The Gators take the nation's No. 12 RPI and No. 3 SOS into Tuesday vs. South Carolina at the SEC Tournament.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 23 Florida led from start to finish in the regular-season finale against No. 18 Alabama to deliver a 9-3 victory as well as a series win at Condron Family Ballpark on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Gators (37-19, 15-15 SEC) finish the regular season riding a six-series winning streak – twice as long as any other team in the SEC. The Senior Day victory over the Crimson Tide (40-15, 16-14 SEC) gives the Orange & Blue wins in 17 of their final 22 regular-season games including 14 of 18 in SEC play heading into the SEC Tournament. No. 10-seed Florida faces No. 15-seed South Carolina in the first round on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. ET.
As the lone UF position players honored on Senior Day, Bobby Boser (2-for-4) and Ty Evans (2-for-5) both drilled home runs and notched multiple hits. Boser paced the squad with three RBI, which helped propel freshman phenom Aidan Kingto his sixth win of the season.
King staked his final claim for SEC Freshman of the Year, baffling the Tide across 6 1/3 frames with one earned run allowed and eight strikeouts on 94 pitches. Earning his second-consecutive victory, the Jacksonville, Fla. native has given up just two earned runs over 20 2/3 innings in his last four starts.
King retired the side in order in the first, opening the door for the Gators to jump out to an early, 2-0 lead in the home half. Boser promptly led off with a home run to right-center field and Brody Donay connected for a solo shot to right-center with two outs to provide the early fireworks.
Florida ran into trouble in the top of the second, as Richie Bonomolo Jr. reached on an infield single and scored all the way from first on a throwing error at second base on a potential double-play ball. King buckled down, striking out three batters in the frame to strand a pair and keeping a one-run lead intact.
Despite a leadoff single and another UF defensive miscue in the third, King stranded a runner in scoring position to hold the tally. Florida responded via a leadoff homer in bottom-three, as another senior left the yard in Evans with a shot to center field to extend the UF advantage to 3-1.
King induced a pair of ground balls highlighted by an inning-ending double play for a scoreless top half of the fourth. The Gators struck for the second-consecutive inning in the bottom half, as Ashton Wilson singled, swiped second and scored on an RBI single to left-center by Landon Stripling
In the top of the fifth, King fanned the leadoff man but Brennen Norton subsequently reached on a fielding error at shortstop. A Bryce Fowler double followed to plate an unearned run, but King induced a fielder's choice and flyout to left to strand the bases loaded.
Hanging on to a 4-2 edge, Florida answered in a major way with a five-spot in bottom-five. With no outs and two in scoring position, Hayden Yost drove in Donay with a groundout to first base. Blake Cyr then scampered home on a throwing error at third base with the bags juiced while Boser produced the big blow with a two-run single to right. The Gators manufactured the fifth and final run on a double steal, as Boser swiped second and Blake Brookins took home for a commanding, 9-2 lead.
King fired a one-two-three sixth, picking up his eighth strikeout in the process. The freshman returned to the hill for the seventh, exiting with one out and a man on second, having gived up a leadoff double to Norton. Reliever Luke McNeillie retired the next two batters while allowing the inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly to take a 9-3 ballgame into the seventh-inning stretch.
McNeillie blanked the Tide in the top of the eighth and closed it out with another zero in the ninth to cement Florida's sixth-straight series win. McNeillie threw 2 2/3 scoreless, no-hit innings of relief with one walk and one strikeout.
King (6-2) picked up yet another victory in a standout rookie campaign, as he was charged with just one earned run in 6 1/3 stellar innings. He concluded with three runs allowed on six hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.
Crimson Tide starting pitcher Zane Adams sunk to 7-3 with the loss, surrendering four earned runs on six hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. The southpaw struck out three.
NOTABLES
* Prior to the game, the Gators honored four players as part of Senior Day festivities in right-handed pitcher Billy Barlow, Boser, left-hander Pierce Coppola and Evans.
