Gators Run-Ruled, Lose Series Vs. Tennessee

A nine-run seventh inning from the Volunteers led to Florida dropping its second-straight game against Tennessee.

The Florida Gators have officially lost its first series of the season after dropping two-straight to Tennessee. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustratedd

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.-- The Florida Gators on Saturday only trailed by one against Tennessee after six innings of tremendous work from freshman pitcher Aidan King, who struck out six batters against only four hits and one walk.

However, a nine-run seventh inning from the Volunteers capped off by a three-run home run from Reese Chapman sealed a run-rule loss for the Gators, 10-0, and the series win for Tennessee.

In his second-straight Saturday start and first SEC start, King stifled multiple pushes from the Volunteers offense early. A leadoff double in the second inning led to a run for Tennessee, but with a runner on third, the freshman struck out a batter to end the inning. He went on to pitch four-straight scoreless innings with only one hit allowed in that span.

"It was a really weird game. Of course, we pitched really well the first six innings, gave up one run. For his first road start in the league, I thought he was outstanding," head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said.

However, Tennessee simply dominated against fellow freshman Jackson Barberi, who quickly loaded the bases with one out after a pair of singles and a walk given up. Dean Curley cleared the bases with a double to put the Volunteers up 4-0.

Barberi would follow up with a wild pitch that moved Curley to third base and a walk before being replaced by Matthew Jenkins, who gave up an RBI single on a full count and threw a wild pitch before being replaced by Caden McDonald.

McDonald didn't fare any better by giving up a two-strike, two-run single, a two-strike double and a three-run home run that officially clinched the game for Tennessee.

"You can live with giving up the hits. That's part of the game," O'Sullivan said. "But the walks and the wild pitches, and when it gets sloppy like that, that's not what we're about. So, it's unfortunate the game got away from us, because I think if we could have put a zero on the board in the bottom of the seventh, we had (Alex) Philpott down there ready to go, if we could scratch across a run or so. Obviously, that wasn't the case."

Meanwhile, Florida's bats never found consistency with only five hits on the afternoon, two of which came from shortstop Colby Shelton, while being shutout for the first time this season. After recording his first hit, a single in the first inning, Shelton stole second.

A base hit from Blake Cyr nearly scored Shelton, but the shortstop was thrown out at home to end the inning. Florida only had one more runner reach second base before the game ended.

Next Up

Florida (16-4, 0-2 SEC) will look to avoid being swept for the first time this season on Sunday against the still-undefeated Volunteers (19-0, 2-0 SEC). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. with streaming coverage on SEC Network+.

O'Sullivan announced Jake Clemente will return to the mound after missing a start last week due to a back injury.