It was another day at the office for UF sophomore pitcher Aidan King.
The preseason All-American threw 98 pitches in six innings. He logged eight strikeouts while surrendering just one run and three hits with two walks, securing his sixth win of the season.
“[King] did exactly what we needed him to do,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He actually went to me, and he said he wanted to back out for the seventh. I said ‘Absolutely not. I appreciate you asking.’”
King’s masterclass, along with a three-run homer from senior outfielder Blake Cyr, propelled No. 20 Florida (28-11, 10-6 SEC) to a 6-3 win over No. 13 Auburn (25-12, 8-8 SEC) Thursday night at Condron Family Ballpark for the team’s nation-leading 11th-ranked win of the year.
Auburn threatened early with runners on the corners with just one out to begin the outing. Sophomore catcher Chase Fralick doubled deep to center field, and junior third baseman Eric Guevara singled to shallow right field as the Gators’ defense could not make a play on the pop-up.
Then, with two outs, senior designated hitter Logan Gregorio singled through the left side to plate Fralick and take an early one-run lead.
The Tigers almost tacked on more, but UF senior outfielder Blake Cyr dove for a fly ball in left-center field to limit the damage.
“It’s Blake Cyr,” King said. “I really thought he did it.”
Sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson earned the first base hit for the Gators with a one-out single down the right side. Then, a wild pitch from Tigers sophomore starting pitcher Andreas Alvarez sent Lawson to second.
Sophomore third baseman Ethan Surowiec grounded out to put Lawson at third. Senior catcher Karson Bowen proceeded to barrel a two-out double down the left field line to send Lawson home to notch the game at 1-1.
Senior outfielder Blake Cyr was then hit on the arm by a pitch, putting two runners on with two outs for Florida. A second wild pitch shortly after from Alvarez advanced Cyr and Bowen to second and third, respectively. But a groundout to the mound from junior first baseman Landon Stripling left them stranded to end the first.
It was a much cleaner second frame from King and the Gators’ defense, as the righty set down Auburn in order with some help on a diving play for a groundout from junior second baseman Cade Kurland.
Florida threatened to take the lead again in the bottom of the second. Junior outfielder Hayden Yost beat the shift from the Tigers’ defense and singled with two outs down the left side and reached third on a failed pickoff attempt from Alvarez.
However, Jones flew out to right field to leave Yost helpless at third.
Meanwhile, King continued to deal, retiring another three batters in order in the top of the third.
Lawson led off the bottom of the third by forcing a walk on eight pitches, and Surowiec followed up with a single to left field to put two runners on. With one out after Bowen went down on strikes, Cyr cleared the bases with a three-run bomb to the left-field bullpen to give the Gators a 4-1 advantage.
“I was like, alright, I really hope he doesn't throw a fastball for his sake, and he ended up throwing it,” Cyr said. “I just didn't miss it.”
Stripling followed up by forcing a walk, and Kurland earned an infield single as Guevara failed to gather the ground ball. That ended the night for Alvarez, as he was relieved for freshman LJ Cormier.
Alvarez finished with three strikeouts while surrendering six hits and four earned runs with two walks in his shortest outing of the season.
Stripling was ruled out at third on a fielder’s choice as Stanford reached first. Yost was hit by a pitch to follow as Florida loaded the bases. But Jones left the bags juiced as he went down swinging.
King stayed hot in the fourth, striking out the side of the Tigers’ order. After the one-run opening frame, the Gators’ ace responded with three straight scoreless frames while retiring nine straight batters.
Lawson forced his second-straight leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth. Lawson stole second off a Surowiec strikeout, and Bowen advanced him to third on a sacrifice fly. But Florida came up empty as Cyr flew out to center field to end the inning.
Auburn junior first baseman Eddie Madrigal led off the fifth with a walk as the Tigers reached base for the first time since the opening frame. He then walked another batter to put two runners on with two outs.
Florida’s ace was unfazed, as he fanned the next two Auburn batters to leave two stranded.
Junior lefty Garrett Brewer took the hill for the Tigers in the bottom of the fifth and saw instant trouble, surrendering an infield single to Stripling and a four-pitch walk to Kurland.
Yost grounded out after a Stanford strikeout, but he was able to advance the runners to second and third.
This time, Jones took advantage with a two-out, two-run knock to shallow right field, plating Stripling and Kurland to extend Florida’s lead to 6-1 after five.
After walking two Tigers in the fifth, King went right back to form in the sixth, retiring three batters in order with two fly outs and his eighth strikeout of the night. He walked off the mound to roars from the fans at Condron.
“It's just going out there and attacking the zone and trusting the defense and getting the swings and misses and the ground balls when needed,” King said. “Nothing's gonna change.”
Surowiec led off the bottom of the sixth with a powerful drive to right field for a base hit, but he was caught at second on a fielder’s choice as Bowen reached first. Cyr followed up with a groundout that sent Bowen to second, but he was left stranded after Stripling popped out.
Senior Ricky Reeth took the reins on the hill to start the seventh for Florida to follow up on King’s masterful outing. Reeth retired his first batter with a fly out but surrendered a double to Madrigal right after, as the Tigers had one runner in scoring position.
Madrigal was plated off an RBI single to right-center from freshman outfielder Mason McCraine as Auburn inched closer to make it a four-run game.
After another base hit up the middle from sophomore infielder Chris Rembert, Reeth was promptly pulled for senior Ernesto Lugo-Canchola.
Lugo-Canchola surrendered a one-run single up the middle to Fralick as the Tigers made it a 6-3 game, but the former Division II arm bounced back to strand two with a groundout. The Gators’ offense failed to respond, going down in order.
Lugo-Canchola settled things down in the eighth, setting down three straight batters with two strikeouts and a fly out as Florida sought insurance in the bottom of the frame.
“I knew they were going to make a run at some point, and they did the seventh,” O’Sullivan said. “But Ernie came in and did a really good job. That's two outstanding outings for Ernie in a row.”
The Gators came up empty, but freshman pitcher Joshua Whritenour slammed the door on Auburn to secure the series-opening victory.
Florida will look to secure the series Friday with first pitch set for 5:30 p.m.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04.
Adrian is a senior journalism major and the baseball reporter for the Spring of 2026. He previously served as the soccer reporter in the fall of 2025. He enjoys playing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about South Florida sports.
