Florida baseball held on for a 2-0 win Friday while battling the Ole Miss Rebels and its inconsistency.

The No. 21 Gators (24-8, 7-4 SEC) are 7-0 against ranked opponents, but have seen all eight of their losses come against unranked opposition. The biggest question entering the series is which Florida team fans will see — but they had to wait to find out Friday.

Lightning in the area delayed the game for two hours. During the delay, Florida’s leading hitter, Brendan Lawson, was taken out of the lineup. Just before the 8:32 p.m. first pitch at Condron Family Ballpark, a new lineup showed Sam Miller at third base and Kolt Myers sliding over to shortstop.

“Brendan took BP (batting practice), seemed fine, followed back up and he did not feel good,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We’re never going to put anyone out there that doesn’t feel 100%.” 

Aidan King began the game for Florida like a pitcher who sat through a two-hour delay, as his second pitch sailed over the catcher’s head. Another wild pitch to the next batter put a runner on second with no outs in the first inning.

However, King found his zone to strike out the next three batters to end the inning to the applause of the 5,911 fans who stayed — still unsure of what Florida team to expect.

Florida needed a fast start after trailing 5-1 heading into the home half of the fifth inning in Thursday’s 6-4 loss, and early on, it got the opportunity Friday. In the first inning, the Gators loaded the bases with two outs, with designated hitter Cole Stanford working a 2-2 count.

But a familiar result followed. Stanford struck out swinging to end the inning. Half the stadium groaned, while the other half exhaled — expecting the outcome.

That moment reinforces how important it is for Florida to capitalize with runners on base, especially with southpaw Hunter Elliott on the mound.

Like Florida, Elliott showed flashes of dominance mixed with inconsistency. He entered the game 3-0 with a 3.72 ERA and leads the team with 51 strikeouts but also 22 walks.

The deadlock broke in the third inning. Cade Kurland hit an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead before Jacob Kendall walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-0.

But again, the good comes with the bad. For the second time in the game, a Florida batter struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Elliott finished four innings, allowing four hits and two runs while walking four and striking out nine.

Even so, Florida begins to show the energy it has been lacking this season. 

Blake Cyr put his body on the line by crashing into the wall to secure a catch and deny extra bases in the seventh.

King pointed toward the Ole Miss dugout after his eighth strikeout ended the seventh inning, and the Florida bench erupted on every strikeout and hit, trying to stay contained in the dugout. King (4-2) pitched a season-high seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out eight against zero walks to lower his ERA to 1.62 on the season.

“It was a performance we needed to have, he was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said about King’s performance. 

It’s was a display of grit, determination and confidence that Florida fans aren’t used to seeing against unranked teams. Still, the Gators didn’t avoid late-game pressure.

Enter Jackson Barberi, last week’s Co-SEC Pitcher of the Week. With runners on first and second and one out in the eighth, the ballpark fell silent. First baseman Will Furniss stepped to the plate for the Rebels. After striking out earlier against King, he mouthed obscenities toward the right-hander on his way back to the dugout. 

The tension built, but Florida responded.

Furniss grounded into the first double play of the game, ending the inning and the Rebels’ chance at a comeback. 

Reliever Joshua Whritenour closed out the game after entering with one out and one on in the ninth to complete the nation-leading seventh shutout of the season for the UF pitching staff and earn his fifth save.

One game won’t change Florida’s issue. The Gators have made a habit of performing well on select days, but the question remains whether they can sustain it.

The real answer may come in the series finale, which begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (SEC Network+, 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF), when Florida right-hander Russell Sandefer (2-1, 4.24 ERA) faces Ole Miss right-hander Cade Townsend (2-1, 1.90).

“This is an important game, this is an important series,” O’Sullivan said. “You’re playing at home, you have to take care of your business, it doesn’t get any easier.”