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Florida defeated Missouri 11-2 Thursday to open the series at Condron Family Ballpark.
For the first time this season, the Gators were the aggressors. Florida (22-14, 2-11 SEC) wasted no time scoring runs early and continued to as the game went on. It was also a good night for the pitching staff, who struck out 13 Missouri Tigers (12-21, 0-13) and gave up just two runs.
Gators First Innings TKO
While most SEC series begin on Friday, the Gators got their weekend going against Missouri on Thursday. It did not take long for Florida to jump on the Tigers. In the bottom of the first, Brendan Lawson got it going with an RBI single to get Florida on the board 1-0. Luke Heyman then blasted a three-run home run to make it 4-0. Florida hit back-to-back up homers with Blake Cyr going deep to make it 5-0, and Hayden Yost singled and scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-0.
Luke Hey with a @TheMasters drive! ⛳#GoGators // SECN pic.twitter.com/KPgnCdXqtG
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 10, 2025
Heyman said it was important for Florida to get back to the Gators’ standard of being the aggressors early on in ballgames.
“They say as soon as you get here, we’re the aggressive team, we’re going to put pressure on everybody,” Heyman said. “Us getting back to that is really what we needed.”
After a first-inning spree, Missouri got off the mat in the third. The inning started with back-to-back doubles from Chris Patterson and Peyton Basler. Patterson scored on the Basler double and Basler came around and scored on a bases-loaded walk. Gators starting pitcher Liam Peterson (5-2) managed to get out of the inning after striking out Missouri’s five and six-hole hitters. Florida still led 6-2 after two.
“I don’t know what exactly it was, but it seemed he just didn’t have the same command that he usually does,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said.
Missouri freshman pitcher Brady Kehlenbrink (0-3) settled in by retiring eight of his final nine hitters he faced. Kehlenbrink only went three innings before Brock Lucas took over in the fourth.
The final line on Kehlenbrink: three innings, six hits, six runs, two walks and four strikeouts.
Florida Adds On
It was an outing Lucas would like to have back. He gave up a double and two walks to load the bases before Heyman singled to make it 7-2. Landon Stripling pinched hit for Brody Donay after he struck out twice and delivered a two-run single to extend the lead to 9-2.
After battling in the third, Peterson bounced back with back-to-back shutout innings and retired the final six guys he faced. With his pitch count at 91, Peterson did not come back out in the sixth.
The final line on Peterson: Five innings, five hits, two runs, four walks and seven strikeouts.
“I thought the third inning was pretty terrible, but for the most part, still two runs in five innings, would’ve liked to go six, but that third inning kind of killed the outing,” Peterson said.
Caden McDonald came out for the sixth inning and retired the side on nine pitches. Lucas settled in for Missouri with back-to-back shutout innings and kept the deficit at seven. McDonald came out for the top of the seventh, but was pulled after a one-out base hit to put two Missouri base-runners on.
Billy Barlow was the next Gators’ pitcher to take the mound. An error on Lawson at first base loaded the bases for Missouri. A line out and a ground out to second got Barlow and the Gators out of the inning with their 9-2 lead still intact.
Gators Finish off the Tigers
In the bottom of the seventh with two on and one out, Colby Shelton hit one off the right field wall for a two-run double. With the Gators now leading 11-2, Shelton represented the winning run on second base. However, Lucas struck out Cyr to end the inning and extended the Tigers’ chances into the eighth. Barlow struck out two in a clean eighth inning.
Two-run double for SHELTON! ✌️#GoGators // SECN pic.twitter.com/GM0yRkF7xu
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 11, 2025
Florida went down quietly in the bottom half of the inning, which brought this one to the ninth. Christian Rodriguez took the mound for Florida looking to close this one out. Rodriguez slammed the door on the Tigers with three strikeouts. It is the first time Florida has won the first game of an SEC series.
“I fairly believe that we’re gonna get this thing turned around, I really do,” O’Sullivan said. “I feel a lot better now than I did a week ago, because we can all agree that we found the guy at the end of the game. We got two really quality starters and hopefully, we can develop a third.”
Up Next
Florida will look to clinch their first SEC series of the year Friday. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network+ and also live on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM. The scheduled starting pitchers are RHP Aidan King (3-1, 3.12 ERA) and RHP Kaden Jacobi (2-4, 9.93).
