Gators Take Series Over Tide

“I don't know if I've, we've had some great wins here, but you know how gutsy of a win this was for our team because we easily could have folded the tent,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I'm awfully proud of the team the way they battled, like I said, they could have easily just thrown in the towel, right? But they continued to persevere through it.”

However, Florida's victory didn't come without a loss as the Gators lost catcher Luke Heyman for the season after the junior suffered a fractured forearm after being hit by a pitch in the first inning. Florida also saw infielder Justin Nadeau depart from the game with a finger injury, although he isn't expected to miss significant time.

Game Two (Fri.): Alabama 9, Florida 6

While lefty Pierce Coppola dominated early with 10 strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings and the Gators held a 2-0 lead after the second inning, Alabama surged back to take a 7-2 lead after a five-run fifth inning. Two more in the ninth gave the Crimson Tide a 9-2 lead heading into the final frame for Florida.

"The whole goal is that we could get him to a point where we get five innings out of him out of a start," O'Sullivan said of Coppola's start, his third appearance since returning from injury. "I think that's great, obviously going to help us moving forward."

The Gators did make a slight comeback, thanks in large part to a two-run double from Bobby Boser, but it wasn't enough as the Crimson Tide got the win.

Game Three (Sat.): Florida 9, Alabama 3

The Gators struck early as freshman Aidan King struck out his first two batters faced while Boser and Donay each hit a home run in the first inning to give Florida a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Florida would continue to pour on the runs.

Evans smacked a home run in the third, Landon Stripling plated one with a single in the fourth and the Gators scored five runs in the fifth with two runs plated off a single from Boser.

Meanwhile, King was simply dominant in the regular season finale with eight strikeouts and only one earned run despite six hits in 6 1/3 innings pitched.

"Truly remarkable, honestly, to keep his composure like that," O'Sullivan said of King. "He's shown time and time again that he's beyond his years with his maturity."

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