Sophomore right-hander Liam Peterson made the SEC All-Freshman Team last season, but he had previously never had a start like he did on Friday. The 6-foot-5 flamethrower fanned a career-high 11 batters en route to an opening night victory for the Gators.
“I just wanted to pound the zone,” Peterson said. “I didn’t want to beat myself, and that was the goal going into it. At the end of the day, I just pounded the zone. Usually, when you do that, good stuff happens.”
The No. 10 Florida Gators took down the Air Force Falcons 7-0 at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night to secure their first season-opening shutout since 2014.
Neither team could muster much offense through the first two innings, as Peterson was dealing for the Gators. He tossed a 1-2-3 first with two strikeouts, then gave up a leadoff double in the second before gettingout of the jam with back-to-back punchouts.
“Liam certainly set the tone,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “The one situation where they had the runner on third with one out and got the big strikeout to keep the game tied at zero gave us a chance to turn it around in the next inning.”
Peterson found his groove in the third, as he struck out the side and was one pitch away from an immaculate inning. This frame from Peterson may have gotten the rest of the Gators fired up, as they came out swinging in the bottom of the inning.
On the first pitch of the bottom of the third, junior catcher Brody Donay blasted a 406-foot bomb over the left-field wall. It was the first pitch he saw of the season, and he did not miss it.
“I just tried to go up there and just have calm nerves and have fun with it,” Donay said.
The scoring onslaught continued from there, as later in the inning, senior third baseman Bobby Boser lined one to left that plated junior left fielder Blake Cyr. Two batters later, junior second baseman Cade Kurland brought home two more Gator runs with a single up the middle.
Florida got on the board once again in the fifth, as it put up three more runs to drag the game out of reach. With the bases loaded and no outs, senior right fielder Ty Evans secured a bases-loaded walk to score a run. Kurland followed that up with a liner to left field that plated one, while Heyman subsequently grounded into a double play to bring home the third run of the frame and the seventh of the game for the Gators. Kurland went 2-for-4 on the night with a team-high 3 RBIs.
Peterson continued his dominance in his second half of work, as he struck out four more Falcons in his final three innings of scoreless ball.
The sophomore ace finished his night after six shutout innings, giving up just two hits and one walk while striking out 11 batters. He used just 74 pitches, as he maintained his efficiency all night.
“His stuff was outstanding,” Donay said of Peterson’s night. “I mean, if he can continue to do that and just be able to pound the zone like he did, he’s gonna have a great year. He’s our guy, and we want him to do that and be successful every weekend.”
The Gators turned to redshirt freshman right-hander Caden McDonald and true freshman righty Jackson Barberi to toss the final three frames. McDonald threw two innings, giving up one hit and one walk with three strikeouts. This marked McDonald’s first career appearance after missing all of last year due to Tommy John surgery.
Barberi closed out the game with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, fanning two more. Florida’s pitching staff totaled 16 punchouts on the night, which is the most in a season-opener this century.
The Gators will go for the series sweep to open the season on Saturday against Air Force. Due to weather concerns on Sunday, the Gators and Falcons will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET at Condron Family Ballpark. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Jake Clemente will start on the mound in Game 1, and redshirt junior southpaw Pierce Coppola will get the ball in Game 2.
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.
