Coming into this week, there were two undefeated teams in college baseball: No. 2 Tennessee and No. 5 Florida State, but the Gators had both in sight. In the first matchup, No. 7 Florida (16-3) snapped the Seminole’s perfect 15-game win streak on Wednesday.
In the second leg, UF traveled to Knoxville this weekend to face the reigning national champions in its first SEC series of 2025. Thanks to Florida’s work against the Seminoles, the No. 2 Tennessee Vols (18-0) enter the series as the only NCAA team with an undefeated record.
However, the Vols kept their win streak alive with a 5-3 victory on Friday. Florida will look to make a statement on the road by winning the next two games of their first SEC series.
Sophomore pitcher Liam Peterson made his fifth start of the season for Florida. Through the year so far, his main point of pride has been batters’ inability to hit homers off of him. Tennessee is the Division I leader in home runs, but Peterson escaped homer-free once again.
The Gators held on through the first four innings with a solo home run by junior outfielder Blake Cyr. On the other side of the ball, Peterson’s eight strikeouts helped manage the game.
A shaky start by Peterson in the fifth inning led to Tennessee senior center fielder Hunter Ensley hitting a two-run single. UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan turned to sophomore righty Luke McNellie. By the end of the fifth inning, the Gators were trailing by three.
Florida-native Brody Donay came through at the right time in the sixth inning, much as he has this season. The designated hitter has collected eight home runs, and with the bases loaded, this was a perfect opportunity to strike. Though he didn’t homer, his two-run single brought the Gators back within one.
Junior left-handed pitcher Liam Doyle got the start, but after his pitch count reached 100, things started to slow down. The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week performed well, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, but gave way to his bullpen for the win.
Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello walked to the mound to bring in sophomore Dylan Loy. He lasted 8 pitches before Vitello made another jaunt to the bump, replacing Loy with junior Nate Snead. The transfer from Wichita State notched four strikeouts in the final two innings.
Entering the final inning, the Gators needed two runs to tie. With two outs, junior infielder Justin Nadeau’s base hit brought the tying run to the plate. However, it wasn’t in the cards for the Gators as senior infielder Bobby Boser struck out looking.
Florida will next face the Volunteers again tomorrow at 3:30 p.m ET. Game three of the series will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Contact Brooke Bastedo at brooke.bastedo@gmail.com. Follow her on X @BrookeBastedo.
