. With a little help from walks and wild pitches, the Gators plated three more to make it 6-0. Blake Cyr and Colby Shelton both reached via the hit-by-pitch and Boser reached on the dropped third strike. The only hit in the inning was a Cade Kurland RBI single that brought Shelton in.
Following a scoreless third, Brody Donay singled in the fourth and was driven in on a two-out Brendan Lawson RBI single to make it 7-0.
Gators Blow It Open
While the game wasn’t close entering the bottom of the sixth at 7-1, the Gators put the finishing touches on the Flyers (2-2) in the inning when, after a walk to Boser, the next five hitters reached base and scored.
Cyr had the big one out, a two-run double to bring in Lawson and Kurland. Cyr scored off a Hayden Yost sacrifice fly to make it 13-1.
CYR’ed #GoGators // https://t.co/XyeZx4FVCp pic.twitter.com/jeKj27nBCf
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 22, 2025
Pitching Solid Again
A big question mark coming into the season has turned out to be a bright spot early, as the pitching stood out again. Liam Peterson led the way per usual as the Friday night guy and the bullpen was rock solid once more.
Peterson Strong Second Start
There was no career-high stuff by Peterson, but he was just as dominant. The sophomore right-hander was solid in his four innings, attacking the zone, finishing hitters via the strikeout and getting weak contact.
Peterson found himself in a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth, but got out of it when he recorded his fifth strikeout of the night.
Left ’em stranded! ❌#GoGators // https://t.co/XyeZx4FVCp pic.twitter.com/MaWAdnqY9c
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 22, 2025
His final line was four innings, two hits, five strikeouts and one walk on 83 pitches.
Following Peterson was freshman Jackson Barberi, who tossed a scoreless fifth inning and escaped a first-and-third situation. Redshirt freshman Caden McDonald relieved Barberi in the sixth. McDonald ran into a little bit of trouble in the inning, giving up a run on three hits. He did escape when Dayton was caught stealing home on a first-and-third play.
Freshman Christian Rodriguez made his collegiate debut Friday to close things out for the Gators. Rodriguez collected his first strikeout to get the seventh started. He collected another one later on and got Adin Zorn to fly out to end the ballgame.
Up Next
Game 2 of the series begins at 4 p.m. Saturday. You can catch the game on SEC Network+ or listen live at ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.
