After a cold first inning of play, the No. 15 Florida Gators turned up the heat on the South Carolina Gamecocks, scoring 11 runs Tuesday to take the round one victory in the SEC tournament.
Florida (38-19) scored seven unanswered runs en route to a 11-3 victory, as South Carolina (28-29) couldn’t keep up with the Gators’ offense after the first inning.
The Gamecocks got on the scoreboard first in the opening frame. With the bases loaded, junior infielder Jase Woita grounded out for a double play, but it was enough to score senior outfielder Blake Jackson.
Florida began its scoring frenzy in the second inning. With two outs, senior infielder Bobby Boser picked up right where he left off from the Alabama series with a three-run home run to center field to give the Gators a 3-1 advantage.
The Gators tacked on two more runs in the third frame. Junior catcher Brody Donay kicked off the scoring with a solo home run to right field. Then, following a double by junior outfielder Blake Cyr, sophomore outfielder Hayden Yost hit a double, scoring Cyr and extending UF’s lead to four runs.
Florida scored yet again in the fourth inning. With two outs, senior outfielder Ty Evans doubled to right center field, allowing All-SEC freshman infielder Brendan Lawson to score and make it a 6-1 ball game. Yost then hit a home run in the fifth frame, marking seven unanswered runs for the Gators.
The Gamecocks didn’t respond until the top of the eighth inning. Freshman infielder KJ Scobey doubled down the left field line, scoring fellow freshman infielder Beau Hollins. Senior infielder Jordan Carrion then doubled to right center, scoring Scobey and cutting Florida’s lead to four runs.
However, the Gators added four insurance runs in the bottom of the inning. Lawson started with a single up the middle, scoring sophomore infielder Landon Stripling and junior infielder Justin Nadeau, who made his first appearance since game one of the Alabama series. Evans then singled to left field, scoring Boser, and Donay then hit another single to right center field, allowing Lawson to run home to make it an 11-3 advantage.
For Florida, junior right-hander Billy Barlow started on the mound. He struggled in the first, allowing two hits and a walk to load the bases. The righty surrendered the first run of the game but limited the damage after forcing a double play and ground out to close the first frame.
Barlow didn’t allow a run and gave up one hit in the rest of his time on the mound. He finished with two strikeouts and six forced groundouts before being relieved by freshman righty Blaine Rowland in the fourth inning.
Rowland performed valiantly with two strikeouts and five fly outs, but two surrendered runs in the eighth was enough for UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to pull him in favor of freshman righty Christian Rodriguez.
Rodriguez got the job done as the closer, striking out two Gamecock batters and a groundout in the ninth to secure the victory.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s struggles on the mound were evident.
Sophomore right-hander Brandon Stone earned the start. He was shaky, allowing five runs and six hits across three innings of play. Freshman righty Ryder Garino took his place in the fourth frame.
Garino surrendered two runs and three hits in two innings before being replaced by senior left-hander Matthew Becker. He finished with two strikeouts and one groundout before freshman righty Zach Russell took over in the seventh.
The Gamecocks rotated through four more pitchers. Russell threw just 17 pitches before senior righty Caleb Jones took the mound in the seventh. Jones recorded one strikeout on six total pitches before being pulled for freshman right-hander Cooper Parks. He walked two straight batters before he was relieved for sophomore righty Parker Marlatt.
Marlatt surrendered two runs and three hits in the eighth before he was promptly relieved for junior righty Brendan Sweeney.
Sweeney put up a valiant effort, retiring all three batters he faced in his short stint. But, the damage was already done.
The Gators will face the Ole Miss Rebels Wednesday in the second round of the tournament. First pitch is set for 9:00 p.m. at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04.
Adrian Carmona is a third-year journalism major and the Summer 2025 baseball reporter. In his spare time, he enjoys completing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about Miami sports.
