Florida pitcher Pierce Coppola (18) yells at the umpire as the Florida Gators face the Miami Hurricanes on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla. (Matthew Lewis/WRUF)

5 Keys For Florida Baseball At Tennessee This Weekend

Hunter DeLauder March 14, 2025 Baseball, College Baseball, Feature Sports News, Gators Baseball, SEC 78 Views

The No. 7 Florida Gators visit the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville this weekend to open conference play. It should be one of the most intriguing matchups this season in the SEC when the two heavyweights of the sport enter the field.

Tennessee (17-0) is the last undefeated team in college baseball. The Vols are the reigning SEC and national champions who might even be better this year. Florida (16-2) already took down Florida State on Tuesday, knocking it down from the undefeated ranks. So how can the Gators keep it rolling and win a pivotal series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium that starts Friday?

Here are the five biggest keys for Florida to beat Tennessee this weekend.

1. Steal Game One

Game 1 Friday night is a must-win for Florida. It might be the best pitching matchup of the year, with Florida right-hander Liam Peterson (4-0) and Tennessee’s left-hander Liam Doyle (3-0). These are two of the best pitchers in college baseball, which means runs will be at a premium. Doyle has a 0.44 ERA with 47 Strikeouts in 20 1/3  innings pitched. Doyle has only allowed six hits this season. The only run he allowed was a solo home run.

The offense will need to find a way to scratch a couple of runs against Doyle and knock him out of the game as soon as possible. The longer he stays in the game, the worse it gets for the Gators. With the injuries starting to mount in the pitching rotation, being able to steal the first game would be critical for the rest of the weekend. It gives Florida some wiggle room on Saturday to lose that one and bounce back on Sunday with a chance to win the series.

2. Peterson and King Need to Show Up

If Florida wants to hang around with the Volunteers, they will need their dynamic 0ne-two punch at pitcher to show up. Peterson and freshman RHP Aidan King (3-0) have been excellent this year. Peterson enters with a 0.68 ERA with 34 strikeouts in just 21 innings. King, who started the year as a midweek reliever, will be in line for his second career start Saturday. In 16 1/3 innings pitched, King has a 0.55 ERA, with 20 strikeouts.

Even with how good the bullpen has been, it’s still an inexperienced group heading into hostile territory to take on one of the toughest lineups in baseball. It will be critical that Florida can count on its starters to eat some innings and not put it all on the relievers.

For Peterson, it’s about staying composed and not overthinking. It’s something he worked on getting better at after struggling with it last season. A confident Peterson is a dangerous one. For King, it’s all about not letting the moment get the best of him. He cannot afford to get overwhelmed, because the team he’s facing and their fans will let him know about it.

3. Score Early and Often

Along with the pitching needing to show up, the bats do too. At times this season, it has taken Florida a couple of innings to get going. A slow start in this series will lead to disaster. Tennessee has one of the best offenses in the country. They’re No. 1 in home runs (50), No. 2 in runs scored (203) and is  averaging 11.9 runs per game. The Volunteers also have 11 guys hitting more than .300 and three more than .400. Digging a hole against this team is not optional.

The bats have to come alive and set the tone, similar to the Florida State game. Plus it helps with maintaining the momentum and forces Tennessee to do something its hasn’t had to do all year, play catch-up. It also can force coach Tony Vitello to use his bullpen faster than he would like, which in a series like this, it might be whose bullpen can last longer.

4. Need the Home Run Ball

Tennessee can hit a lot of home runs. But so can Florida. While not at the rate of the Volunteers, the Gators can put a drive into one when need be. Florida comes into the series with 29 and has some dudes in the lineup who can add to those totals. Let’s see if Brody Donay, Bobby Boser, Brendan Lawson and Colby Shelton can all have big weekends. The four have combined for 75% of the home runs hit this season, with Donay leading the group with eight.

Lindsey Nelson Stadium is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in America. There’s a reason Tennessee broke the home run record last season, the stadium doesn’t hold a baseball very long. It must be an area Florida attacks and takes advantage of.

5. Heyman is the Wild Card

Luke Heyman has struggled against Tennessee. In the previous two series against the Volunteers in 2023 and 2024, Heyman is 2-18 with a home run. But it feels like someone other than the names mentioned above has to start producing a little bit more. Maybe it’s the third times a charm for Heyman, who is hitting .267 on the year with two homers and nine RBIs. He does have four hits in his last three games.

Up Next

Game 1 begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. You can catch the game live on SEC Network+ or listen in at ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF + WJXL 1010-AM starting a 6:25 p.m. Saturday’s game is set for 6 p.m. (SECN) and Sunday it’s at 1 p.m. (SECN+).

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