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No. 23 Vanderbilt shut out Florida in the SEC series opener 6-0 Friday at Condron Family Ballpark.
A combination of great pitching, timely hitting and the same bullpen woes were the difference. It is the first time Florida (20-12, 1-9 SEC) has been shutout at home since April 23, 2022, when they lost to Tennessee 3-0.
Commodores Get To Florida
Liam Peterson (4-2) took the mound for the Gators looking to bring stability to a struggling pitching staff. Peterson worked hard to get out of the first unscathed when Vanderbilt had runners on the corners with two outs. After a clean second inning, Peterson ran into two-out trouble in the third.
With a runner on first, Vanderbilt center fielder RJ Austin crushed a ball to left center field. It appeared that center fielder Hayden Yost was there to make the play, but could not corral the catch, allowing the speedy Austin to reach third with an RBI triple. Peterson did get out of the inning by just giving up just the one run.
RJ ⚡️@RjAustin14 pic.twitter.com/40aryQeS0K
— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) April 4, 2025
Austin got to Peterson again in the fifth inning, this time an RBI double with two outs. Vanderbilt did not stop there as they followed up the Austin double with an RBI single from Riley Nelson to make it 3-0. Peterson came back out for the sixth, but coach Kevin O’Sullivan pulled him after he gave up a single and recorded a strikeout.
Peterson’s final line was 5 1/3 innings, five hits, three earned runs, five walks and six strikeouts.
Jacob Gomberg was called into relief of Peterson in the sixth. After walking the first batter he faced on four pitches, Gomberg was yanked. Jake Clemente got the call to get Florida out of a sixth-inning jam. Clemente walked the first batter to load the bases, but recovered by striking out the next two hitters to escape the bases-loaded jam. Clemente worked a scoreless seventh inning before being pulled in the eighth after a leadoff walk. Christian Rodriguez was the next pitcher for Florida.
Unfortunately, Rodriguez could not get out of the eighth. After striking out his first batter, he allowed a walk and an RBI single to Mike Mancini to make it 4-0. Jackson Barberi became the fifth Gator to take the mound. With runners on second and third and only one out, Barberi struck out Austin. However, the next hitter he saw was Nelson, who delivered a two-run single to make it 5-0. Barberi did work a clean ninth inning, allowing one hit but nothing more.
It was another rough night for this pitching staff, who struck out 15 batters but walked 10. You are not going to win baseball games when that happens.
“I thought Liam’s start was pretty good, but once again the 10 walks, I’ve never quite seen anything like this,” O’Sullivan said.
Vanderbilt Pitching Blanks Gators
The bats were late to the party again for Florida. It was in due part to Vanderbilt’s left-handed starting pitcher JD Thompson. Through the first three innings, the Gators had one real opportunity to get on the board and that was in the third inning after a one-out single from Bobby Boser. Colby Shelton laced one down the right-field line. It looked like the Gators were about to have runners on the corners with one out. But a bad base-running error from Shelton left him dead to rights at second base trying to stretch a single into a double. And just like that the threat was over and Florida came away with no runs.
O’Sullivan was asked whether Shelton did get the sign to go there and it was a quick “No.”
“The ball is in front of him and obviously he made a decision he probably would want to take back,” O’Sullivan said.
In the fifth, Florida threatened again. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Justin Nadeau bunted to get the runners over. But he hit it right back to Thompson, who got the lead runner. Vandy coach Tim Corbin pulled Thompson after he struck out Boser. Miller Green (1-2) came in to close out the inning and did just that, striking Shelton out on three pitches.
Thompson finished the night going 4 2/3 innings pitched, four hits, no runs, two strikeouts and three walks.
Things did not get better when Sawyer Hawks entered in the sixth. Hawks got through the sixth, seventh and eighth with ease. At one point setting down seven in a row. He did allow back-to-back singles in the ninth, but bounced back with three straight strikeouts to end the game.
Up Next
Florida will look to bounce back Saturday in Game 2 of the three-game series and avoid dropping its fourth consecutive SEC series. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. You can watch live on SEC Network+ or listen in at ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM.
The Gators are expected to start righty Aidan King (3-1, 3.03 ERA), while Vandy goes with right-hander Cody Bowker (2-1, 2.78). No starters have been announced for Sunday’s noon start (SEC Network).
