It didn’t take long for Florida to get the bats going on Thursday night. The Gators scored five runs before recording their first out in the bottom of the first inning. That included back-to-back home runs from junior catcher Luke Heyman and left fielder Blake Cyr that quickly put the game out of reach.
Florida (22-14, 2-11 SEC) took care of business against Missouri (12-21, 0-13) at Condron Ballpark, winning 11-2 to secure its first home victory in conference play this season.
After a walk and a single to begin the first, freshman first baseman Brendan Lawson continued his hot hitting with an RBI single down the left-field line to put Florida ahead 1-0. Heyman then blasted a three-run homer onto the berm in left field. It was his seventh long ball of the season and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
“[Heyman’s] been swinging the bat really well since the Ole Miss series,” UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “And he’s been catching really good. I think that’s probably one of the most underrated parts of his game.”
Cyr followed Heyman’s homer with a no-doubt shot of his own. Later in the inning, sophomore center fielder Hayden Yost scored the sixth and final run of the frame on a wild pitch after getting aboard with a single.
Florida cracked the scoreboard again in the fourth. It started with a double down the left-field line from senior third baseman Bobby Boser before two straight walks loaded the bases. Heyman then drove in another run with a single to left field. Two batters later, sophomore designated hitter Landon Stripling provided a pinch-hit two-run single that bounced off the first baseman’s glove, bringing home the third tally of the frame.
In the seventh inning, junior second baseman Justin Nadeau and Boser hit back-to-back one-out singles. Junior shortstop Colby Shelton followed with a two-RBI double off the right-field wall, putting the Gators within one run of a mercy rule.
On the pitching side, sophomore right-hander Liam Peterson started on the mound for Florida. He was on point for most of his outing, but struggled in the third inning.
He surrendered back-to-back doubles to the eight- and nine-hole hitters in Missouri’s lineup to open the frame, allowing the Tigers’ first run to score. The second eventually came across on a bases-loaded walk. Peterson bounced back with two consecutive strikeouts to end the frame.
He threw two more innings, allowing just one baserunner while striking out three more. The 6-foot-5 flamethrower’s night was done after 91 pitches in five innings of work. He finished with seven punchouts, but allowed five hits and four walks. Peterson earned the victory and is now 5-2 on the season with a 3.63 ERA.
“We talk about rebound runs a lot,” Peterson said. “So just going out there, put up a zero and just hold the momentum. That was a good part of the outing, going out there, still putting up two zeros after something like that.”
O’Sullivan brought in redshirt freshman right-hander Caden McDonald in the sixth inning to replace Peterson. He worked a one-two-three frame using only nine pitches. In the seventh, he gave up a leadoff walk on four pitches and a single before being taken out.
The next man out of the Florida bullpen was redshirt junior righty Billy Barlow. The first batter he faced reached on an error by Lawson, which loaded the bases with one out. But Barlow escaped the jam, securing a lineout and a groundout to get out the inning scoreless.
He tossed a scoreless eighth, working around one hit-by-pitch. Barlow was replaced in the ninth after 1 2/3 hitless innings, allowing just one runner to reach. He struck out four batters in the outing.
“He looked very much in control tonight,” O’Sullivan said. “His delivery looked like it was not a whole lot of effort.”
Florida brought in redshirt freshman right-hander Christian Rodriguez to close it out. He went on to sit three batters on strikes to lock down the victory for the Gators. UF’s pitchers struck out 13 in total.
“It was a game we needed, obviously, to get off on the right foot for the weekend,” O’Sullivan said.
After its blowout win to begin the weekend, Florida will look to secure its first SEC series victory of the season on Friday against Missouri. UF will have freshman righty Aidan King on the mound against the Tigers. He is 3-1 with a 3.12 ERA so far in his rookie campaign. First pitch in Gainesville is scheduled for 6:30 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.
