Florida Baseball Drops Game 2 Against Homer-Hitting Aggies
Nothing was going to stop No. 7 Texas A&M from swinging freely Saturday — not even Florida pitcher Liam Peterson and Co. The Aggies treated Condron Family Ballpark like batting practice, hitting four home runs in an 8-4 win against the No. 21 Gators.
Right-hander Aiden Sims struck out seven over five innings. Despite Texas A&M’s staff entering with a 4.61 ERA, Sims improved to (8-0) on the season, allowing two runs on four hits.
Florida (29-15, 11-9 SEC) got on the board quickly. In the second inning, senior Blake Cyr launched the first pitch he saw for a solo home run — his 10th of the season, already surpassing last year’s total. Cyr has six home runs and driven in 14 runs in this eight-game hitting streak.
“Wherever I’m playing 9-1, I really don’t care,” Cyr said. “I’m going to stick to my approach and hopefully help my team win as much as possible.”
Peterson has the tools of a MLB first-round pick, featuring a four-pitch mix and the ability to command the strike zone. But it didn’t show Saturday. Entering with a (1-3) record and 3.42 ERA, Peterson allowed seven hits and five runs over five innings, throwing 90 pitches. Three of those hits left the yard for an Aggies lineup that has now hit 85 home runs this season, third best in the SEC.
In the third inning, Peterson poked the bear – giving up a solo homer to Aggie catcher Bear Harrison.
However, Florida answered. Designated hitter Caden McDonald hit his second home run of the season in back-to-back games. It was McDonald’s second consecutive start and third of the year.
“He works so hard, it really is awesome to see,” Cyr said of McDonald’s impact.
Florida’s struggles to finish games continued. After scoring first, the Gators allowed Texas A&M (32-8, 13-6) to score in four consecutive innings. Each of Florida’s last four losses has come after holding a lead.
The offense had chances late but couldn’t capitalize. In both the sixth and seventh innings, Florida stranded runners on first and second with two outs. Strikeouts and groundouts kept the Gators from cutting into a 6-3 deficit.
“There’s some positives to take away from this,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “We’ve got to bring some energy tomorrow, it’s difficult to play from behind.”
Texas A&M put the game away in the ninth when right fielder Jorian Wilson launched a home run over the scoreboard in right, extending the lead to 8-3. One night after allowing just five hits in a win, Florida gave up 15 to an Aggies lineup hitting .307 on the season.
The series finale between the two projected top eight national seeds is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. Florida right-hander Russell Sandefer (2-1, 3.86 ERA) is expected to start. Texas A&M has not announced a starter.
Florida is 2-2 in its last four SEC series, with both recent series losses coming at home. The game will air on SEC Network+ and can be heard on ESPN 98.1 FM/850 AM WRUF starting at 12:55 p.m.
“We need to get off to a fast start offensively, and we need to get a good start from Russ,” O’Sullivan said.
Category: College Baseball, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Baseball
