The “Sunshine Showdown” is always competitive and brings out the emotions, no matter what surface it's played on. Florida first took the rivalry matchup over Florida State on the hardwood on Nov. 15, then won on the gridiron on Nov. 30. On Tuesday, UF completed this year’s three-sport trifecta, as it dominated the Seminoles on the diamond.
The No. 7 Gators (16-2) leveled No. 5 Florida State (15-1) in Tallahassee 7-2, handing FSU its first loss of the year while snapping their three-game losing streak against the Seminoles dating back to last season.
Redshirt junior right-hander Billy Barlow got the start for the Gators against their rivals. The Clemson transfer tossed only three innings in his fifth appearance for Florida. After breezing through the first 2 2/3, Barlow was hit by a 101 mph comebacker on his right shoulder. He finished the inning, but did not come back out in the fourth.
He allowed just three hits and no walks with two strikeouts. It is unclear if he was replaced because of the hard-hit ball. With two weekend starters, redshirt sophomore righty Jake Clemente and redshirt junior southpaw Pierce Coppola, already having missed time for Florida in recent weeks, another injury to the pitching staff is not something Florida fans want to see.
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan turned to true freshman right-hander Jackson Barberi to replace Barlow. The Snellville, Georgia, native didn’t allow any runs through his first five career outings, but was tagged for one on Tuesday. FSU junior second baseman Drew Faurot hit an opposite-field solo home run in the fifth inning, accounting for Barberi’s only earned run on the day.
He tossed three innings of one-hit ball, tallying three punchouts. Barberi threw just 39 pitches before being replaced by sophomore righty Luke McNeillie. The latter threw two scoreless innings, giving up just one hit and one walk with four strikeouts.
Sophomore right-hander Alex Philpott closed out Florida’s victory in the ninth. He gave up the second Florida State solo homer of the game to freshman first baseman Myles Bailey. That was the only blemish for Philpott, as he swiftly finished the job for Florida from there.
The Gators opened the scoring in the second inning, as junior catcher Luke Heyman grounded an RBI single up the middle. Heyman finished the night with a pair of hits, marking his second two-hit performance in his last three outings.
Florida struck for three more in the fifth, swinging the momentum in its favor. Senior right fielder Ty Evans brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly. Later in the frame, junior center fielder Justin Nadeau drove in the second of the three runs with a bouncer that careened off the first-base bag into right field for a run-scoring double. Then, junior shortstop Colby Shelton brought him home with a liner to center field to cap off the inning.
Shelton did more damage two innings later, as he blasted a 419-foot two-run long ball to left-center field. This long ball, his second homer of the year, put the game out of reach for the Seminoles. He went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and reached base four times in Florida’s victory.
UF and FSU will square off twice more this season, but the Gators will first turn their attention to the final undefeated team in college baseball: the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers (17-0). Florida will head to Knoxville this weekend to begin SEC play, with game one of the series on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
Contact Hugh Green at hgreen@alligator.org. Follow him on X @HGreen_15.
Hugh is the Spring 2025 baseball beat reporter for The Alligator. He is a fourth-year journalism sports and media major. In his free time, Hugh enjoys watching all kinds of sports with his friends.
