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Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and starting pitcher Liam Peterson spoke to the media after Friday's series-opening win over Kennesaw State.
Both were pleased with Peterson's bounce back after a shaky first start a week ago. Sully shook off the poor start for the most part, while Peterson talked about how he changed his preparation to return to form. Peterson struck out 12 and gave up just one hit over 5 1/3 innings, but he still wished he had gone six, setting the bar high for the program.
Each praised the offense for starting the season off hot, with both mentioning how it was only a matter of time until Ole Miss transfer Ethan Surowiec hit his first home run. Surowiec had two homers in the win and figures to be one of the more powerful bats in Florida's lineup, something Peterson says he's counting on and makes things easier for everyone on the pitching staff.
Here's everything they said after the win.
"Obviously, really encouraging. He threw great." I think in the first inning, he had to hold his composure a little bit. He got in three three-ball counts but battled and got back in the count. Obviously, gave up one hit over 5 1/3. We had him at 91 pitches, only walked two and struck out 12, so he really set the tone for us.'
"He's going to have 15-16 starts this year. It's like, what are you going to do? I mean, obviously, he's been our Friday night starter. You know, him going on his third year and no one's more upset with his outing than he was. There's not a whole lot to say. But he bounced back, and I was really pleased that he did."
"He's really had some bad luck. He's stung some balls and hit them hard. Kyle Jones continued to swing the bat good and had three hits. He's done a really nice job to get us going early in the game with his first at-bat, and we're getting some production from a lot of different guys in the lineup. So, it was good to see.
"I thought the at-bats were really good tonight. We extended some counts, and we battled with two strikes, and we were tough outs. Against some good arms, you know, sinkers and cutters."
"The score itself does not indicate, and I want to say this again about Kennesaw State, they're good. They're really good. They just ran into Liam Peterson tonight, who had his A-game going."
"It's just a bruise. I think it just tightened up on him a little bit. It's early in the season. We didn't want to take any chances."
"(I told him) just settle down and relax. The one pitch that probably got him in trouble was the slider that he didn't bounce and it was a swunt (swinging bunt) down the third-base line. Now they got first and second with nobody out. If he bounces it, maybe he's got a chance for a chase. Other than that, I thought he threw the ball well, too."
"Yeah, I felt good. Obviously, last weekend wasn't great, but the guys in the locker room had my back the whole time and didn't let me get down on myself. I knew it wasn't good, but I knew it was just one outing. If I have a terrible outing to start the year, I'd much rather that than to end the year (on one)."
"I think my slider was really good. Even when I got behind in the count sometimes, I thought I came back and executed the off-speed well. So, obviously, I threw more strikes this week, but also the slider was really good."
"After last Saturday, I talked to (David) Kopp about what I felt, and we went through some stats and noticed some things were not right in my mechanics. So, we really focused on that on Tuesday. When you get to the game, you don't really think about it as much. You just go out there and compete, but I think the Tuesday bullpen after talking with Kopp helped me a lot."
"I did kind of peek up at the board. I didn't think that much into it, obviously. Once I walked the dude, that's when I kind of realized it, but it was still cool."
"I really wanted to get through six, especially after last week. I thought six was something I should have done. That's kind of the standard that's been set for a good outing. He told me it's the bigger picture, you're at 91 pitches already. Let's have a good outing and focus on next week."
"It starts in the fall and carries through to early spring. We all have each other's backs, and I think the chemistry is really good. When you do that, you can talk to each other about things. You can talk about baseball, really anything. So, just the trust that we have in each other to come in helps a lot, but we have guys with a lot of good stuff. When you pair those together, it's a good outcome."
"He threw great. He kind of had to sit out the fall with something he had, but he came back in the spring and was dominant. Barely walks dudes, got really good stuff. If you ask any of the hitters about his slider, they'll say nothing but good things about it. So, he just attacked the zone with good stuff and earned that spot."
"You said it perfectly, just not walking guys. Now, they've been putting up stats on the board about first-pitch strikes and all that. We've kind of made it a challenge against each other in the spring to see who could throw the most first-pitch strikes, first two out of three. So, I think we've added a little bit of that competition aspect to it, and it really made us dial in and focus on it."
"That dude has some of the craziest power I've ever seen. I think Sully said it a couple of days ago. He's been smoking the ball; he was bound to get one gets one, and today he got two. So, that dude's got some crazy power. I expect a lot from him in the homer category."
"Yeah, it just makes it easy. I had a four-run lead. You know, you're not thinking about anything. If he hits a home run, it's 4-1, whoop-dee-doo. Those guys have been taking such good ABs and striking out a lot less. I have the utmost confidence in our lineup, no matter who is out there."
"Yeah, that's really big. That's something for me that is circled all year. It's definitely a rivalry that I'm really into. As far as the program, it's always a good series, but it's definitely one of the teams that we don't like and they don't like us. It's going to be a fun one out there in Coral Gables, but we're ready to go, and it's going to be pretty intense."
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball postgame quotes after Game 1 win vs. Kennesaw State
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Both were pleased with Peterson's bounce back after a shaky first start a week ago. Sully shook off the poor start for the most part, while Peterson talked about how he changed his preparation to return to form. Peterson struck out 12 and gave up just one hit over 5 1/3 innings, but he still wished he had gone six, setting the bar high for the program.
