The Florida Gators baseball team is looking to stay hot in a crucial road SEC series at Mississippi State this weekend. Florida enters the series carrying an active five game winning streak, which includes a win over No.9 FSU, a sweep of Missouri, and a run-rule victory over Stetson on Tuesday night.
All three games of the set will be broadcasted on linear television, beginning with Friday night’s 8 p.m. ET opener on SEC Network. ESPN will cover game two on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET while Sunday’s finale airs on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. ET.
Entering their 6th conference series, Florida holds a 25-14 (4-11 SEC) record on the 2025 season. After a critical sweep of Missouri, the Gators put themselves back in the mix for an NCAA Tournament bid. However, with SEC series vs No.1 Texas and No.2 Arkansas on the schedule, it’s imperative that Florida finds wins against lesser competition.
Enter Mississippi State, a ballclub that sits one game ahead of Florida in the conference standings with a 5-10 SEC record. Very much like the Gators, Mississippi State is looking to build their resume for the NCAA Tournament. There’s still a lot of baseball left, but the loser of this series will face a long, uphill battle for a postseason bid while the winner puts themselves in a position to make some noise. Florida needs to grab at least 12 conference wins to give themselves a shot. If the Gators can get 13 SEC wins, they’ll feel pretty good about their chances. That means Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad needs to finish 8-7 or 9-6 the rest of the way. With the Bulldogs being one of the easier teams Florida will face the rest of the way, this is another must win series.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: RHP Liam Peterson (5-2, 3.63 ERA) vs LHP Pico Kohn (4-1, 3.26)
Saturday: RHP Aidan King (4-1, 2.68 ERA) vs RHP Evan Siary (0-1, 3.91 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs RHP Karson Ligon (3-4, 5.13 ERA)
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State got off to a slow start in conference play with three consecutive series losses to Texas, Oklahoma, and LSU, all three of which are ranked inside the top 20 of D1 Baseball’s latest poll. The Bulldogs have won two SEC series in a row, however, defeating a rather poor South Carolina team two of three games and taking down No.15 Alabama in the rubber match on the road. The Bulldogs may only have five conference wins, but they’ve played in some really close games against some of the best teams in the SEC.
It all starts on Friday night when the Gators face a tough left hander in Pico Kohn. The 6’4, 200-pound senior holds an impressive 3.26 ERA with a 4-1 record to match. Kohn has done an incredible job of keeping Mississippi State in every game this season, only allowing more than three earned runs once in a start this year. That start came against No.1 Texas where Kohn allowed four earned runs across six innings. Kohn has also shown the ability to work efficiently, as highlighted by his 0.95 WHIP. Kohn had a five week stretch in the middle of the season where he pitched at least 6.0 innings and has only thrown less than five innings one time. Kohn has electric swing and miss stuff, posting 70 strikeouts across 49.2 innings pitched. The hard throwing lefty has a fastball that sits in the mid 90’s that he can locate to all parts of the plate and a breaking ball that draws a ton of swing and miss. Kohn has walked just 12 batters this season, and impressive stat given his high strikeout numbers. Kohn vs Peterson on Friday night will be a battle, one that may decide the outcome of the series.
Kohn isn’t the only pitcher Florida needs to worry about. The Bulldogs hold a team ERA of 3.65 which ranks 10th in all of college baseball. Mississippi State has a number of bullpen arms they can turn. While MSU doesn’t have a designated closer, they have three guys with two saves each, all posting less than a 3.2 ERA. As a staff, Mississippi State has allowed just 31 home runs. For comparison, the Gators have allowed 42. This is a pitching staff that throws strikes, strikes you out, and limits the home run ball, a recipe for success in the SEC.
Offensively, Mississippi State holds a respectable .301 batting average, slightly ahead of Florida’s .299 BA. They’ve also launched 58 home runs, which ranks 25th in the country. The Gators have hit 61 this season. The Bulldogs aren’t a team you have to worry about on the base paths, stealing just 36 bags this season.
By looking at just the numbers, it seems as if Mississippi State should be way better than 5-10 in conference play. That’s because the Bulldogs have played in a ton of close games with some really good teams. MSU was swept by No.1 Texas despite only being outscored by six runs across three games. The Bulldogs are just 2-5 in SEC games decided by two runs or less this season.
It’s a difficult task going into Starkville and taking a series, but Florida is playing with more confidence than they have all season. With their backs against the wall, the Gators are looking to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a series win over Mississippi State.