Florida and Tennessee battled through six innings in another pitchers' duel, but a disaster of a seventh inning led to a 10-0 final score in favor of the Volunteers.Tennessee claims the series with the win and it's a big blow to a Florida team that had the talent to come in and take two of three in the first conference matchup of the year. It's also a disappointing end to a gem of an outing from freshman right-hander Aidan King, who took the loss despite giving up just one run and delivering a quality start.
Florida's offense hasn't been able to figure out Tennessee's pitching staff this weekend, and a couple of bad mistakes from the coaching staff isn't helping. There's also some question as to how even the strike zone has been, but that doesn't explain a nine-run inning and should be worked around by the Florida arms.Wasting King's SEC debutAidan King was masterful in his first SEC start, giving up just one run on four hits, a walk and a hit batter.
King struck out six over as many innings, mostly with his fastball, which is his best and most mature pitch in terms of control and location. He's going to be a weekend arm for the next three seasons and has top-10 draft potential assuming he stays healthy. The rest of the Gators pitching staff was not as good.
Jackson Barberi was first out of the bullpen and the only Gators pitcher to record an out in the seventh — a strikeout with men on the corners. At that point, there was still hope for the Gators to salvage the inning and.