Three Takeaways from Florida’s series sweep vs. South Carolina
Hector
Hector
The Florida Gators earned their fourth consecutive SEC series win of the 2025 season last weekend versus the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gators went on the road and swept the Gamecocks. This was Florida’s second SEC series sweep of the season.
Florida’s offense had a huge series, especially sophomore left-handed hitter Hayden Yost and junior catcher Luke Heyman. The Gators also had some big relief outings from multiple bullpen arms. Here are three takeaways from Florida’s series win versus the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Florida wins fourth consecutive SEC series
The Florida Gators have had their worst season in conference play during the Kevin O’Sullivan era. However, Florida has been on a roll and has a 13-2 record in their last fifteen games.
The Gators picked up their second SEC sweep of the season and first series sweep on the road. Florida has completely turned their season around after possibly missing out on the NCAA Tournament. After the series sweep, Baseball America put Florida back in their Top 25 and ranked them #22 in the country.
Florida’s offense had a monster series and did it without their best hitter in the lineup. Shortstop Colby Shelton will miss the rest of the regular season with a hand/wrist injury. It has forced multiple players to step up, and they answered the call last weekend against the Gamecocks.
2. Gators Boys Stay Hot at the plate
The Florida offense continues to tear the cover off the ball and had excellent production at the bottom of the order. Sophomore outfielder Hayden Yost was named the SEC Player of the Week as he helped lead Florida past South Carolina.
In the series, Yost went 5-for-10 (.500 batting average) with two home runs and an SEC-best eight RBIs. Yost wasn’t the only Florida hitter to have success against the Gamecocks. Junior catcher Luke Heyman blasted three home runs and drove in five runs.
Senior outfielder Ty Evans might have found his swing after a rough start to the season. Evans went 5-for-13 (.385 batting average) with two doubles, two home runs, and eight RBIs. Some other Gators who hit well last weekend were Brendan Lawson, Ashton Wilson, and Bobby Boser.
3. Florida’s bullpen steps up after weird weekend
The Florida pitching staff was all hands on deck with multiple injuries and weather delays last weekend at South Carolina. However, Florida’s bullpen did their part and helped Florida complete the sweep, especially in the series finale.
Redshirt sophomore Jake Clemente continues to dominate as Florida’s closer. Against South Carolina. Clemente pitched five innings, allowing four hits, no runs, two walks, and ten strikeouts. He also earned his sixth save of the season.
In the series finale, the Gators needed their bullpen to pitch six innings since Pierce Coppola was on a strict pitch count in his first start back from injury. Freshman right-hander Jackson Barberi did most of the heavy lifting in the series finale. Barberi pitched 3.1 innings, allowing three hits, no runs, no walks, and four strikeouts. Redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez recorded the final eight outs and earned his first save of his collegiate career.
