Last year, the pitching staff was sometimes an adventure for Florida Baseball. The Gators got some solid stars here and there, but seldom did Florida starters make it deep into the game, and when they did, it seemed like they also got tagged for one or two more runs than they needed to.
A sweep over Air Force by itself won't move the needle a ton, but the 1-2-3 punch of the pitching staff does give hope for an improved group as 2025 gets underway.
Florida Baseball: Throw Strikes
Last year, Florida had a grand total of five quality starts from a starting pitcher. For those unaware, a quality start is when a pitcher goes at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs.
Three games into the 2025 campaign and Florida already has two quality starts registered, and the third start wasn't bad either.
Liam Peterson kicked things off on Friday with six scoreless innings and 11 strikeouts. Jake Clemente went six innings as well, giving up two earned runs off eight strikeouts. While Pierce Coppola only went five innings, he struck out 12 of the 18 batters he faced, and the other three outs were ground outs.
For a unit that was 152nd in team ERA in 2024, opening weekend was a positive sign, especially for Peterson and Coppola. We had pondered in our previews whether or not either pitcher would make "the leap" in 2025, and it is safe to say both look electric.
Just as encouraging as the strikeouts and lack of runs given up was the fact that Florida only gave up three walks the entire series to Air Force.
Florida's bats were hot, too, and they will get their due credit, but as the season marches on, if Florida's trio of starters can look how they looked this weekend, a return trip to Omaha isn't out of the question.