Florida Gators Shut Out 6-0 by No. 23 Vanderbilt in Series Opener

Florida's baseball team was shut out by No. 23 Vanderbilt in the opening game of their series on Friday night, losing 6-0 at Condron Family Ballpark.

The game started with both teams keeping the score tied through the first two innings.

Starting pitchers Liam Peterson for Florida and JD Thompson for Vanderbilt kept the offense at bay, making it clear this would be a pitching-heavy contest.

Vanderbilt broke the deadlock in the third inning, capitalizing on a two-out walk to Mike Mancini.

RJ Austin followed with an RBI triple to left-center, giving the Commodores a 1-0 lead.

Peterson worked his way out of a jam in the fourth inning by striking out a batter and getting a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.

However, in the fifth, the Commodores extended their lead with an RBI double from Austin and a run-scoring single by Riley Nelson, pushing the score to 3-0.

Florida’s pitching staff had a brief moment of brilliance in the sixth.

After Vanderbilt loaded the bases, right-hander Jake Clemente entered and struck out both Jacob Humphrey and Mancini to escape the threat.

Clemente stayed on in the seventh, fanning two more Vanderbilt batters to strand two runners on base.

Vanderbilt struck again in the eighth inning, adding three more runs.

Mancini drove in Jonathan Vastine with an RBI single, and with two outs, Nelson brought in two more runs with a single to right field, making it 6-0.

The Gators managed a small rally in the ninth inning when Brendan Lawson and Luke Heyman got consecutive singles.

However, Vanderbilt closer Sawyer Hawks shut it down, retiring the next three Florida batters in order to seal the victory.

Miller Green (1-2), a reliever for Vanderbilt, earned the win after striking out the only batter he faced to end the fifth inning.

Peterson (4-2) took the loss after allowing three earned runs on five hits and five walks over 5 1/3 innings. Peterson also struck out six.

Thompson, Vanderbilt’s starting pitcher, was effective, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out two batters.

For Florida, Colby Shelton and Luke Heyman each went 2-for-4.

Shelton continued his strong season with his 16th multi-hit game of the year, while Heyman added his second multi-hit performance in the last three games.

This shutout loss was Florida's second of the season, with both occurring in SEC play.

The Gators were also shut out at home for the first time since April 23, 2022, when they faced No. 1 Tennessee.

The Gators' pitching staff did have some strong performances, especially from reliever Barberi, who recorded the final five outs and struck out four batters without allowing a run.

Florida now holds a 148-83-1 all-time record against Vanderbilt, including 84-25 at home.

Under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, the Gators are 35-25 in the series and 19-10 in Gainesville.

Game two of the series will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and broadcast on SEC Network+.