Florida's Pitchers Set Season-High Over FSU in Much-Needed Bounce-Back Performance

The No. 23 Florida Gators' pitching staff stole the show during Tuesday's 6-3 win over No. 20 Florida State, combining for a season-high 18 strikeouts and limiting its opponents to just three runs and six hits.

The strikeout total set a new high for the Gators against Florida State this century.

“I’m super proud of the way they pitched, super proud of the way they attacked the zone tonight,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the win.

O’Sullivan handed the ball to several pitchers against the Seminoles, using six pitchers in the contest to get the job done. Furthermore, each pitcher that saw action struck out at least one batter.

More impressively, Gators redshirt freshman Joshua Whritenour, graduate Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, sophomore Jackson Barberi and junior Russell Sandefer recorded the final 11 outs in the game via the strikeout, which caught their head coach by surprise.

“I did not know that,” O’Sullivan said. “I knew we struck out a bunch, but I did not know that.”

that’s a top-20 dub on Tuesday night! 📈 pic.twitter.com/728EKuWEcc
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 11, 2026

Whritenour earned his second save of the year, making quick work of the Seminoles bats. Needing only 22 pitches, he struck out all five batters he faced and did not allow a single base runner in his 1 ⅔ innings on the mound.

The flamethrowing right-hander worked all three pitches in his arsenal, attacking the zone and batter efficiently. His fastball touched triple digits, his slider sped up into the low 90s and his change-up fooled the Seminoles masterfully.

“Attacking people,” Whritenour said, on what is working for the pitching staff. “You know, at the beginning of the year, we kind of noticed that we were going behind. And even preseason, that was a big thing that we worked on, just attacking people. And, I think all of us kind of bought into that, and it seems to be working.”

Barberi, in a similar fashion, controlled the batter’s box in his 1 2/3 innings. He faced six batters, striking out five and walking one. He rebounded well from his last appearance against High Point, effectively mixing in his polished slider with his upper-90s fastball that the Seminoles struggled to catch up to.

“Jackson was outstanding,” O’Sullivan said, “What can you say?”

Straight cheddar 🧀

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Schuyler Sandford, Luke McNeillie and Sandefer were the first three pitchers to throw against Florida State. Sandford started for the Gators. Then, Stanford was trailed by McNeillie, who Sandefer chased out in the fifth. After that, it went Barberi, Lugo-Canchola and Whritenour.

McNeillie and Sandefer had encouraging outings on Tuesday. Both have been inconsistent as they slowly integrate back into the bullpen from injury, but they showed promising signs on the bump against Florida State.

The former pitched 2 ⅔ innings, striking out three and giving up one earned run on three hits and one walk. It is also the longest appearance from the bullpen this season for McNeillie and the second win for him in 2026.

“I thought Luke, his second inning was the best inning he's thrown the entire year,” O’Sullivan said. “He's 95-to-98. 86-to-88 miles an hour slider.”

Meanwhile, Sandefer completed 1 1/3 innings against the Seminoles. He gave up zero runs and struck out two to go along with one hit and two walks. Following the win, O’Sullivan touched on the righty's positive performance, saying he is getting closer to where he wants him, but he is not fully there yet.

The bullpen must maintain this level heading into SEC play, where the talent level dramatically increases, if the Gators want to start on the right foot. The first conference test for the Gators is the South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday at Condron Family Ballpark at 6:30 p.m., a matchup Whritenour is ready for.

“I’m pumped. I’m so excited,” the redshirt freshman said. “The beginning of the season has been fun, but now the real fun starts with the SEC coming up.”