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Sophomore right-handed pitcher Matthew Jenkins was rolling on the mound after a nearly two-month hiatus due to an arm injury he suffered in March. For a guy who had not pitched in weeks, Jenkins looked good in striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced Tuesday.
On a pitch count, Jenkins faced just 10 batters before being pulled to finish the night with 2.2 scoreless innings. He walked two, struck out seven, and— most importantly — did not allow a hit.
5️⃣-straight Ks for Jenkins!#GoGators // SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/9Izgk5bmwf
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 6, 2025
“To get [Jenkins] back out there and the goal was to get him to 45 pitches, and I think he got right to that mark,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Yeah, he was good tonight.”
Once Jenkins left the game, the rest of the Gators’ pitching staff was not able to pick him up, and the Bulls capitalized. USF scored seven runs on 13 hits to secure the 7-1 victory against Florida at Condron Family Ballpark.
It is Florida’s first midweek loss at home and the first time the Bulls have beaten the Gators since Feb. 23, 2023. Florida (33-17, 11-13 SEC) finishes non-conference play at 22-4.
The Bulls (25-21) hit three straight singles off freshman right-handed pitcher Caden McDonald to begin the fourth inning and take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, freshman infielder Brendan Lawson laced a double in the gap to lead off the fourth. He stole third base and scored on a throwing error to tie the game at 1-1.
https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1919902685630750876
Florida had a chance to take the lead in the fifth when it had runners at first and second with nobody out, but after two failed bunt attempts, junior Ashton Wilson grounded into a double play.
“We had first and second with nobody out and we didn’t get down a bunt, and then we hit into a double play. That was probably the turning point of the game, honestly,” O’Sullivan said.
The Gators were held in check the rest of the way in finishing with just three hits.
From that moment, USF was all gas-no-brakes. The sixth inning started with back-to-back singles off sophomore right-handed pitcher Alex Philpott. Senior outfielder Marcus Brodil hit an RBI double to make it 2-1 before O’Sullivan went to the bullpen and brought sophomore right-handed pitcher Luke McNeillie.
After recording the first out, McNeillie surrendered three more runs that extended USF’s lead to 5-1 before being pulled. Junior right-handed pitcher Billy Barlow struck out the first batter he faced to end the inning. USF tacked on two more runs in the eighth to make it 7-1. In total, Florida used eight pitchers on the night, and despite the hits and runs allowed, it did not issue a single walk.
https://twitter.com/USFBaseball/status/1919913710262300713
“[USF] did a nice job; we didn’t walk anybody, they earned it,” O’Sullivan said. ” Luke [McNeillie] has been our most efficient pitcher coming out of the pen with inherited runners and not scoring, so it was just one of those nights.”
O’Sullivan did not seem too concerned with the outcome, with how well the Gators have been playing as of late. But he did make it clear that it’s important to regroup ahead of its series at No. 1 Texas starting on Friday.
“We’ve been playing so well for like the last month, everything is in front of us,” O’Sullivan said. “I told them at the end of the game we have to have a good practice tomorrow and turn our attention to Texas.”
Up Next
Florida will look deep into the eyes of Texas and do something no other SEC team has done — win a series at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
“[Texas] don’t walk people, they throw a ton of strikes, play really good defense, especially at home with the turf,” O’Sullivan said. “What I’ve seen this year from Texas is they play a really clean brand of baseball, they don’t beat themselves.”
Game 1 in Austin airs on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, while Games 2 and 3 stream on SEC Network+. You can listen to all three-games on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF + WJXL 1010AM.
