Game 1: Mississippi State 10, Florida 5
Game 2: Florida 4, Mississippi State 2
 
WHAT HAPPENED: Florida and Mississippi State split a Saturday doubleheader to finish their SEC Opening Weekend Series.
 
The Bulldogs clinched a series win with a 10-5 victory in Game 1, but the Gators responded with a 4-2 win in the second game.
 
Nelson Maldonado had the best day of anyone at the plate, going 4-for-8 with a double and home run, propelling Florida to a win with three hits in the second game. Brady McConnell and Kris Armstrong also had a pair of RBI on the day.
 
Tyler Dyson took the mound for Game 2 needing a win and he turned in his best performance of the season. He limited the Bulldogs' veteran lineup to just two runs over six innings. Christian Scott pitched 2.1 shutout innings to finish the game for his first save.
 
Florida fell behind 1-0 but used a three-run fourth inning to overcome the deficit. Armstrong pulled a RBI double down the right-field line to take the lead and Brady Smith singled home Armstrong to make it 3-1.
 
Maldonado's solo home run in the fifth inning made it 4-1. MSU got a run back in the seventh but Jordan Butler and Scott shut the door to seal the win.
 
In Game 1, Mississippi State built a 7-1 lead before Florida rallied. McConnell's two-run double sparked the Gators and Kendrick Calilao singled home McConnell to make it 7-4. MSU scored three runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
 
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Tyler Dyson – Needing a win to prevent a sweep, the junior answered the call with his best performance of the season. He surrendered a pair of doubles in the third inning that got MSU on the board but was otherwise lights out through six innings. He ran into trouble in the seventh after a leadoff walk and a single before he was replaced by Jordan Butler.
 
STANDOUT STAT: Salvaging Series – With a win in the final game, the Gators avoided their first sweep in a home series since 2013 (vs. Florida Gulf Coast). The last time UF was swept in a SEC series at McKethan Stadium was 2006 against Georgia.
 
FROM THE COACH: Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan – On Tyler Dyson: "That's the best he's pitched all year and we needed him to. I know he only struck out one guy, but he only had one walk and that's a veteran lineup that's got a lot of at-bats under their belt and they're tough to strike out. They're good, they swing early and then they make a drastic two-strike adjustment, they choke up, they get on top of the plate. You have to be able to command the ball in because they're selling out for the outer half of the plate. Every guy going down that lineup is choking up, spreading out; they're committing themselves to not striking out and putting the ball in play."
 
On the weekend: "This team is learning. Opening weekend we didn't look quite as sharp as I thought we would, then we go on the road to USF and we don't play well. Then we don't play well the first half of Florida State in front of five or six thousand fans. Then this is the first SEC series, we just didn't deal with it very well. But, the young players are learning. The second game of the day we were much better. You look out there you've got Armstrong making his first start at third, obviously Brady [McConnell], freshman [at second], freshman [at first], freshman in left. We're not going to use that as an excuse; they have the ability to play at this level. We just need to learn how to do that on a consistent basis. I think that's the biggest challenge at this point."
 
UP NEXT: Florida wraps up its 14-game homestand on Tuesday against Jacksonville at 6 p.m. at McKethan Stadium. The game will air live on SEC Network+ and the Gators Sports Network (98.1 FM/AM 850 in Gainesville). Next weekend, the Gators travel to Nashville for a three-game series at No. 2 Vanderbilt.