* Florida closed out the regular season with six-straight SEC series victories after limping to a 1-11 start in league play.
* Florida's six series winning streak is twice as long as the next-closest SEC team.
* The Gators finish the regular season at No. 12 in RPI with the No. 3 strength of schedule.
* The Gators won 17 of their final 22 regular-season games including 14 of 18 in SEC play.
* Florida finished the season at .500 in SEC play (15-15) after starting 1-11, meaning the Gators will become the first SEC team to ever reach the NCAA Tournament after starting conference action 2-10 or worse since 1992 expansion.
* Florida has won 10 of its last 13 home games.
* King dominated over 6 1/3 frames with one earned run allowed and eight strikeouts.
* King allowed just two earned runs over 20 2/3 innings in his last four starts for a 0.87 ERA.
* Both of Florida's position players honored on Senior Day homered on Saturday in Boser and Evans.
* Boser led off with his 15th home run of the season on Senior Day.
* He also stole his team-leading 18th base of the season.
* Donay retook the team lead with his 16th homer of the campaign three batters later.
* Evans hit his fourth homer – all in the last 11 games – in the third inning.
* All nine UF starters collected hits.
* McNeillie pitched 2 2/3 shutout, no-hit innings of relief to close it out.
* Florida is now 72-60 all-time against Alabama including 37-20 in Gainesville.
* The Gators are 31-8 overall and 15-3 at home in the series under O'Sullivan.
* Florida has won 18 of the last 21 and 25 of the previous 29 against Alabama.
* Saturday's official attendance was 6,595.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On King's final regular-season start…
"Often times, you see someone makes an error and then it's a four-pitch walk and the inning kind of gets away from you, but he just kept it together and truly remarkable honestly, to keep his composure like that. He's shown time and time again that he's beyond his years with his maturity and focus and all those types of things, so that's two great starts in a row against two ranked teams, obviously. So really, really, really happy for him."
On taking this group into the postseason…
"Well, we obviously need to get Justin (Nadeau) back and it's really day-to-day with him, with his finger, and hopefully we get Colby (Shelton) back for the Regional and that's kind of what we're shooting for. It's just been a lot of disruption, we got guys moving around, but they hung in there. I told the team at the end; you probably need to take some time to reflect back on what just happened. Just to be 1-11 and end up at 15 wins in the league, no one's ever done that since the league expanded, since '92, but obviously our job is not finished. At least we put ourselves in at least discussion to host, but we'll see what happens. But can't say enough about this group and their resiliency."
On Boser and Evans' impact on the Gators as seniors…
"They're both really similar in the sense that they're both really, really tough competitors. I mean, they play hard and they very rarely ever make mistakes, or at least mental mistakes. They've been a big part of where we're at, let's just put it that way. Senior Day is always a little bittersweet, you want to see them get recognized, and rightfully so, but it's like there's a part of you that gets bummed, right? Because it goes so fast. We recruit these players as juniors or sophomores in high school and it goes by, just like that. Hopefully, we can have another opportunity to play at home here. I'm not quite sure what we need to do, but hopefully this isn't the last time they play at the ballpark."
On what Coppola and Barlow have meant to the program…
"Once again, I love those guys, too. I mean there's so many stories within this whole thing, with Billy being at Clemson last year and we had a chance to see him pitch in the Supers and I know he's really, really enjoyed his time here. And Pierce, we could talk about that all day long. Coming back from all the injuries that he's had and goes 3 2/3 yesterday, strikes out 10, doesn't walk anybody. Got him up to 67 pitches or so. So, for this to end the way it's ending, and we have a bona fide starter going into the postseason, and we get five innings out of him, I think that totally changes the whole thing for us, pitching-wise anyways."
UP NEXT
The 10th-seeded Gators will face No. 15-seed South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament on Tuesday, May 20 at 5:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
