No. 7 Florida defeated No. 6 Auburn, 6–3, in the series opener at Condron Family Ballpark, improving to 28–11 (10–6 SEC) with an 8–1 record against top 10 opponents. The Gators are now one game out of first place in the SEC standings.
Aidan King delivered another outing Gator Nation has come to expect from the sophomore: 6.0 innings, one run, three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. His only run allowed came in the first inning, after Florida failed to secure a pop fly that hung in the air for what felt like an eternity.
King didn’t allow a hit after the first inning, retiring 10 straight before issuing back-to-back walks in the fifth.
“He had really good fastball command,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said postgame. It was a short week, and he did exactly what he needed to do.”
The Jacksonville, Florida native has now strung together three straight outings of at least 6.0 innings. His ERA dropped to 1.71 on the season, continuing to establish him as one of the SEC’s top pitchers.
“He’s like a throwback. He just pitches,” O’Sullivan said on King. “Everybody wants to see people throw 97, 98; they get all enamored by that. But 91–94 with command—that’s the reason why he was a Freshman All-American. He throws any pitch at any time, he throws the fastball to both sides, and his misses are small. He’s a pitcher—that’s the best way I can describe it. He never gets rattled. He’s got great poise.”
Blake Cyr’s big fly
The big swing of the game was Blake Cyr’s three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning, a 397-foot bullet that left the bat at 108 mph. Not only did it give Florida an early 4–1 lead, but it also led to Auburn ace Andreas Alvarez being lifted after just 2.1 innings.
This was a huge win for Florida, as Alvarez entered the game with a 6–1 record and a 1.24 ERA this season. After three straight outings of at least six innings, he was held to his shortest start of the year. Alvarez didn’t have his usual command, and Florida took advantage.
Cyr also made a diving grab in the left-center gap in the first inning, preventing multiple runs from scoring.
Florida struggled to find a second big hit of the game, leaving runners in scoring position in every inning through the sixth. But with Aidan King on the mound, six runs are all you need more often than not.
The Gators are set to face another elite arm in Game 2: LHP Jake Marciano, who holds a 3–2 record with a 1.88 ERA.
“This is going to be a very challenging weekend, especially for our hitters, because we’re gonna face as good of a rotation as we’re gonna see all year long,” O’Sullivan said postgame. “I’m sure people say that about us when we’re going good.”
Florida’s bullpen holds on late in Game 1
Auburn made its push in the seventh inning with two runs on four hits off RHP Ricky Reeth, but Ernesto Lugo-Canchola came in to calm the storm, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless ball while striking out two.
Holding a three-run lead in the ninth, Florida turned to closer Joshua Whritenour, who earned his seventh save of the season with a scoreless frame.
While Florida used four pitchers tonight, the three relievers each threw fewer than 20 pitches, setting them up nicely for the final two games of the series.