Each praised the offense for starting the season off hot, with both mentioning how it was only a matter of time until Ole Miss transfer Ethan Surowiec hit his first home run. Surowiec had two homers in the win and figures to be one of the more powerful bats in Florida's lineup, something Peterson says he's counting on and makes things easier for everyone on the pitching staff.
Here's everything they said after the win.
Sully on Liam Peterson's outing
"Obviously, really encouraging. He threw great." I think in the first inning, he had to hold his composure a little bit. He got in three three-ball counts but battled and got back in the count. Obviously, gave up one hit over 5 1/3. We had him at 91 pitches, only walked two and struck out 12, so he really set the tone for us.'
Sully on message to Peterson after season opener struggles
"He's going to have 15-16 starts this year. It's like, what are you going to do? I mean, obviously, he's been our Friday night starter. You know, him going on his third year and no one's more upset with his outing than he was. There's not a whole lot to say. But he bounced back, and I was really pleased that he did."
Sully on Ethan Surowiec's two homers, rest of offense
"He's really had some bad luck. He's stung some balls and hit them hard. Kyle Jones continued to swing the bat good and had three hits. He's done a really nice job to get us going early in the game with his first at-bat, and we're getting some production from a lot of different guys in the lineup. So, it was good to see.
"I thought the at-bats were really good tonight. We extended some counts, and we battled with two strikes, and we were tough outs. Against some good arms, you know, sinkers and cutters."
Sully on Kennesaw State
"The score itself does not indicate, and I want to say this again about Kennesaw State, they're good. They're really good. They just ran into Liam Peterson tonight, who had his A-game going."
Sully on Cade Kurland leaving the game after HBP
"It's just a bruise. I think it just tightened up on him a little bit. It's early in the season. We didn't want to take any chances."
Sully on Caden McDonald, giving up three hits
"(I told him) just settle down and relax. The one pitch that probably got him in trouble was the slider that he didn't bounce and it was a swunt (swinging bunt) down the third-base line. Now they got first and second with nobody out. If he bounces it, maybe he's got a chance for a chase. Other than that, I thought he threw the ball well, too."
Peterson on bouncing back
"Yeah, I felt good. Obviously, last weekend wasn't great, but the guys in the locker room had my back the whole time and didn't let me get down on myself. I knew it wasn't good, but I knew it was just one outing. If I have a terrible outing to start the year, I'd much rather that than to end the year (on one)."
Peterson on his pitches
"I think my slider was really good. Even when I got behind in the count sometimes, I thought I came back and executed the off-speed well. So, obviously, I threw more strikes this week, but also the slider was really good."
Peterson on preparation changes
"After last Saturday, I talked to (David) Kopp about what I felt, and we went through some stats and noticed some things were not right in my mechanics. So, we really focused on that on Tuesday. When you get to the game, you don't really think about it as much. You just go out there and compete, but I think the Tuesday bullpen after talking with Kopp helped me a lot."
Peterson on carrying a no-hitter through five
"I did kind of peek up at the board. I didn't think that much into it, obviously. Once I walked the dude, that's when I kind of realized it, but it was still cool."
Peterson on discussion with Sully to stay out there
"I really wanted to get through six, especially after last week. I thought six was something I should have done. That's kind of the standard that's been set for a good outing. He told me it's the bigger picture, you're at 91 pitches already. Let's have a good outing and focus on next week."
Peterson on the pitching staff playing well
"It starts in the fall and carries through to early spring. We all have each other's backs, and I think the chemistry is really good. When you do that, you can talk to each other about things. You can talk about baseball, really anything. So, just the trust that we have in each other to come in helps a lot, but we have guys with a lot of good stuff. When you pair those together, it's a good outcome."
Peterson on Cooper Walls winning the Sunday job
"He threw great. He kind of had to sit out the fall with something he had, but he came back in the spring and was dominant. Barely walks dudes, got really good stuff. If you ask any of the hitters about his slider, they'll say nothing but good things about it. So, he just attacked the zone with good stuff and earned that spot."
Peterson on growth of pitching staff
"You said it perfectly, just not walking guys. Now, they've been putting up stats on the board about first-pitch strikes and all that. We've kind of made it a challenge against each other in the spring to see who could throw the most first-pitch strikes, first two out of three. So, I think we've added a little bit of that competition aspect to it, and it really made us dial in and focus on it."
Peterson on Surowiec
"That dude has some of the craziest power I've ever seen. I think Sully said it a couple of days ago. He's been smoking the ball; he was bound to get one gets one, and today he got two. So, that dude's got some crazy power. I expect a lot from him in the homer category."
Peterson on pitching with a powerful offense behind him
"Yeah, it just makes it easy. I had a four-run lead. You know, you're not thinking about anything. If he hits a home run, it's 4-1, whoop-dee-doo. Those guys have been taking such good ABs and striking out a lot less. I have the utmost confidence in our lineup, no matter who is out there."
Peterson on facing Miami, last year's strong outing
"Yeah, that's really big. That's something for me that is circled all year. It's definitely a rivalry that I'm really into. As far as the program, it's always a good series, but it's definitely one of the teams that we don't like and they don't like us. It's going to be a fun one out there in Coral Gables, but we're ready to go, and it's going to be pretty intense."
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball postgame quotes after Game 1 win vs. Kennesaw State
Continue reading...
