Florida Baseball
By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
Not much positive on Friday night.
Thursday’s positives were obvious, but they were in short supply for game two. Florida won it, 11-1, in seven innings. Marcos Paz was rocked. Casan Evans entered unexpectedly and gave up a three-run homer. The Tiger offense was smothered by Liam Peterson.
Other than that, Mary Todd Lincoln loved the play.
Paz was the story for me. He had a chance to go out and perform well against a solid offense. He didn’t.
The freshman right hander hit Brendan Lawson with an 0-2 fastball to start things. That’s not on the pitching coach or recruiting. Missing by 3 feet with an 0-2 fastball is just a horrendous lack of execution. That’s been all too prevalent this year. An RBI double and an RBI ground out made it 2-0 Florida in the first. The Gators scored three more in the second in part due to a 497-foot homer by Lawson that came on a fastball left right over the heart of the plate. You have to throw the ball where you’re trying to, and Paz didn’t on Friday.
He retired six of seven in the third and fourth but ultimately allowed seven earned runs in 4.1 innings. That’s hard to call a success in what might be his final outing of the year. The talented rookie did some good things this year, but he’s got a lot of progressing to do now pushing two years since his Tommy John surgery.
Steven Milam improved his draft stock with a homer off Peterson. Blasts on consecutive days off Aidan King and Peterson will ring the bell of some MLB talent evaluators. Those two arms are as good as it gets in college baseball.
It was disappointing to see Evans come on in a 7-1 game and allow two walks and a homer in 1.2 innings. He lasted 41 pitches. Zion Theophilus relieved him and allowed a homer on his third pitch.
LSU was competitive on Thursday. Not so much on Friday.
The Tigers lost eight of 1o SEC series this year. Watching them week after week, it’s believable, but simultaneously hard to digest. There just isn’t a discernable strength on the roster. The pitching staff’s ineptitude has been utterly shocking. That was again the case this weekend.
THE SCORECARD
Liam Peterson: 7IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 95 pitches, 66 strikes
LSU was 3-for-24 (.125) overall, 0-for-6 with runners on base
Cade Arrambide: 0-for-3, 3 K
Florida hit four home runs
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU and Florida conclude SEC play Saturday with a 2:00 start. The Gators are still fighting for a top eight national seed. LSU is ready for Tuesday in Hoover.
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