The Florida Gators (10-0) remain unbeaten on the season as a pivotal two-home-run third inning propels the Gators over their in-state rival Miami Hurricanes (8-2) by a score of 6-2 on Friday night at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida.
The Hurricanes got the scoring started quickly in the first inning, as a single from Jake Ogden sent in a run. Florida answered back an inning later with a run of its own, as Miami walked Florida first baseman Brendan Lawson in for the score.
Liam Peterson got the start on the mound for Florida. While he got off to a shaky start, he found his footing as the game continued. Peterson ended his night with seven strikeouts on 95 pitches in six innings.
Following the game, Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan had high praise for his young pitcher.
“In the first inning when they scored, he kept it together,” O’Sullivan said. “He was outstanding. He set the tone for the weekend.”
The offensive action began in the third inning, when the Gators, who were facing a 2-1 deficit, exploded for a two-home-run inning. The first homer was from senior third baseman Bobby Boser, who was the tying run for the Gators. A few batters later, Lawson sent in his own home run, putting the Gators ahead for good.
Boser and Lawson had themselves a night and ultimately set the tone offensively for the Gators moving forward.
Boser, who played his first career game against the in-state rival Hurricanes, had three hits on the night. He emphasized postgame how it felt to play the state-rival Canes for the first time.
“It was the first time I ever played Miami,” he said. “I knew it was a big rivalry coming in. A lot of hype for the game.”
From then on, the Gators never looked back. Florida closed out the game, scoring three more unanswered runs to defeat Miami.
The streaking Gators look to stay undefeated as they continue the home series at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
