It was business as usual Saturday evening for Gators sophomore pitcher Aidan King. The preseason All-American pitched six scoreless innings, finishing with five strikeouts and 12 forced outs while not walking a single batter.
Florida’s bats backed him up with 16 hits, tying the team’s season high while also securing its sixth double-digit hit performance in seven outings this season.
“Pretty much everything was working for me,” King said. “I can go out there and do my thing and they [the team] trust me that I’m going to get outs.”
King’s arm led No. 12 Florida (6-1) to an 11-0 run-rule victory over Kennesaw State (3-2) at Condron Family Ballpark.
“We played really good defense,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “But, it's easy to do that behind King.”
Once again, it was the Gators who drew first blood. After another regularly scheduled leadoff double from sophomore outfielder Kyle Jones, sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson tripled to center field to score Jones.
Then, senior catcher Karson Bowen singled to right field to send Lawson home to make it 2-0.
“Getting out ahead early gives our pitchers some breathing room,” Jones said. “Super thankful that I get to go out there every day and compete and play with my brothers.”
Consecutive singles from freshman outfielder Cash Strayer and sophomore first baseman Ethan Surowiec loaded the bases. Senior outfielder Blake Cyr then hit a sacrifice fly to score Bowen.
Freshman designated hitter Jacob Kendall then singled to left field to score Strayer as the Gators found themselves up 4-0 after one.
Florida tacked on another four runs in the second, starting with yet another leadoff hit from Jones. Bowen then singled to left to send Jones to third base. Strayer scored Jones with a single to right-center field to make it a five-run ballgame.
Then, Cyr reached due to a fielding error from KSU sophomore second baseman Wesley Alig. The ball rolled right under him, allowing Bowen to hit home to extend Florida’s lead to 6-0.
That was enough for Owls sophomore righty Ty Bayer to exit the hill in favor of junior Ryan Gold. He finished surrendering nine hits and eight runs while recording just two strikeouts.
Kendall was hit by a pitch, giving Florida loaded bases once again. Miller took advantage with a single to the right side to score Cyr and Strayer, as the Gators exited the second frame with an 8-0 advantage.
Another error from the Owls led to another Gator run in the third. Bowen reached on a fielder’s choice, and Schwarz hit home after an error from Alig that could have turned into a double play for KSU.
Cyr flew out with bases loaded, but Florida still found itself up nine runs after three frames.
The Gators added another two runs in the fifth. Back-to-back singles from Surowiec and Cyr scored Jones and Bowen to make it an 11-0 lead.
Florida held on defensively to secure its sixth straight victory after its season-opening loss to UAB.
“It’s really not that hard to see why we’re having success right now,” O’Sullivan said. “Pleased with all the phases.”
The series closer will take place Sunday at Condron Ballpark with first pitch set for 1:00 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.
