The weather was bright and sunny in Knoxville, Tennessee, making it perfect for a day at the ballpark as Florida baseball took its third crack at one of the top teams in the country. After finding itself on the receiving end of its first run rule loss of the season on Saturday, Florida entered Sunday determined to take at least one game against the undefeated Vols in its opening SEC series.
The Volunteers turned to freshman right hander Teagan Kuhns on the bump, looking for their 20th straight victory in Sunday’s matchup. After an explosive afternoon in Saturday’s seven-inning 10-0 routing of the Gators, Tennessee entered Sunday with confidence and its sights set ahead on its first SEC series sweep of the 2025 campaign.
No. 2 Tennessee (20-0, 3-0 SEC) did just that, persevering past a fourth-inning surge from No. 7 Florida (16-5, 0-3) to take a 7-4 win in a dominant showing at the plate.
Kuhns didn’t disappoint in his first SEC start, tossing 2 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit. The freshman’s near-three innings on the mound marked his longest outing of the season thus far, as he also tied his career-high strikeout total of three.
The Volunteers ultimately struck first in the bottom of the third inning, thanks to an RBI groundout by Tennessee sophomore shortstop Dean Curley. Singles from freshmen left fielder Jay Abernathy and catcher Stone Lawless set the stage for Curley’s RBI and showcased the depth of Tennessee’s lineup from top to bottom.
Florida came roaring back in the top of the fourth inning with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. Senior third baseman Bobby Boser’s leadoff drive into left field was dropped by Abernathy and followed by a single from UF junior shortstop Colby Shelton. A walk loaded the bases, allowing senior right fielder Ty Evans to mash in two runs with a double down the left-field line. An RBI fielder’s choice into right field by junior catcher Luke Heyman extended Florida’s lead to 3-1 and left runners on the corners with two outs. From there, Heyman got into a rundown between first and second to become the third out, but not before Evans came across the plate to bring the score to 4-1.
Florida sophomore Jake Clemente initially threw well in his fourth start of the season, despite giving up a run in the third. Nevertheless, his outing was cut short following turbulence in the fourth inning. After three stellar innings of work on the mound, Clemente opened the fourth inning by hitting a batter and walking the next. Sullivan decided he no longer wanted to gamble with the sophomore’s waning control and turned to junior Billy Barlow out of the bullpen.
Barlow walked the first two batters out of the bullpen, allowing Tennessee to answer Florida’s fourth inning explosion with a run of their own. Despite looking shaky early, Barlow forced two groundouts, including a double play, to end the inning and limit the damage to one run.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth, Tennessee junior second baseman Gavin Kilen launched a solo homer to right field off Barlow, cutting Florida’s lead to just one run. Despite Tennessee being known for their deep-ball power, Kilen’s blast was only the Vols’ second home run of the three-game series.
UT sophomore Dylan Loy entered the game in the fifth inning, tossing three innings and tallying five strikeouts for the Volunteers. Loy shut down the Gators in his final three innings of work and grabbed the win, giving him a 3-0 record on the mound this season.
Barlow got himself into trouble in the sixth, walking back-to-back batters with two outs. After losing two batters in 3-2 counts, the junior gave up a two-run RBI double to junior Cannon Peebles, who was pinch hitting for Lawless, as Tennessee took a 5-4 lead.
The Volunteers blew the game open in the eighth inning with a double off the bat of junior DH Dalton Bargo, immediately followed by a two-run home run from Reese Chapman. Chapman’s homer got the Knoxville crowd going and put the game out of reach for the Gators.
Florida struggled to get the bats going past the fourth inning. The Gators had only one hit in the final four innings of the game. Despite getting two runners aboard in the ninth, sophomore Hayden Yost struck out swinging to end the game, securing Tennessee its 20th straight win.
Following Sunday’s tough loss and the weekend’s series sweep, Florida will return home to host Jacksonville on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com and follow him on X at @CuranAhern
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
