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Saturday, February 15, 2025

After relaxing while Hudson Randall pitched a gem Friday night, the Gators’ stout bullpen flexed its muscles the rest of the weekend.

No. 3 Florida (24-5, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) rode its relievers to a sweep of Tennessee (19-9, 2-7 SEC), winning 9-1 on Sunday afternoon in McKethan Stadium.

For the second straight day the Gators’ pen put out the fire, throwing four innings of relief, including three huge outs from Tommy Toledo in the sixth.

“Tommy did a great job of stepping up and getting the guys out today,” junior right fielder Preston Tucker said. “One thing about our bullpen is we got guys that will come in and do the job, so we know all we need to do is score a few runs and we’ll get the ‘W.’”

Protecting a slim 1-0 lead, Toledo relieved freshman starter Karsten Whitson with no outs and runners on second and third.

With the infield in, the junior right-hander induced a groundout to third before nailing a runner at the plate on an athletic, bare-handed scoop on a swinging bunt. 

“That’s the first time I’ve ever made that play in a game,” Toledo said. “There was really no other play I had.”

After inducing a flyout to escape the jam, Florida responded with eight runs on nine hits in the sixth and seventh innings.

“Right after that, we had the momentum on our side,” Toledo said. “Once we get the momentum, we’re tough to beat.”

Mike Zunino and Tucker hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the sixth as UF scored three runs in the inning. 

Using a barrage of singles in the seventh, Florida pounded two Tennessee relievers for five runs, including two scorching run-scoring knocks by Austin Maddox (3 for 3, two RBIs) and Nolan Fontana (2 for 4, two RBIs).

Fontana had a monster weekend, as UF’s shortstop was its top run producer, driving in eight on six hits. Florida’s leadoff hitter has 23 RBIs on the season, tied for tops on the team.

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Whitson made his seventh start of the year, tossing five scoreless innings before being lifted with two on in the sixth.

The flamethrower struggled early, walking the bases loaded in the second inning before baring down and escaping trouble. Whitson scattered five hits and didn’t walk another batter after the second while striking out six for the game.

“He’s a power pitcher,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Sometimes you get some walks in there, but with power guys, you get strikeouts. I thought he threw the ball good, but most importantly, he battled through that second inning.”

The Gators’ pitching dominated the SEC’s top-hitting team all series, as Randall tossed a four-hit shutout in Friday night’s 3-0 victory before Brian Johnson and Anthony DeSclafani limited the Volunteers to just two runs on four hits in Saturday’s 11-2 blowout.

“Anthony [DeSclafani] yesterday was outstanding, and I thought Toledo was equally as good today,” O’Sullivan said.

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