Barco Blanks No. 21 LSU Across Seven Frames to Lift No. 8 Gators to Victory
Starting pitcher Hunter Barco’s seven shutout innings were the most by a Florida pitcher against LSU since Alex Faedo blanked the Tigers across seven frames on March 24, 2017.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 8 Florida used seven shutout innings from starting pitcher Hunter Barco<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15091&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=OgoA_wsFUalu8mTfs9L09w2NK_7hYIQRSMjsRlDfq2s&e= > and a trio of home runs to down No. 21 LSU by a score of 7-2 in Friday night’s series premiere at Florida Ballpark.
Colby Halter<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15096&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=mmzjef9sc_d0-wQveurIR-hUnRiPL6A5RpVFuLnEa0E&e= > (1-for-5), BT Riopelle<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15114&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=6bNo7QzfrTMSO3RV8dqJN8P2xVHyX-3QN8yZ-BU6Ghg&e= > (1-for-4) and Wyatt Langford<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15097&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=Jmt1-ItR3kv1VmLY-1_0dPYtNEZvKFsC-zi_kO8Cgts&e= > (1-for-3) all homered to power the Gator offense behind Barco’s game one gem.
The Gators (17-5, 3-1 SEC) got a quick boost in the first inning, as Halter homered on the fifth pitch to put Florida on top of the Tigers (15-7, 1-3 SEC), 1-0. The Orange & Blue second baseman sent a 3-1 offering over the right-field wall for his fifth big fly of the year as well as his second leadoff jack of the campaign.
Barco came out firing in the premiere, blanking LSU through the first-four frames while notching three strikeouts. With the Tigers held in check, Riopelle added to the lead in the bottom of the fourth, homering on another 3-1 count with a line-drive solo shot to right-center field.
Holding a 2-0 advantage, Barco retired the side in the top of the fifth, using his fourth strikeout to send the contest to its midpoint. From there, the Florida bats exploded for a four-run inning, beginning with an RBI groundout to shortstop off the bat of Jud Fabian<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15127&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=hd6rtwDGm9TDHw_My3OY0nBnEuDfsB_nHS59pvFooMs&e= >. Sterlin Thompson<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15108&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=CROu46aMfKDo0Y_KwHEv3LGruWbHMdROIXl8K9HS2jE&e= > then singled to right to score Deric Fabian<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15119&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=bnI1IaUwwKAI5u1-9qQSXslseoLtAiVIpmEH18pmljI&e= >, bringing Langford to the dish. On the first pitch, Langford blasted a long home run to straightaway left field, scoring Thompson and making it a 6-0 ballgame.
With the flood gates open, Barco remain locked in and again produced a one-two-three frame in the top of the sixth. That allowed the Gators to extend their lead in the bottom of the inning, as Halter brought in Kendrick Calilao<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15092&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=CsTwFlARLlGbjAZscMMDU5Jzko24HUPB3IUX9-MhRe4&e= > on an infield fly to shallow left-center field.
After seven scoreless innings, right-hander Nick Ficarrotta<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_roster.aspx-3Frp-5Fid-3D15094&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=scENnlgCykAwBikF3XrzBlJ-11ZM5R2OfqE41K9hUNU&e= > relieved Barco in the eighth. LSU scratched across two late runs against the Gators reliever, using an RBI groundout by Gavin Dugas and a Hayden Travinski solo homer to bring the score to its final tally of 7-2.
Barco (5-1) fired seven scoreless innings to earn his third-consecutive Friday night victory. The southpaw from Jacksonville, Fla. scattered two hits and three walks while striking out eight batters.
LSU starting pitcher Blake Money (2-1) was saddled with his first loss of the year, pitching five innings and allowing six earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three.
All nine members of Florida’s starting lineup reached base in Friday night’s victory.
NOTABLES
* Barco’s seven shutout innings were the most by a Florida pitcher against LSU since Alex Faedo blanked the Tigers across seven frames on March 24, 2017 – game one of the last series between Florida and LSU in Gainesville.
* Tonight marked Florida’s first win over LSU in Gainesville since March 25, 2017, when Brady Singer threw a complete-game to earn the Gators an 8-1 win.
* With tonight’s victory, Barco improved to 12-2 across his last 16 starts dating back to the 2021 season.
* Barco is now 5-1 on the season with a 1.41 ERA, 52 strikeouts and just five walks – translating to 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings, 1.2 walks per nine and a 10.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
* Every member of the Florida starting lineup reached base, and either collected a hit or walked and scored a run.
* Florida is now 52-64-1 all-time vs. LSU including a 27-18 mark at home.
* Florida is 23-17 vs. the Tigers under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_coaches.aspx-3Frc-3D1445&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=sA26nvD7KBpWWGOP_T4l7csI_G6sNiBJ0zPQrUFB3jr78YpJPrDfCBGtZodP–iX&s=75AYr1aONx_PmgA2yn3DfblFyz6VEzAFs5ET8jJgTKI&e= >.
* The Gators have now won 13 of the last 21 meetings including 8 of the last 12.
* Florida is 38-7 across the program’s last 45 regular season games at Florida Ballpark.
* The Gators are 23-4 in their last 27 regular season home games.
* The Gators have won 16 of their last 19 games overall.
* J. Fabian extended his team-leading hit streak to 11 games.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O’SULLIVAN
On Barco’s performance…
“It’s a hard lineup to navigate through. We knew that. [Dylan] Crews is leading off and [Cade] Doughty has had a lot of success. Obviously, Tre’ Morgan is coming off of an All-American season last year and [Jacob] Berry. It’s not easy. They’re not easy. I think the most impressive thing about Hunter tonight, he’ll probably tell you, he didn’t have his best command. Came in with two walks on the year and had three walks and a hit by batter. He just battled. I mentioned that to the team at the end. Young pitchers, there’s going to be outings where you don’t have your best stuff or your best command, but you got to battle through it. I thought he did an unbelievable job of battling through tonight. If you are going to make a run at this thing and have a successful season, you need a guy to set the tone. He has certainly done that for us. He’s done everything that we could possibly ask for up to this point.”
On Ficarrotta’s night…
“I think he’s nibbling it a little bit. I don’t think he went to a three ball count maybe the first month of the season. I think he’s just nibbling it a little bit. He threw strikes at the end. We are going to need him. We’ve got a couple of different options there in the eighth with a seven-run lead, but at the same time he gives us the best option to win the ballgame at that point.”
On the team’s offensive approach…
“I thought [Blake] Money did a really nice job immediately, when we had a 3-1 count to start the game and Colby [Halter] runs into a fastball. Then they immediately slow the ball down. A lot of changeups to left handed hitters, a lot of breaking balls early in the count to right handed hitters. Fastball counts, we didn’t get many fastballs after that in fastball counts. I think our hitters did a really nice job in making adjustments. Wyatt hit a home run on a slider. I think one of the key at bats during that game was bottom of the fifth. Kris [Armstrong] led off the inning with a single on a changeup. I thought our hitters did a much better job adjusting as the game went on. The fifth inning has been somewhat of an inning where I think we scored the most runs in the fifth inning. I think that’s accredited to the hitters making adjustments as the game goes on.”
UP NEXT
Florida and LSU meet again for game two of the series on Saturday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. The matchup will stream live on SEC Network+.
