Weather delays have been the main enemy of sporting events around the world, and Florida baseball was yet another victim of one. Lighting in the area of the ballpark forced a two-hour weather delay, as the game originally scheduled for 6:30 did not see the first pitch until 8:30.
The delay did not stop the arm of UF sophomore pitcher Aidan King. The preseason All-American tossed seven clean, scoreless innings, logging eight strikeouts while surrendering zero walks and just four hits on 93 pitches.
King’s outing propelled Florida (24-8, 7-4 SEC) to a 2-0 shutout win over Ole Miss (21-11, 4-7 SEC) Friday night at Condron Family Ballpark to even the series.
“It was a performance we needed to have,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “What a difference 24 hours makes.”
The Gators earned a couple of base runners in the opening frame, as sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones led off with a single to the left side, and sophomore infielder Ethan Surowiec walked. Jones proceeded to steal third to put runners on the corners with one out.
Senior catcher Karson Bowen reached first on a fielder’s choice, but Jones was ruled out at home.
The Gators earned loaded bases with two outs, as junior infielder Cade Kurland reached first on a fielding error from Ole Miss senior first baseman Will Furniss. However, Florida came up empty as senior catcher Cole Stanford struck out swinging to leave the bags juiced.
Meanwhile, UF sophomore righty Aidan King continued to deal on the mound, striking out four batters and forcing four fly outs in the first three innings.
Florida threatened to score in the third, as base hits from Jones and Surowiec put them at first and second base. Bowen then reached first on a fielder’s choice to put Jones at third, but Surowiec was caught at second.
“Hitting the baseball is really hard,” Jones said. “Just trying to simplify it, not think much about it.”
Then, Kurland singled to the right side with two outs to send Jones home to put the Gators up 1-0. Stanford forced a walk, and just like that, Florida loaded the bases. Freshman outfielder Jacob Kendall battled at the plate, forcing a walk that allowed Bowen to walk home for a two-run Gator lead after three.
King stayed hot, retiring six straight Rebels in the fourth and fifth innings as his big night on the mound continued.
The Gators had a runner in scoring position in the sixth, as freshman infielder Kolt Myers hit a two-out single down the middle and stole second off a wild pitch. But Jones flew out to leave him stranded as the score remained 2-0 after six.
King was relieved to begin the eighth in favor of sophomore Jackson Barberi, not before he stranded another Rebel with his final strikeout in the seventh, as he proceeded to fire up the dugout.
“It was high energy all game,” King said. “Tensions are going to get high, so I just showed some emotion.”
Barberi saw trouble early, surrendering a walk and a single as the Rebels had two base runners with one out. But with Furniss at the plate on a 3-2 count, Barberi forced a groundout that led to a double play off the arm of UF freshman infielder Kolt Myers to leave two stranded.
Florida could not add insurance, as Stanford was left stranded to end the eighth, putting Barberi in position to ice the ballgame. Barberi struck one out but surrendered a single before trainers took a look at him.
Barberi was then taken out with an apparent injury, finishing with two strikeouts and one groundout, as freshman Joshua Whritenour took the slab.
“Some of these injuries are starting to mount up,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s pretty frustrating to be honest.”
Whritenour shut the door on Ole Miss, logging the final two outs to tie the series for Florida.
The series will be decided Saturday for a rubber match with first pitch set for 7:30 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.
