Gators Upset No. 1 Texas, Earn Fifth-Straight Series Win

AUSTIN, Tx.-- The Florida Gators baseball team stayed hot with its fifth-straight series win, taking down the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in two out of the three games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. 

The Gators upset the Longhorns in Game One behind a six-run first inning and Game Three behind a seven-inning, nine-strikeout performance from freshman Aidan King.

Florida now moves to 35-18 overall and 13-14 in conference play, placing them in strong contention for hosting a regional after looking like they would miss the postseason following a 1-11 start in SEC play.

They now will turn their attention to next week when they host Alabama, beginning on Thursday.

Gators Use First Inning to Take Game One

The Gators scored six runs in the first inning off of four hits, four walks and one hit-by pitch in 12 at-bats, eventually leading to an 8-2 win over the Longhorns.

Outfielder Hayden Yost and infielder Justin Nadeau each recorded two RBIs with outfielder Ty Evans adding one of his own. The lone run that did come in not on a hit came from a wild pitch.

Yost finished the night going 3-for-4 with three RBIs.  

On the mound, lefty Pierce Coppola made his second-straight weekend start in his return from injury. As he is still getting back to full strength, he only went two innings against the Longhorns. He struck out three, gave up two hits and hit two batters with 43 total pitches. 

Following him, in order, went Billy Barlow, Jackson Barberi, Luke McNeillie and Christian Rodriguez, who combined for only two runs and struck out 13 batters over the final seven innings. 

"We've put ourselves in the position of being 1-11 [in the SEC] because we weren't throwing strikes. So, it's gratifying for all the coaches that we're starting to turn the corner on the pitching side of things, because offensively, we've been good, for the most part, the entire year," O'Sullivan said.

Weather Interrupts A Strong Start on Saturday 

It was a great start to Game Two for Florida. with ace Liam Peterson putting up a zero in each of the first four innings while only giving up just two hits. 

However, Peterson saw his second-straight start prematurely end due to a weather delay, and Florida's relievers failed to pick up where he left off.

Rodriguez took the mound to begin the restart in the fifth inning and posted a zero in the fifth. However, he led off the sixth by giving up a solo shot. Florida immediately turned to Barberi, who also gave up a solo home run. 

The bleeding didn’t stop there either. The Gators gave up three more runs in the inning, leaving the frame trailing 5-2 before taking the loss.

"Unfortunately, the guys that followed behind him weren't able to throw strikes," O'Sullivan said. "It seemed like every pitch we threw was either off the plate or was down the heart of the plate. We kept working from behind."

A King-Sized Performance in the Finale

Star freshman pitcher Aidan King on Sunday had arguably his best start in his young career with a career-high nine strikeouts in seven innings, the longest outing of his career, while giving up zero runs against the Longhorns.

It started out a little worrisome for King, though. Struggling with command, he put runners on first and second with zero outs in the first inning. He did rebound, though, getting out of the first unscathed. 

After this, he put on cruise control, dealing over the next six frames and keeping his opponent at bay. 

"Yeah, I don't remember a freshman pitching on the road like this and pitching as well as he did, and if it has happened, it hasn't happened in a long time," O'Sullivan said."

Meanwhile, Florida's bats did damage across four separate innings. The offense scored one run in the second, third, sixth and seventh innings. First baseman Brody Donay had the loudest of the four with a solo shot the opposite way that put his team up 3-0 in the sixth inning.

Texas made it interesting late after loading the bases with two outs in the eighth after closer Jake Clemente got two of the first three batters out. 

However, he followed that by walking the next three Longhorns he faced to plate Texas’ first run of the game before a swinging strikeout ended the frame. Clemente eventually closed the game out in the ninth inning, securing a 4-1 victory and the series win.

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