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Takeaways from Gators Baseball's Sweep of South Carolina to Open SEC Play

Florida blanked South Carolina on Friday and Saturday before taking home a run-rule win on Sunday.
Kyle Lander|
The Florida Gators swept South Carolina to open SEC play.
The Florida Gators swept South Carolina to open SEC play. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

The No. 23 Florida Gators kicked off the opening weekend for the SEC on the right foot, taking all three games against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Florida is now 18-3 on the year and 3-0 in the conference. 

They took Game One via a walk-off sac-fly from freshman Cash Strayer and won Game Two on Saturday thanks to some poor Gamecock defense and multiple sac-flys. Then, they capped off the weekend with a 13-3 run-rule victory. 

Here are three takeaways from the series sweep of South Carolina. 

Peterson & King Blossoming into Best 1-2 Punch in the SEC

It is hardly a surprise, but Florida ace Liam Peterson and Saturday starter Aidan King completely shut down the South Carolina offense in their outings in Games One and Two. 

“That’s two starts that we’ve got, our starters go six innings. So, it makes my job so much easier with the bullpen,” O’Sullivan said following Saturday’s victory. 

Peterson started the weekend with a 10-strikeout shutout against the Gamecocks. He went six innings on Friday, striking out 10, giving up one hit and walking two. His first six K’s came in the first three innings. 

"That's as sharp as he’s looked for me in his career,” O’Sullivan said. “His stuff was crisp from the first pitch to the end.” 

King followed that by also blanking the Gamecocks, striking out nine in six innings. He limited the South Carolina offense to two hits and one walk in his time on the bump. His six scoreless innings now extend him to five games and 23.1 innings pitched of no earned runs allowed.

“I just went out there and attacked the strike zone with the fastball, change-up and slider wasn’t there today, but I just trusted everything, and then trusted my defense,” King said on what worked for him against South Carolina. 

Bullpen Continues to Slam the Door Shut 

Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has a clear idea for which bullpen arms he wants to use; one would describe it as his circle of trust.

Florida went to righties Jackson Barberi, Joshua Whritenour and lefty Ernesto Lugo-Canchola for the first two games, which panned out very well for the home team. In Whritenour’s only appearance on Friday, he closed the final 2 1/3 innings and struck out three. Barberi hurled a scoreless three innings between the two contests and struck out three. Lugo-Canchola pitched 1.2 shutout innings on the mound with one strikeout along the way. 

As for Sunday’s contest, O’Sullivan only needed one arm to close out the game. To trail righty Cooper Walls, Florida’s head coach called for right-hander Luke McNeillie from the pen. McNeillie threw 2 ⅔ shutout innings in the run-rule victory against the Gamecocks, striking out three and not giving up a hit or walk. 

Across all three games, no bullpen arm allowed a single run in the 9 ⅔ innings of work and they struck out 10 batters to just three walks and one hit. 

Becoming Increasingly Hard to Stop Lawson

Despite the bats going cold for most in the first two games and for some all three, Gators shortstop Brendan Lawson continued to rake in the two-hole. 

The potential first overall pick in the 2027 MLB Draft hit .500 against South Carolina pitchers, with three hits, one home run, one double, two RBI, nine walks and five runs. 

“I see it as a bit of a compliment. I'll take my walks all day. The player that I've been always, you know, I like to see, see a lot of pitches and kind of work counts and, you know, any way I can get the first base walk, pick by pitch, everything's all good,” Lawson answered about the way South Carolina pitched around him. 

His loudest game came in the finale, where he launched a no-doubt homer to right field that got the crowd going. He finished Game Three 2-for-2 with one homer, three walks and two RBI. 

That homer also raised the already high temperatures in Gainesville even more, thanks to the added flair in his bat flip. Following the moon shot from Lawson, he tossed the bat towards the South Carolina pitcher before rounding the bases, which earned both sides a warning. 

His eye at the plate, paired with his elite swing speed, made life difficult for any arm that touched the mound on the weekend. 

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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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