The Gators stand for the National Anthem prior to Sunday's home win over Dayton that made them 7-0 on the young season. (Photo: Katie Park/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: 7 Games, 7 Reasons Gators Are Good
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Seven games is a small sample size in baseball. So, before we toss too many pitches here, no one is ready to crown the Gators national champions or declare them any better than many clubs Coach Kevin O'Sullivan has put on the field in his 18 seasons.
Still, the 2025 Gators have been impressive as they prepare to face the Hatters of Stetson on the road Tuesday night.
I agree with senior outfielder Ty Evans' assessment following Sunday's three-game thrashing of Dayton: "I think we've got a pretty good club,'' he said. "I feel like this team has a chance to do everything."
The Gators have shown they can pitch, hit, play defense and run the bases. Doing those things well consistently usually leads to a pleasant handshake line at the end of games. They haven't lost yet, but they will. No team in baseball goes undefeated except the Dodgers in the offseason. No team avoids a slump or stretch when it gets out of sync, if only for a few games. As they say, that's baseball.
No. 8-ranked Florida (7-0) has a pair of midweek games before hosting Miami for a three-game weekend series starting Friday. The unranked Hurricanes have won seven of their first eight games and always get the Gators fired up when they visit town.
Yes, the season is young, and there's always a bump or two, but here are seven reasons to be optimistic about the Gators seven games in (listed in no particular order):
LONG LINEUP
Cade Kurland is greeted at home plate by his teammates after one of his two home runs in Sunday's win over Dayton. (Photo: Catherine McCarthy/UAA Communications)
O'Sullivan can tinker with the lineup more than past seasons, and that's by design. Take Sunday's 12-2 win over the Flyers, for instance. He started Landon Stripling in the designated hitter spot, Hayden Yost in left field and Justin Nadeau at second to get their left-handed bats in the lineup against Dayton right-hander J.J. Gatti. When the Flyers turned to a lefty in relief, O'Sullivan inserted right-handed hitters Brody Donay, Blake Cyr and Cade Kurland. The flexibility helps negate matchup moves by opposing coaches and keeps the Gators not in the starting lineup on high alert. "It's important when you're in that position, you have to stay in the game because you could get called at any point,'' Kurland said. "I wasn't even on deck [when I got called]. I just went straight from the dugout to the box. You simplify and try to smash the ball." Kurland's approach paid off with two two-run homers after replacing Nadeau in the fifth inning, including the walk-off winner in the bottom of the eighth. "It's pretty unbelievable,'' added Evans. "I feel like we can run out two completely different teams every day if we wanted to, and both have just as much a chance to have the same amount of success."
FAB FRESHMAN
Freshman first baseman Brendan Lawson does not look like a freshman in the batter's box. (Photo: UAA Communications)
With Jac Caglianone now hammering tape-measure home runs in spring training with the Royals, it's crazy to imagine what he might have done to Dayton pitching if he had stayed around for his senior year. He might have hit one over to Shands. The Gators did just fine without Caglianone, outscoring the Flyers 36-4. Florida hit only four home runs in the series, proving it can beat you in many ways. One of UF's home runs came in Saturday's 11-1 win off the bat of true freshman Brendan Lawson, who has started all seven games at first. Lawson is only seven games into his collegiate career but easily passes for a veteran when he steps into the batter's box. "He's the most mature hitter I've ever seen, the way he presents himself," Evans said. "I forget he's a freshman all the time. He's a different guy." Lawson arrived at UF from Toronto, where he was the top Canadian prep prospect in the 2024 MLB amateur draft. The Cardinals selected Lawson in the 19th round, but he opted to play in college, and O'Sullivan is glad he did. "He's got a slow heart rate," O'Sullivan said. "The game doesn't speed up on him. His zone control is exceptional, especially for a young hitter. He doesn't chase out of the zone very much. He's an advanced hitter." Lawson is 8-for-24 with two doubles, a homer, 10 RBI and several hard-hit balls for outs. And Lawson is just getting started.
COMEBACK COPPOLA
Fourth-year junior lefty Pierce Coppola might be the front-runner for Comeback Player of the Year if the NCAA hands out that award. Coppola's long road back from various injuries has been well-documented, forcing him to miss most of the 2022 and 2023 seasons. He returned late last year, and the rust showed. But in his first two starts of 2025, Coppola has struck out 20 in 10 innings and is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. O'Sullivan pulled Coppola after five innings in Sunday's win to give him additional rest before facing the Hurricanes on Saturday, a day earlier, so the Gators have a right-left-right starting trio. Right-handers Liam Peterson and Jake Clemente started the first two games in the first two weekend series. "He was efficient. He was around the strike zone. He had three pitches working. His misses were small. He was really good,'' O'Sullivan said.
RUN GATORS, RUN
The Gators have 25 stolen bases in 28 attempts, with 10 players swiping at least one base. Cyr leads the team with five and will be able to add to that total against his former team when the Hurricanes visit Condron Ballpark this weekend. If it seems like the Gators are running a lot more than a season ago, it's because they are. The Gators stole 43 bases in 66 games in 2025. The Gators would eclipse last year's total in their 13th game at their current rate. Coincidentally, center fielder Kyle Jones, who had 23 stolen bases last season at Stetson, has yet to swipe his first base for the Gators. Jones has played in only two games after bruising his knee on a slide on Opening Night.
STARTING STRONG Liam Peterson on the mound. (Photo: Nicole Scharff/UAA Communications)
We mentioned Coppola's importance earlier, but the entire weekend starting rotation has been paramount to the team's early success. Peterson has tossed 10 scoreless innings with 16 strikeouts, and Clemente has allowed only two earned runs over 10 innings with 15 strikeouts. Overall, the trio is 5-0, has allowed 12 hits, and struck out 51 over 30 innings. That is getting the job done.
SHELTON'S SWING
Junior shortstop Colby Shelton has opened his second season with the Gators by batting .407 (11-for-27) with five doubles, a homer and seven RBI. There is nothing too unusual about that since Shelton has been an offensive force since he got to college, first as a freshman at Alabama and then last season when he transferred to Florida. If there has been a knock against Shelton, he strikes out too much. In his first two seasons, Shelton struck out 143 times in 459 at-bats (31.2%). He has struck out just one time and walked twice over his first 27 at-bats in 2025. Meanwhile, Shelton has shown proficiency in spraying the ball more to the left field thus far. If he continues to limit strikeouts and tries not to pull the ball as much, pitchers beware.
TEAM TOTALITY
We could easily stretch this list to more than seven reasons to be optimistic about the Gators after seven games. Let's see, and we haven't mentioned the bullpen or slugger Donay's four home runs, Evans' quick return from injury, veteran midweek starter Billy Barlow, or newcomer Bobby Boser's play at third base. Undoubtedly, the Gators have played about as well as can be expected over the season's first two weeks. "I think our team, for sure, is firing on all cylinders: pitching, hitting, base running, defense,'' Kurland said. "But offensively, one through nine, all our guys are interchangeable. It's a good problem to have." Yes, it is. The Gators seek to stay hot before the Hurricanes pay a visit. It's their best start since a 16-0 run to open the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Wonder what that team would have done if the season played out? Considering what this one might do if it keeps playing this way is fun.
