Takeaways from Florida Gators Baseball's Series Win Over Miami

The Florida Gators baseball team over the weekend continued its usual dominance of rival Miami, taking this year's series, 2-0, after a 7-2 win on Friday and 8-4 win on Saturday. Sunday's finale was cancelled due to weather.

"Of course it's a rivalry, but it's really a measuring stick of where we're at right now," O'Sullivan said. "The outcome of this weekend is certainly not going to have any indication of what this team looks like in May, but, obviously, I'm pleased with how we're playing right now."

With the wins, Florida leads the all-time series, 138-136-1, and holds the advantage going into next season for the first time in over 40 years. The Gators have also won 11 of its last 12 series against Miami, including the last five, and have won its last six series against the Hurricanes in Coral Gables.

With that said, here are three takeaways from the series.

Liam Peterson is Back (Aidan King is Fine, By the Way)

Knock on wood, but Liam Peterson is back to his usual self after his rough outing two weeks ago to begin his season. In his first major test of the season, the junior ace passed with flying colors.

In 5 2/3 innings of work on Friday, Peterson struck out eight batters with only two earned runs. Six hits are a season-high, but limiting Miami's high-powered offense from scoring was the difference. With one test pass, Peterson will have one more outing (Friday against High Point) before Florida begins SEC play.

LP strikes out 3️⃣

🎥 ACCN pic.twitter.com/BpIdsAZA8w
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 28, 2026

Florida got a minor injury scare on Saturday with Aidan King being removed in the third inning due to an issue in his throwing arm, but it appears the Gators have avoided any significant issues. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan revealed King was dealing with cramping in his forearm, and his removal was simply precautionary. He is not expected to miss any starts.

'Circle of Trust' Forming with Bullpen

Heading into the weekend, O'Sullivan discussed the need for other trustworthy arms in the bullpen to emerge, referencing the "circle of trust" from the 2000 film "Meet the Parents." The two-game sweep over Miami gave a glimpse of who is in the circle.

On Friday, Jackson Barberi pitched 3 1/3 innings with only two hits and no runs allowed. He struck out three batters to help the Gators clinch the series-opener. On Saturday, Ricky Reeth, Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and Joshua Whritenour combined to pitch 6 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on six hits and two walks, while striking out nine batters.

The performances solidified the quartet's roles in the circle after previous strong performances, while limiting the opportunities available moving forward.

BIG-TIME ELC ⚡

🎥 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/QLqtzu2PZc
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 1, 2026

Since Sunday's game was cancelled, fresh arms are available for the two-game midweek slate. Florida is hoping Luke McNeillie and Russell Sandefer will be available after they were expected to return from injury on Sunday. Other options who did not pitch over the weekend include Schuyler Sanford, who has consistently received praise from O'Sullivan, as well as Eli Blair, Jackson Hoyt, Christian Rodriguez and Billy Barlow.

"I'm getting to a point where I'm trusting our bullpen, which gives us a lot of flexibility," O'Sullivan said. "... Makes my job a heck of a lot easier when you got consistency of what you're going to get from guys out of the pen."

Opportune Hitting Continues, Gators Take Advantage of Miami's Woes

While the longball has not been the offense's strong suit, runs have been plentiful for the Gators in 2026. They have also come at opportune times, as proven by the Miami series.

Tied 2-2 going into the eighth inning on Friday, Florida used a five-run frame to take the lead and eventually the win, with one run coming off a Jacob Kendall home run and the other four off of an RBI single from Brendan Lawson, a bases-loaded walk from Cash Strayer, a sacrifice fly from Blake Cyr and an RBI single from Caden McDonald.

Trailing 3-0 after the first inning on Saturday, the bats immediately came alive with a four-run second inning to take the lead. After base hits from Karson Bowen, Cyr and Strayer to load the bases, Sam Miller hit a single, and Kyle Jones hit a two-run double to tie the game.

Mr. Jones (and us) 🎶

🎥 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/J4NXu378d7
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 28, 2026

While Florida created runs on its own, the Gators took advantage of Miami's mistakes. In addition to Strayer's bases-loaded walk on Friday, Miller scored on Saturday off a wild pitch to cap off the four-run second inning.

After Miami tied the game, 4-4, in the fifth, Florida had bases loaded and two outs. Miami pitcher Ryan Bilka forced a flyout but was called for a balk by third base umpire Travis Carlson, which gave the Gators the lead.

"That's a tough call for an umpire to make because, obviously, there's going to be some reaction," O'Sullivan said on Saturday. "I haven't seen it, but if it was a balk, then it was a balk. It takes a really good umpire to make a call like that... and he's a really good umpire. He's made some really tough calls in tough spots."

In the ninth, the Gators added some insurance with a double and intentional walk from Jones and Lawson, and Ethan Surowiec capitalized with a three-run home run. Surowiec struck out four times before his home run.

"I think the lesson learned, especially with Ethan, he had a tough night at the plate, and the game seems to always come back to you," O'Sullivan said.

THREE-RUN SURO SMASH 🥊

🎥 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/5Zuz1FvzJy
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 1, 2026