We are underway in Norman as the Florida Gators return to action on Saturday night, looking to tie the weekend series with the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Gators trail the Sooners, 2-0, heading into the top of the second.
Liam Peterson had a rough first inning, giving up a pair of runs on three hits and a walk. Jaxon Willits did the damage, driving in both runs with a liner into left-center.
Oklahoma’s starter, Cameron Johnson, left the game after the first with an apparent knee injury. He hit the first two batters he faced and grimaced. Sooners head coach Skip Johnson checked on him in the middle of the inning but left him in. Johnson tried to go back out for the second but wasn’t able to. Michael Catalano is the new pitcher.
Stay tuned for live updates from the game below.
Oklahoma jumps all over Liam Peterson
Liam Peterson threw 33 pitches in the first, which is never good. He was sitting at 99 mph with his fastball, but the Sooners still caught up to it. Camden Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a single and moved to second on a throwing error from Brendan Lawson that went into the dugout. Brendan Brock flied out to left, but the ball nearly got out of the park, dying at the warning track.
Trey Gambill singled through the left side, putting runners on the corners. Gambill moved into scoring position quickly with an uncontested stolen base. The steal paid off immediately as Jaxon Willits doubled to left center, driving in a pair of runs.
Deiten LaChance advanced Willits to third base on a flyout to center field. Dasan Harris won an 11-pitch battle against Peterson that included six foul balls before drawing the walk. Harris took second, too. The Sooners might be getting good jumps off Peterson, so it’s not necessarily Karson Bowen’s fault behind the plate. Connor Larkin struck out looking to finally end the inning. (E1: Oklahoma 2, Florida 0)
Cam Johnson a little wild to start
Florida got two on base out of the gate, thanks to a pair of hit batters by Cameron Johnson, but the next three batters went down in order to strand both runners. Blake Cyr and Ethan Surowiec strukc out looking, and Karson Bowen grounded out to second. It’s a wasted opportunity, but Oklahoma is at least concerned with its starter’s command early on. The Sooners had the bullpen up and active almost immediately. (M1: Florida 0, Oklahoma 0)
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Florida vs. Oklahoma starting pitchers, lineups
NOTES: Liam Peterson has figured out the walk issue, but now he’s getting hit consistently by SEC teams. Auburn put up four (one earned) on seven hits two weeks ago, and Texas A&M scored five (all earned) on seven hits last week. His strikeout numbers are down, and he’s usually only getting through the fifth inning. There’s greatness in there somewhere, but Peterson hasn’t tapped into it much this year.
Cameron Johnson is Oklahoma’s ace, but the Sooners are throwing him Saturday instead of Friday. The prevailing logic is that Johnson gives Oklahoma a better chance to win on Saturday, facing Peterson instead of King. Johnson has some command issues and has walked three or more batters in seven of his 11 starts this year. Conference play has been even tougher on him with seven walks against Texas A&M, six at LSU, four at Texas and Vanderbilt and five at Auburn.
Patience is the name of the game here for Florida, but Johnson has this odd ability to work out of his self-inflicted jams. The Gators must hit with runners in scoring position to take this win. The 6-foot-6-inch left-hander has a 93-96 mph fastball that can top out around 97. He pairs it with a plus changeup that comes in between 84-88 mph. Johnson also uses a 78-81 mph slider that draws a 60% whiff rate. He’s a groundball pitcher (60.6%) who rarely gives up the big fly. His 62 strikeouts over 47 2/3 innings are elite, too.
Florida Gators starting lineup
Oklahoma starting lineup
What channel is Florida at Oklahoma?
The Florida at Oklahoma game starts at 7 p.m. ET from Kimrey Family Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Live updates, highlights from Florida baseball at Oklahoma Sooners
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
