It was a career night for UF sophomore designated hitter/pitcher Caden McDonald. After only getting eight at bats this season heading into the night, McDonald put up a performance to remember at the plate.
The two-way athlete went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a solo home run. It was his first career long ball and the first multi-hit game of his collegiate career.
Sophomore pitcher Aidan King had a tremendous night of his own. After being named as a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year Award on Wednesday, King threw eight full innings and a career-high 121 total pitches, tallying six strikeouts while allowing zero walks and four hits.
No. 21 Florida (29-14, 11-8 SEC) used a four-run eighth inning to take a 9-2 win against No. 7 Texas A&M (31-8, 12-6 SEC) Friday evening at Condron Family Ballpark.
“It was an awesome performance,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said of King. “He just was throwing strike after strike. He gets upset when I take him out.”
Once again, King set the tone on the mound early, retiring three straight Aggies on 10 pitches in the opening frame.
UF sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec earned the first base hit of the game for either side in the bottom of the first, knocking a two-out single through the left side. Senior outfielder Blake Cyr was then hit by a pitch on his foot to put two runners on.
Senior catcher Karson Bowen finished the job with a one-run single down the right side to score Surowiec as Florida took a 1-0 lead after the opening inning.
Sophomore outfielder Terrance Kiel II earned the first knock for Texas A&M with two outs in the top of the second, singling through the left side. But, King stranded him with his third strikeout of the outing right after.
Gators freshman infielder Colton Schwarz led off the bottom of the second with a base hit through left field. But, he was left stranded as three consecutive batters went down.
The Aggies started to threaten, as junior catcher Bear Harrison led off the third with a single to left field on King’s first pitch. Then, with one out, junior infielder Gavin Grahovac hammered a two-run homer to left field to give Texas A&M a 2-1 lead. It was just the second home run King has allowed this season.
But, Lawson had a response for Florida in the bottom in the form of a lead-off double deep to right-center field. The Gators tied the game shortly after as Cyr barrelled an RBI double to the same spot to plate Lawson.
Cyr advanced to third off a wild pitch from Aggies starting junior Shane Sdao. The parade of doubles continued as junior infielder Cade Kurland swatted one to left-center to send Cyr home as Florida took a 3-2 lead.
TAMU freshman outfielder Jorian Wilson reached first with two outs in the top of the fourth on a throwing error from Lawson. But, King worked around the miscue to strand Wilson.
UF sophomore designated hitter Caden McDonald led off the fourth with a double to deep center field, as the doubles continued to mount for Florida.
Sophomore infielder Kyle Jones followed up with a base hit to center field, sending McDonald to third with one out. After a Lawson pop up, Sdao was relieved for senior Grant Cunningham.
Cunningham came in and did his job, retiring Surowiec with a fly out to strand two Gators.
Meanwhile, King continued to deal after surrendering the two-run bomb, setting down the Aggies in order in the top of the fifth with three straight fly-outs to send it to the midpoint.
Kurland barrelled a two-out single through the left side in the bottom of the fifth, but he was left stranded as Schwarz grounded out.
King set down Texas A&M in order again in the sixth, now having retired seven straight Aggies after Lawson’s error in the fourth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Florida still seeked insurance to back up King. In came McDonald, who led off with a solo homer to center field to extend the Gators’ lead to 4-2. Cunningham struck out the next two batters before being subbed in favor of fellow senior Ethan Darden.
“It was pretty surreal. Honestly, kind of blacked out around second base,” McDonald said. “A lot of hard work was put into that and kind of leading up to that moment.”
Darden hit Lawson with two outs, but left him stranded with a strikeout on Surowiec.
King's impressive outing continued, setting down the Aggies in order for the third straight inning in the top of the seventh.
TAMU junior righty Juan Vargas took the hill to start the bottom seventh and saw some early trouble.
Cyr led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to shallow left-center, and wild pitch sent him to second with one out. Kurland then battled at the plate to draw a nine-pitch walk to put two runners on.
A sacrifice fly from Schwarz sent Cyr to third, and McDonald stayed hot in his big night with an RBI single up the middle to plate Cyr and extend UF’s lead to three runs.
“[McDonald] just took advantage of it and ran with it,” King said. “He’s been working hard and deserved it.”
That ended the short stint for Vargas, who was promptly relieved for sophomore lefty Cooper Powell. He earned his first strikeout of the night to strand two runners and end the seventh.
At 101 pitches, King was still on the slab to start the eighth. He showed no signs of slowing down, retiring the Aggies in order for the fourth straight inning as the Condron crowd erupted in cheers while chanting his name.
“It felt good,” King said. “Didn't try and do anything different from what’s happened all season.”
TAMU saw more trouble in the bottom of the eighth, as Jones led off with a double to deep center field and Lawson was hit by a pitch on the ankle to put two runners on with no outs.
Florida proceeded to load the bases as Surowiec drew a walk. Jones was then plated as Cyr was struck on the shoulder by a pitch on an 0-2 count as the Gators extended their lead to 6-2.
Bowen followed with a sacrifice groundout to score Lawson. Then came a devastating fielding error as Aggies freshman shortstop Boston Kellner slipped on the diamond after bobbling Kurland’s ground ball.
The misplay sent both Cyr and Surowiec home as the Gators blew the door open to take a seven-run lead.
UF senior Billy Barlow took the hill in place of King for the final inning. The former Clemson Tiger slammed the door on Texas A&M, recording the final three outs to secure the series-opening win.
“They were focused,” O’Sullivan said. “Just could not let Tuesday's game or last weekend against Auburn leak into this weekend.”
Florida will attempt to clinch the series Saturday with first pitch set for 5:00 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.
