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Heyman Continues Hot Streak, Gators Snap SEC Losing Streak Vs. Missouri

Luke Heyman plated four runs as the Florida Gators dominated Missouri with an 11-2 win.
Kyle Lander|
Florida Gators catcher Luke Heyman, seen here taking an at-bat in in the series against Miami, has now hit in nine-straight games after hitting a three-run home run against Missouri.
Florida Gators catcher Luke Heyman, seen here taking an at-bat in in the series against Miami, has now hit in nine-straight games after hitting a three-run home run against Missouri. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators on Thursday earned their second SEC win of the season, taming the Missouri Tigers with an 11-2 win at Condron Family Ballpark on Thursday.

The win, which moved Florida to 22-14 overall and 2-11 in conference play, comes at a crucial time as the Gators are in desperate need of momentum with postseason hopes slipping away.

“It was a game we need to get off on the right foot for the weekend,” Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Pleased with how we swung the bats, especially early.”

Luke Heyman continued his hot hitting on the season with a three-run home run in the first inning, marking his ninth-straight game with a hit and giving the Gators a 4-0 lead. The junior is 17-for-34 from the plate with four homers and 12 RBI during his streak.

“Felt like earlier in the year I was hitting the ball hard and at people sometimes,” Heyman said. “Just continue to try to hit the ball hard and things have been going my way lately. It feels good, but you gotta keep going out there and winning.”

Heyman's homer accounted for half of Florida's offensive output in the first as the Gators ambushed the Tigers for a six-spot.

Brendan Lawson got the Gators on the board with an RBI single before Heyman's three-run blast and a solo shot from Blake Cyr. Hayden Yost capped off the inning after scoring off a wild pitch from Missouri starter Brady Kehlenbrink.

It was also a better night for the Gators pitching staff, which had been struggling as of late. Despite issuing six walks, Florida only gave up six total hits and two runs as starter Liam Peterson took home the win. 

“Very efficient,” O’Sullivan said of his bullpen arms keeping their pitch count down. “They asked me what the message is, and the message is I firmly believe we are going to get this thing turned around. I feel a lot better now than I did maybe a week ago because maybe we found the guy at the end of the game.”

Peterson threw up zeroes on the board in the first and second as well, but his third inning performance would be a rough outing. The Tigers added two runs on three hits and a walk, beginning the inning back-to-back doubles to score one before bases-loaded walk for the second.

The Gators did manage to get these runs back and then some in the fourth, though. 

Bobby Boser got the first hit of the frame, a one-out double, before Colby Shelton and Lawson drew a pair of walks to load the bases. Heyman took advantage with an RBI single for his fourth RBI of the night.

A pinch-hit single from Landon Stripling scored Heyman and Lawson, pushing the Gators' lead to seven runs with the score at 9-2 going into the fifth.

Despite keeping the Tigers to just two runs through five innings, Peterson’s night ended after the fifth after recording seven strikeouts against five hits, four walks and two earned runs.

Coming out of the bullpen was righty Caden McDonald, who held his spot on the mound for the next 1.1 innings before giving way to fellow right-hander Billy Barlow in the seventh, who took the mound with two runners on and one out.

Despite the circumstances, Barlow tossed a zero, and the Gators took advantage offensively. 

After back-to-back one-out singles from Justin Nadeau and Boser, the Gators zeroed in on a run-rule win after Shelton scored both with a double off the right-field wall to push the Gators' lead to 11-2. 

Reliever Christian Rodriguez, who entered in the eighth for Barlow, struck out the side in the ninth, clinching the Gators' second SEC win while snapping a three-game conference losing streak.

Up Next

Florida will host Missouri on Friday at 6:30 p.m. for Game Two of the series. This game will be streamed via SEC Network+.

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Kyle Lander
KYLE LANDER

Kyle Lander is a contributing writer at Florida Gators on SI. He is also a graduate of the University of Florida with a degree in journalism. On top of his writing, Kyle is a photographer for the site as well. Outside of his work with Florida Gators on SI, he likes to hike, travel, watch movies and hang out with family and friends.

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