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Florida remains winless in conference play after falling to Georgia, 8-7, on Friday night.
The Gators have opportunities to win all four of its SEC games this year, but they haven't found a way thus far. Every time Florida took the lead, Georgia answered right back, including a go-ahead, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning from NCAA homer leader Rylan Zaborowski.
Alex Philpott was in line for the win after Luke Heyman willed the Gators out in front, but he hung a slider thigh-high and paid the price. To make the moment even more frustrating, Philpott had struck four of the first five batters he saw, finding good location with his fastball along with some help from Heyman framing pitches behind the dish.
Heyman deserved to be the MVP of this game. His game-tying homer in the fourth and game-tying triple in the eighth are just the latest moments in a well-documented history of Heyman beating up on the Bulldogs. As a freshman, he drove in four runs and went deep against Georgia in Game 1 of the series. Last year, he went 5-for-13 with three homers and 10 runs batted in during the most important series of the year for Florida.
There's something different about the Gators' catcher when he faces the 'Dawgs, and he added a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to add to the list above. Robbing Heyman of the victory is criminal, but it's par for the course with how this Florida team has approached SEC play. True, injuries have affected all three original weekend starters and Cade Kurland remains out after dislocating his shoulder, but there's enough depth on this roster to overcome those issues.
Aidan King wasn't at his best in the loss, but it's unfair to ask a true freshman to take over the Friday night role in a crucial series after he threw six innings of one-run ball against the No. 1 team in the nation a week ago. Remember, Florida's bullpen gave up nine runs as soon as King came out last week, and he took the loss in a 10-0 game that wasn't really his fault. Talk about pressure coming into an 18-year-old's first Friday night start.
King struggled with command for the first time as a Gator, loading the bases with no outs in the second on a single, hit by pitch and four-pitch walk. Georgia centerfielder Decin Obee cleared the bases with a double to left field and scored late on in the inning on a throwing error by Brendan Lawson at second base. King retired the side in order in both the first and third frames, but couldn't get out of the even-numbered innings cleanly. Two more hits and a groundout RBI made it five runs on the day against him, elevating his ERA from 0.81 to 2.39 on the year.
Of course, King only got the start because Florida's ace, Liam Peterson, is questionable this week with general soreness. He's expected to miss his start this weekend, but anything can happen with his injury designation on the SEC-mandated availability report.
With Pierce Coppola and Peterson missing from the rotation, Jake Clemente working back to full strength after a back issue and bullpen regular Frank Menendez done for the season, Florida entered this series with few proven arms. King was one of them and the other two also pitched in this loss — Luke McNeillie and Philpott.
Neither McNeillie nor Philpott were bad. McNeillie struggled with location at times and walked as many as he struck out — three apiece — but he navigated three innings while allowing just one run. It happened to be a go-ahead run at that point in the game, but Florida's offense wasn't doing much to take the lead either. Philpott also looked great until that mistake pitch led to the deciding home run.
With both guys burned for at least tomorrow, Florida's offense is going to need to jump all over Georgia's pitching staff on Saturday and Sunday. The silver lining here is that the Bulldogs used three of their best bullpen arms as well — JT Quinn, DJ Radtke and Jordan Stephens — so Game 2 could be a hitfest. Georgia is starting its closer tomorrow because its rotation has disappointed so much.
All eyes will be on the Gators' offense to keep their foot on the pedal. Bobby Boser looks like he's back to his hitting ways, smashing his eighth homer of the year early in the loss, and Colby Shelton went deep as well. Blake Cyr and Brody Donay both had disappointing nights, while Lawson was neutralized with three walks.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators baseball vs Georgia Bulldogs Game 1 recap
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The Gators have opportunities to win all four of its SEC games this year, but they haven't found a way thus far. Every time Florida took the lead, Georgia answered right back, including a go-ahead, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning from NCAA homer leader Rylan Zaborowski.
Alex Philpott was in line for the win after Luke Heyman willed the Gators out in front, but he hung a slider thigh-high and paid the price. To make the moment even more frustrating, Philpott had struck four of the first five batters he saw, finding good location with his fastball along with some help from Heyman framing pitches behind the dish.
Luke (to Georgia, probably): I am your father
Heyman deserved to be the MVP of this game. His game-tying homer in the fourth and game-tying triple in the eighth are just the latest moments in a well-documented history of Heyman beating up on the Bulldogs. As a freshman, he drove in four runs and went deep against Georgia in Game 1 of the series. Last year, he went 5-for-13 with three homers and 10 runs batted in during the most important series of the year for Florida.
There's something different about the Gators' catcher when he faces the 'Dawgs, and he added a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth to add to the list above. Robbing Heyman of the victory is criminal, but it's par for the course with how this Florida team has approached SEC play. True, injuries have affected all three original weekend starters and Cade Kurland remains out after dislocating his shoulder, but there's enough depth on this roster to overcome those issues.
Don't hang your head, King
Aidan King wasn't at his best in the loss, but it's unfair to ask a true freshman to take over the Friday night role in a crucial series after he threw six innings of one-run ball against the No. 1 team in the nation a week ago. Remember, Florida's bullpen gave up nine runs as soon as King came out last week, and he took the loss in a 10-0 game that wasn't really his fault. Talk about pressure coming into an 18-year-old's first Friday night start.
King struggled with command for the first time as a Gator, loading the bases with no outs in the second on a single, hit by pitch and four-pitch walk. Georgia centerfielder Decin Obee cleared the bases with a double to left field and scored late on in the inning on a throwing error by Brendan Lawson at second base. King retired the side in order in both the first and third frames, but couldn't get out of the even-numbered innings cleanly. Two more hits and a groundout RBI made it five runs on the day against him, elevating his ERA from 0.81 to 2.39 on the year.
Burning the bullpen's best
Of course, King only got the start because Florida's ace, Liam Peterson, is questionable this week with general soreness. He's expected to miss his start this weekend, but anything can happen with his injury designation on the SEC-mandated availability report.
With Pierce Coppola and Peterson missing from the rotation, Jake Clemente working back to full strength after a back issue and bullpen regular Frank Menendez done for the season, Florida entered this series with few proven arms. King was one of them and the other two also pitched in this loss — Luke McNeillie and Philpott.
Neither McNeillie nor Philpott were bad. McNeillie struggled with location at times and walked as many as he struck out — three apiece — but he navigated three innings while allowing just one run. It happened to be a go-ahead run at that point in the game, but Florida's offense wasn't doing much to take the lead either. Philpott also looked great until that mistake pitch led to the deciding home run.
With both guys burned for at least tomorrow, Florida's offense is going to need to jump all over Georgia's pitching staff on Saturday and Sunday. The silver lining here is that the Bulldogs used three of their best bullpen arms as well — JT Quinn, DJ Radtke and Jordan Stephens — so Game 2 could be a hitfest. Georgia is starting its closer tomorrow because its rotation has disappointed so much.
All eyes will be on the Gators' offense to keep their foot on the pedal. Bobby Boser looks like he's back to his hitting ways, smashing his eighth homer of the year early in the loss, and Colby Shelton went deep as well. Blake Cyr and Brody Donay both had disappointing nights, while Lawson was neutralized with three walks.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida Gators baseball vs Georgia Bulldogs Game 1 recap
Continue reading...
