Florida starting pitcher Aidan King delivered his strongest outing of the season, while center fielder Kyle Jones notched his 13th multi-hit game of the season in Friday night’s 2-0 win over the Ole Miss Rebels. Both players pointed to energy and execution behind the performance while speaking to the media after the victory.
King leaned on his fastball command to set the tone. He told reporters that he emphasized attacking early, trusting his defense, and maintaining consistent energy following a letdown series against Alabama. Jones noted how King’s presence and emotion on the mound carried into the dugout, forcing the lineup to “match that intensity.”
Jones also broke down the Gators’ simplified offensive approach against one of the top starters in the conference, Hunter Elliot. Playing without Brendan Lawson forced Florida to stick to its plan, so it could even up the series going into Saturday.
Here’s everything they said.
Aidan King on fastball command and outing
“Just having the fastball early was key. Recognizing they were probably going to take a lot early in counts, I just established the fastball and commanded it in and out. Let the defense work behind me and let (the offense) come in and score some runs.”
Aidan King on team energy shift after Alabama
“Energy is very important to us. You’ve got to stay high throughout the entire game. After the Bama series, that was a tough loss for us, but you’ve got to turn around, know what you did wrong, and come back with higher energy.”
Aidan King on emotions during the game
“It was high energy all game. They were going back and forth. Tensions are going to get high. I showed emotion; they showed emotion. I knew I was done, so I just showed some emotion.”
Aidan King on Blake Cyr’s catch in center field
“I honestly thought it was gone at first, and then I realized the wind. It was crosswind, so it was going to die a little bit. I saw Blake keep running and going, and I thought, ‘Well, he might get there.’
“So, he made an outstanding catch. That’s what you do. I expect them to make plays like that, and they expect me to throw strikes. It’s a mutual respect. It’s an unbelievable catch, and I’m glad he caught it.”
Were you surprised he got up? It looked like he was knocked out for a second
“At first, it looked like it took the wind out of him, so I was glad to see him get up, and he’s not hurt. That’s the key, is making sure he’s okay. I took my time to make sure he got the breath back into him. He was all good. I wasn’t going to rush him. I was going to make sure that he was going to be okay.”
Aidan King on rotation conversations with Liam Peterson
“To us, it doesn’t matter. It’s a one-two punch. He deserves the Friday spot as much as he does. He goes out there and throws the ball well, and everyone knows he’s a top guy in the draft this year, and he can throw the ball well. There’s no doubt in my mind he stays the Friday guy.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me. He deserves it. That conversation doesn’t really get brought up to us at all. He keeps doing what he’s doing; he’s fine. I just keep doing what I’m doing, and make sure that if he has a bad start or a good start, I’m right there behind him continuing to do what I do.”
Aidan King on Liam’s support
“We talk back and forth all the time. Tonight I was having trouble with a pitch, so I asked him, like ‘Hey, I’m feeling this. Do you have anything that could maybe help?’ We just bounce ideas off each other and try to improve each other and ourselves based off what he went through the past three years and what I’ve gone through the past two years.
“So, it’s just bouncing off each other and learning from each other.”
Aidan King on pitch mix
“The fastball was there. You just work off the fastball. They weren’t really getting to it, so you throw changeup, slider in there, and a couple splitters. Establish the fastball and then catch them off guard.”
Aidan King on mound visit late in outing
“He was just telling me how what we were going to do against the guy; just attack him and get the guy out. He knew I didn’t want to come out of the game, and if he was going to tell me I was done, I was going to argue back. I did my job, and I trusted what he told me on the mound.”
Aidan King on retiring 15 of 17 hitters
“Just keep throwing the ball. I don’t pay attention to strikeouts or how many guys I retire. You can’t worry about numbers because then you think, ‘Oh, I want more strikeouts.’ Just keep throwing the baseball.”
Kyle Jones on Aidan King’s performance
“Superstar. That’s really the only word you can use to describe it. He set the tone from the beginning. When you go seven innings, it’s pretty easy for the bullpen to do what they do, and we’ve got Barbs and Josh. It’s pretty locked down at that point. Aidan did amazing.”
Kyle Jones on easy day on defense with King on the mound
“Yeah, exactly. I got like four or five, but still. He makes it look easy.”
Kyle Jones on offensive approach
“Just trying to simplify. Hitting the baseball is really hard, so just try to stay easy and not think about it very much. Go out there, do your job, try to get on base. That’s what I’m in the leadoff spot for, so I try my best.”
Kyle Jones on Cyr’s catch from his perspective
“You knew it was going to be a tough play. Not much launch angle on it; hit pretty hard on a line, so you knew it was going to be a tough play. His route couldn’t have been better to that ball, and him wearing the fence like that. It’s not easy. I was checking on him to make sure he was okay.
“But an unbelievable catch, in a huge spot of the game. The fact that he made that was big for the team and momentum.”
Kyle Jones on Aidan King’s energy
“It fires up the dugout. It leads into the next inning. Him doing that, going out, we almost have to respond to it by matching his energy, if that makes sense. He was outstanding today.”
Kyle Jones on grinding at-bats in a low-scoring series
“Go up there, swing at the strikes and take the balls. You just try to get up and get a good pitch to hit, put a ball on a barrel. Obviously, you’re going to have those ones where you hit it hard, and you’re going to be out. You have those ones you don’t hit well, and it falls. It’s just baseball. Just trying to get one at a time, multiple hits, just pass the baton to the person behind you.”
Kyle Jones on approach vs. Elliott
“He likes the changeup a lot. He’s going to go to it. So, you’ve got to see it up. It’s also got fade to it, so you have to keep inside the box, see him up and not chase it down or outside. As righty, keep him inside the black.”
Kyle Jones on lineup adjustment without Brendan Lawson
“He’s a huge part of our lineup. I don’t exactly know what happened before the game. Hopefully, he’s back (Saturday), if not, then on Tuesday. When you’re missing him, he’s such a huge part of our offense; you have to get things going earlier. He brings a lot of power, so you’ve got to find ways to score. Really, coming together as a team, trying to get it done. Nobody does it by themselves.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Aidan King, Kyle Jones talk Florida baseball’s Friday win vs Ole Miss
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
