Florida baseball picked up a monumental victory over No.5 Arkansas on Friday night, defeating the Razorbacks 6-4 in game one of a critical three game set. The Gators improved to 29-15 (7-12 SEC) and have won nine of their last ten games.
Heroic effort from Liam Peterson
Florida’s ace Liam Peterson was simply outstanding vs one of the better offenses in the country, striking out a career high 13 batters in 6.0+ innings pitched. Peterson allowed a pair of solo shots early but settled down and fired four consecutive scoreless innings. At 105 pitches, Peterson trotted back out for the 7th inning after convincing head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. Unfortunately, Peterson walked the leadoff batter after a great battle with Gabe Fraser. RHP Luke McNeillie entered the game and allowed a two-run home run, which gave Peterson his third earned run of the game.
Peterson walked just two batters across six innings and a career high 114 pitches. O’Sullivan has preached the importance of getting six innings out of your starters, and Peterson was able to do that on Friday night. Not only did Peterson’s heroic effort win Florida the game, but it sets them up nicely for the remainder of the series.
“He was special tonight,” O’Sullivan said on Peterson. “He pitched extremely well. Obviously gave up a couple of solo home runs in the first and second. He was special.”
The improvement in maturity has gone a long way for Peterson on the mound, who has found a way to fight through difficult situations this season.
“Liam was up to 50 pitches after two innings, for him to hold it together for the next four, I mean it just tells you a lot about his maturity.”
Offense stayed the course
Arkansas starter Zach Root was outstanding the first time through the Gators order, allowing just one hit across three innings. Root had a perfect game through 2.2 innings before Justin Nadeau singled up the middle. Root is a very effective pitcher with a unique delivery that makes it difficult for opposing offenses to pick up his pitches. Florida’s bats were off balance early, striking out six times across three innings.
“Root was as good early as we’ve seen all year long. He had all four pitches working,” O’Sullivan said on Root’s start. “First time through the lineup he was really sharp.”
Everything changed from that point forward. The Gators worked 52 pitches over the next 1.1 innings to knock Root out of the game. Florida was able to string together quality at bats to score four runs in the 5th inning. One batter after Root’s exit, Luke Heyman blasted a three-run home run to left field, giving Florida a 6-2 lead.
It’s not easy to bounce back after three shutdown innings, but Florida’s offense stayed the course and came up big when it mattered most.
Jake Clemente’s eight out save
Florida’s closer Jake Clemente entered the game in the 7th inning with a runner on first and one out, looking for the eight out save. Not only did Clemente record the eight out save, but he didn’t allow a single base runner in the process. Clemente looked comfortable on the mound, working ahead in the count by landing both his fastball and slider for strikes. Clemente fanned three batters in his 2.2 innings pitch.
The best part of Clemente’s outing, outside of earning the save, was his efficiency having thrown just 31 pitches in nearly three innings. This sets him up for an inning or two on Sunday shall Florida need him. Florida has found their closer in Jake Clemente, which is a critical piece to any successful college baseball team.
Florida can take the series with a win over Arkansas tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.