Rev’s Rundown: May 7

Welcome to another edition of Rev's Rundown. Contributing writer Adam Revelette offers his thoughts from the week and previews the series at Florida.

Gettin’ up off the Mattison

Whether Nate Harris returns or not, a bounce-back outing from Connor Mattison would go a long way. Mattison was effective in earlier starts against Vanderbilt and South Carolina, but struggled with his secondary against Tennessee and was hit hard. At this stage of the season, length from starters is critical. There was evidence of this in a narrow 10-9 Sunday defeat in his last start, where the UK pen was simply stretched too thin. If Mattison’s landing his off-speed, his stuff is good enough to get through a lineup multiple times. 

Continuing to build

The offense has been clicking with the emergence of Braxton van Cleave and the welcomed return of Hudson Brown, who doubled and homered over the weekend and looked in rhythm after missing nearly a month. Those two have joined (rejoined in Brown’s case) what’s become a solid core built around Tyler Bell, Ethan Hindle, Luke Lawrence and Jayce Tharnish. Freshmen Caeden Cloud and Owen Jenkins have also had big moments (and have big futures) as well. 

The Florida weather

The conditions will obviously be much warmer than the unseasonably cool start to May we’ve had in the Bluegrass state. After a mid-90s week, it will be slightly cooler for Gainesville standards this weekend (and for the night game on Friday) with first pitch times set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday, and noon Sunday, recovery time between games will be condensed. UK has limited depth behind the plate and will be looking for another pair of quality starts from Ben Cleaver and Jaxon Jelkin, and long innings of standing around in the field can sap the energy of the other position players. Quick outs, limited freebies and a ‘get off the field’ mentality will be paramount for UK pitching and defense this weekend. 

The Gator offense

Speaking of getting off the field, Florida won’t be making it easy by any means. Blake Cyr has been the Gators’ heartbeat, and leads the team with a .333 average and 23 extra-base hits. He’s also a very competitive at-bat with two strikes, and has only punched out 32 times this season (13 BB, 11 HBP). 

Kyle Jones is also having a great spring. The Stetson transfer is sitting at .314 and leads the team in doubles (15) and stolen bases (16). Ethan Surowiec has been solid as well, but is prone to the strikeout, leading the team with 56. When he puts it in play, however, he’s a real threat. His BABIP stands at .440 and his slugging percentage is also above .500 thanks to 11 doubles, eight homers and a triple. 

Brandon Lawson is a true “professional AB,” and is the only other Gator with double-digit stolen bases (10-for-12). The Toronto, Ontario native is only hitting .283, but he’s walked 46 times (Arkansas’ Ryder Helfrick leads the SEC with 47 BB) and has been hit by 14 pitches (t-5th in SEC). Add in Lawson’s 11 homers (tied for team lead with Cyr) and he’s among the toughest outs in the SEC, and boasts an OPS of 1.098. 

Florida could get an added boost with the return of Cash Strayer, who fractured his hand five weeks ago on an HBP during the Arkansas series. He was available as a pinch runner last weekend at Oklahoma and, according to head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, “looked really good” in batting practice this week. While not a middle-of-the-order bat, Strayer brings needed stability to the lineup, and the true freshman who attended Plant HS (whose alumni include Wade Boggs, Kyle Tucker, Pete Alonso and Jac Caglianone) is poised for a bright future. 

SPONSORED by bad ass coffee of hawaii

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii is a proud supporter! Located in Beaumont Centre in Lexington, Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii prides itself as a leader in sharing a wide variety of Hawaiian coffees. Whether you are in the mood for black coffee, a handcrafted latte, matcha, mana energy drink, or a variety of food items Bad Ass Coffee has just the thing for you! Once you get hooked on the coffee they have plenty of at home coffee available for purchase in store! So start your season off like a Bad Ass and visit them today! PLUS, they are offering our readers 20% off their orders! Just show this email, or if ordering online, apply coupon code "UKBaseball" at checkout and have a Bad Ass Day! 

Get your discount today!

Gator arms

Florida’s pitching staff has been good, though not quite up to its usual elite standard. The Gators carry a team ERA just under 4.00, but have not played great defense. Their 53 errors are fourth-most in the SEC and they’ve allowed 35 unearned runs (third-most in the SEC), which ultimately amounts to just over 4.5 runs a game. 

With all that said, if ace right-hander Aidan King is on point, it may be a different type of challenge for the Cats. The tip of the spear for the Gators is one of two favorites for SEC Pitcher of the Year alongside Texas’ Dylan Volantis. Check out these numbers:

King: 7-2 record, 1.73 ERA, 0.87 whip, 67.2 - 44H - 15BB:71K

Volantis 7-0, 1.87, 1.01, 62.2- 44H - 19:92

The good news? In my opinion, the third candidate for SEC Pitcher of the Year is Auburn’s Jake Marciano (4-3, 2.26, 0.88, 67.2 - 48H - 12:87), who UK has already beaten this year. On April 11, UK plated five runs (four earned) on eight hits in four innings against the southpaw in a 5-4 Kentucky win. 

Back to King: he’s simply been electric, and he has nearly repeated his sensational freshman numbers. For his career (which is about 15 months old), the 2025 Unanimous First Team Freshman All-American is 14-2 with a 2.17 ERA and an opponent batting average of .198. 

The Wildhorse

From a likely 2027 first-rounder to a possible first-rounder this summer, Liam Peterson offers a different challenge. He’s battled a ton of traffic (56 hits, 33 BB in 59.2 IP) this spring, but there’s no debating his stuff, as he’s holding steady at 12.2 K/9. He wasn’t able to get out of the fifth at Oklahoma this past weekend, and needed 112 pitches to get 14 outs, allowing four runs on five walks and six hits in the process. Hopefully UK can keep Peterson’s 1.5 WHIP around that range and cash in some runners early. 

The Return

The UF bullpen has been held down by a few different hurlers, but none more valuable than sophomore Jackson Barberi, who is set to return after straining an oblique during the Ole Miss series, one week after UF lost Cyr. The sophomore is a certified dude. In 27 innings, he’s allowed just 14 hits, and while he’s walked a dozen, Barberi has punched out 40, good for over 13 K/9. Again, he hasn’t pitched in over a month, and isn’t as likely to be extended more than two innings, but they’re likely to be high leverage. Either way, there will be a lot of folks sitting up a bit straighter and moving towards the edge of their seats when #22 begins to warm this weekend. 

Down the stretch we come

Florida’s season has been unpredictable. The Gators opened the year 15–3 in non-conference play but have gone 17–14 since SEC action began. Their league start was extreme in both directions as they swept South Carolina before being swept by both Alabama and Arkansas. Since then, Florida has dropped three of its last five series. The Gators have played slightly better away from home, and enter the weekend with an 11-5 road record (.687 winning percentage) and a 20-12 (.625) mark at Condron Family Ballpark. As SEC ballparks go, Florida’s is nice, but not typically one where the crowd will become a huge factor. 

Coach Ron Polk always says “You don’t play the other team, you play the game,” so I tend to think keys to the game are eyewash, but I’ll make an exception for this series. Playing clean baseball/limiting freebies on the pitching/defense side and capitalizing on baserunners offensively are paths to victory for most any game. It just feels like those areas are going to loom large this weekend, as the stretch run is upon us.

Bat Cats Central is running a limited-time offer! Receive 50% off an annual subscription and never miss a story.

Sign up for one year at $29.99