GAINESVILLE — Florida didn’t quite play like the superior team throughout its three-game homestand against No. 21 Mississippi State.
In totality, the Bulldogs pitched better than the Gators did and scored more runs, too, allowing them to lead for 15 of the series’ 27 innings.
But it hardly stopped the Gators, who earned their third-straight SEC series victory with bookend wins over Mississippi State, both of which required ninth-inning, walk-off heroics. It marked the first two-walk-off series for Florida since 2014.
Here is Swamp247’s in-depth recap of the weekend, which includes key stats, analysis and important quotes from head coach Kevin O’Sullivan:
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WHAT HAPPENED
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Friday – Florida 7-6
Saturday – Mississippi State 12-2
Sunday – Florida 4-3
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STARTING PITCHING LINES
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Brandon Neely (1-, 6.06 ERA, 19.1 IP)
3.1 innings
5 hits
5 runs
5 earned runs
4 strikeouts
2 walks
Notes: Florida’s closer dating back to the start of the 2023 season, junior righty Brandon Neely made the jump back into the Gators’ starting rotation for the first time since the Gainesville Regional in June of 2022, a byproduct of head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s pursuit of the most streamlined version of his pitching staff, something he’s said quite publicly he hasn’t found yet.
And for the first three innings of Neely’s series-opening start, the move looked perfect. The highly regarded 2024 MLB Draft prospect allowed just one run. But, be it due to fatigue or any other factor, Neely couldn’t find his footing in the fourth as he recorded just one out and was responsible for four earned runs.
It was far from a perfect outing for a Gator team desperately looking for at least six innings out of a Friday-night starter. But it was also far from discouraging.
“I thought the first couple of innings Brandon looked really, really sharp,” O’Sullivan said. “I mean really sharp.”
So Florida will stick with its new-look rotation for at least another week. O’Sullivan said not doing so would be a “knee-jerk reaction.”
The environment could be a perfect launching point, too, as the Gators are set to travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers, who are widely viewed as SEC bottom-dwellers this season.
Southpaw Cade Fisher, who opened the year as Florida’s Friday-night arm, will again pitch from the bullpen, a role that saw him allow just one earned run on two hits and three walks over 3.1 innings while striking out five.
Liam Peterson (1-3, 8.31 ERA, 26.0 IP)
3.2 innings
7 hits
5 runs
5 earned runs
4 strikeouts
2 walks
Notes: Liam Peterson’s talent is apparent. The quality of the true freshman’s stuff is beyond his years.
But in no way is Peterson’s youth more apparent than in the consistency of his execution. And against the Bulldogs, it was that volatility that plagued him.
Like Neely a night earlier, Peterson dictated the pace for the first three innings of his outing. His fastball was sharp and his changeup, which he threw more than in any other outing this season, was as effective as it’s ever been in his young collegiate career. But Peterson spiraled in the fourth, allowing a pair of solo home runs before allowing three more runs to score on a combination of walks and singles.
Peterson has been stung badly by the home run this season. After Saturday’s game, 34.3 percent of the fly balls hit against him have left the yard, an incredibly high rate, especially for a pitcher who
