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The No. 8 Gators secured a 6-2 victory Friday night in front of 7,116 at Condron Family Ballpark to start this highly anticipated state showdown.
Behind a dominant start from right-hander Liam Peterson (3-0) and standout performances from Bobby Boser and Brendan Lawson, Florida (10-0) took control early and never looked back.
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Peterson delivered the longest start by a Gator pitcher this season, going six strong innings, allowing only two runs on four hits while striking out seven. His command on the mound kept the Hurricanes’ lineup in check, setting the tone for the weekend series.
“Last year I really let the innings roll over a lot, so that was a big focus, and I feel like I handled that pretty well tonight,” Peterson said.
Gators Respond
Miami (8-2) struck first in the top of the first inning after an RBI single put the Hurricanes up 1-0. However, Florida responded in the bottom of the second when Luke Heyman drew a bases-loaded walk to even the score at 1-1.
The back-and-forth continued in the top of the third when a wild pitch allowed a Miami runner to score, giving the Hurricanes a 2-1 lead. But Boser quickly erased that deficit in the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Lawson crushed a solo shot to center field to give the Gators their first lead at 3-2.
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“I’m just trying to do my job up at the plate and get the guys going . . . I think we got a lot to prove and I think we’ve done a pretty good job and I’m just happy to be in the middle of it,” Boser said.
Florida Pulls Away
The Gators extended their lead in the sixth with a Yost sacrifice fly that brought home Lawson to make it 4-2. In the seventh, Lawson struck again, this time with an RBI single to score Boser to push the lead to 5-2. Then again in the eighth, Boser drove in Yost with an RBI single to extend the Gators’ lead to 6-2.
Florida tied the series which dates to 1940, 135-135-1.
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Lockdown Bullpen
The Florida bullpen took over and allowed just a single hit the final three innings. Three Gator relievers, Frank Menendez, Luke McNeillie and Alex Philpott pitched an inning each to combine for one hit, no runs, no walks and five strike outs.
“He [Peterson] was outstanding,” said UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who is 42-18 against UM. “He set the tone for the weekend. And what can you say about our bullpen? Everyone came in and did their job. It was a really well-pitched game.”
Up Next
The Gators, whose 10-game winning streak is the team’s longest since winning 16 in a row to open the 2020 season, look to clinch the series Saturday in Game 2 against Miami. First pitch is at 4:30 p.m. (on SEC Network+ and on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF starting at 4:25 p.m.).
