GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida rallied from an early, 2-0 deficit thanks to a six-inning gem from ace Liam Peterson to upset No. 5 Arkansas, 6-4, in the series opener at Condron Family Ballpark on Friday night.
 
Now winners of nine of their last 10 games and six of seven in SEC play, the Gators (29-15, 7-12 SEC) have delivered seven-straight victories at home. Friday night also signified Florida’s 12th comeback win of the campaign.
 
Settling in after allowing a pair of early runs, Peterson (7-2) racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts against just two walks across six-plus innings to pick up the win as well as the quality start. Peterson’s 13 strikeouts marked the most by a Gator since Hurston Waldrep in 2023 Super Regionals vs. South Carolina. Offensively, Luke Heyman (1-for-4) remained locked in on SEC pitching with a three-run homer for his 10th of the year while Brendan Lawson (2-for-4) chipped in two hits, one RBI and one run.
 
Peterson struck out three batters in the first but was tagged for a one-out, solo homer to left by Wehiwa Aloy as the Razorbacks (36-8, 13-6 SEC) opened a 1-0 lead after one frame. Arkansas extended its edge to 2-0 in the second on a leadoff home run to left-center from Cam Kozeal, but Peterson buckled down and fanned two more to limit the damage.
 
Peterson struck out three more Razorbacks in the third to reach eight strikeouts while producing his first zero of the contest. Florida followed suit by scoring one run in the home half to reduce the deficit to 2-1. Justin Nadeau singled up the middle with two down, then scored all the way from first on an errant pickoff attempt for the Gators’ first run.
 
By fanning the side in order swinging in the fourth, Peterson matched his career high with 11 strikeouts in just four innings of work. The Gators again took the opportunity to claw back, this time tying the tally at two runs apiece. Colby Shelton walked followed by a Lawson single to put two on Blake Cyr. The junior outfielder delivered with a game-tying, RBI single to center to plate Shelton for Florida’s second run of the night.
 
Peterson navigated around a one-out single by Charles Davalan for his third-consecutive scoreless frame in the fifth. The Florida offense struck for the third inning in a row in bottom-five, beginning with a go-ahead, RBI single to right field from Lawson to plate Boser, who reached via back-to-back, one-out singles with Shelton. With two men on, Heyman mashed a three-run tank to left field on a full count to give the Gators a 6-2 lead through five innings.
 
In the top of the sixth, Peterson retired the side in order for his fourth-straight zero highlighted by two more strikeouts to increase his total to a career-high 13. He went back out for the seventh at 105 pitches, but was lifted after issuing a leadoff walk to Gabe Fraser. Upon his exit, Justin Thomas Jr. smacked a one-out, two-run homer to right to cut the UF advantage to 6-4.
 
Leading by two runs, closer Jake Clemente held the score with a clean eighth inning. Clemente returned to polish off the save in the ninth, going one-two-three to complete 2 2/3 perfect innings of relief and cement the victory. Clemente locked down his fourth save of the season, striking out three batters while retiring all eight Razorbacks he faced.
 
Peterson (7-2) picked up his sixth victory in seven home outings while recording his second-straight quality start. The sophomore righty allowed three earned runs in six-plus innings on five hits and two walks. That came along with a career-high 13 strikeouts, marking Peterson’s third double-digit strikeout performance of the campaign.
 
Razorbacks starter Zach Root (5-3) was handed the loss, going 4 1/3 frames with five runs allowed (four earned) on six hits and two walks. The southpaw struck out eight.
 
NOTABLES

• Florida has won nine of its last 10 games overall and six of its last seven in SEC play.
• Florida has won seven-straight home games.
• Florida posted its 12th comeback victory including its fifth in the last 10 games.
• Peterson struck out a career-high 13 batters over six-plus innings, becoming the first Gator with 13 strikeouts in a game since Hurston Waldrep vs. South Carolina in Super Regionals on June 10, 2023.

  • Peterson has now reached double-digit strikeouts three times this season.
  • The right-hander also threw a career-high 114 pitches.
  • Peterson fired his second-straight quality start for a total of four on the year.

• In seven home starts, Peterson is 6-1 with a 60-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 37 1/3 innings.
• Heyman connected for his 10th home run of the season.
• Clemente collected his fourth save of the season – all in Florida’s last 10 games – by pitching 2 2/3 shutout, no-hit innings to close it out.
• Shelton has reached base safely in 43 of 43 games this season.
• Boser has reached base safely in 24-straight games.
• Florida is now 37-38 all-time against Arkansas including 21-13 in Gainesville.

  • The Gators are 19-24 overall and 11-8 at home vs. the Hogs under Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
  • Florida is 10-5 in the last 15 home contests against Arkansas.

• Friday night’s official attendance was 6,542.

FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Peterson’s night and the game overall…
“Second walk is probably my fault, probably shouldn’t have ran him back out there in the seventh inning but he convinced me. He didn’t lose his stuff in the sixth, it was still the same as it was in the first. He was special tonight, it was kind of funny, before the game, after the pregame meal, asked him to come up to the conference room and all we did was watch the sixth inning of last weekend’s start. I mean, his mound presence was incredible, it was the best inning he threw in that start as well, and you know, just pointing out a couple things to him. But certainty he deserves all the credit because he pitched extremely well. Obviously gave up a couple of solo home runs in the first and second. He was special, and so was Jake, and the most important thing about Jake, other than getting the save was he only threw 31 pitches over 2 2/3… Everybody knows how important these games are down the stretch, so obviously it was big for us to get the first one, but certainty it’s a long way to go on this weekend. Just glad we got the first one.”
 
On the confidence a hard-fought win brings…
“Yeah, it’s one of the things I said at the end of the game. You know a game like this should give you confidence that you can play with anybody. And the message has always been we are going to turn this thing around and we’ve got a long way to go. And its cliché, certainly, but this one was a big one, especially when we fell behind a couple runs early.”
 
On the outstanding fan support…
“Yeah, it was awesome. You could tell the crowd was going to be into it because they had the giveaways and you start seeing the towels and all that stuff. But you know, they were awesome. For them to get on their feet there for the last out, I’ve said this before, I really appreciate our fans. I know it’s been an up-and-down year for us, but they’ve stayed with us. So, it certainly does help us, and I personally appreciate it and I know our players do, too.”

UP NEXT

Game two of the series will be televised on SEC Network at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Rookie right-hander Aidan King (4-1, 3.63 ERA) gets the ball for the Gators against Arkansas righty Gage Wood (0-0, 6.14 ERA).