Florida Gators Freshman Liam Peterson Ready for Big Stage of NCAA Tournament

Florida Gators starting pitcher Liam Peterson has trust from teammates and coach ahead of clash with Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Florida Gators pitcher Liam Peterson / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA

Florida Gators baseball pitching has been a roller coaster all year. Cade Fisher, who was coming off a fantastic freshman year, was supposed to be this year’s ace. But inconsistencies on the mound led him back to the bullpen and out of the starting rotation. 

Freshman Liam Peterson came into the season as the No. 2 starter. But like Fisher, struggles led him to the bullpen with hopes of calming the young pitcher down. 

It worked. Peterson will be handed the ball in Game 1 of the Stillwater Regional against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He has the chance to cement himself as Florida’s ace, and a win would mean a whole lot to a team that hasn’t found an ace all year. 

But because of his most recent performances on the mound, the Gators trust Peterson and have seen his change throughout the year. 

“He’s just gotten really mature throughout the course of the year,” Jac Caglianone said Thursday. “Everybody knows that he has all the talent in the world. He’s going to go out there and compete whenever he’s out on the mound.”

He did just that during the latter half of the season. In his last 19 ⅓ innings pitched, Peterson recorded a 2.33 ERA and held opponents to a .211 batting average against. 

The Gators have won the last four games he’s pitched, and he’s helped them win games over Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia, all teams who are hosting an NCAA Regional. 

He’s shown he can pitch against the best teams. Against Kentucky, he had his best outing of the season, throwing six innings, striking out six and giving up just one earned run. 

He deserved to get the ball to open the NCAA Tournament. 

“It’s almost a newfound confidence in him,” Tyler Shelnut said. “His stuff is electric. There’s no doubt that he’s capable of accomplishing a lot, throwing big games for us and making big pitches. Once he started to settle in and have some success, he got this newfound confidence and its only pushed him along further and propelled him.” 

Head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said he knew Peterson was talented when they recruited him. He had a chance to go to the MLB out of high school but obviously stayed committed to Florida. 

And down the stretch, O’Sullivan noticed multiple aspects that have helped Peterson succeed. Specifically, he said he’s been able to throw his breaking ball for strikes against left-handed hitters, throw his change-up to right-handed hitters and throw his fastball to both sides of the plate.  

But what has set him apart is his ability to make pitches with runners in scoring position. 

“For whatever reason, he had the ability from that [Vanderbilt] start moving forward after he got hit with the line drive in the forearm to kind of slow things down and really execute some quality pitches with runners in scoring position,” the head coach said. “I think that’s been the biggest difference with him since the beginning of the year till now.”

"He’s one of the more talented freshmen I’ve ever had"

- Kevin O'Sullivan, Head Coach

Now, Peterson will make the biggest start of his life Friday against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He’ll face a very talented lineup. The Cornhuskers don’t strike out much and put the ball in play. They also run the bases very well. 

Though, Peterson has shown he can compete against the best. And Friday, he’ll pitch in his first NCAA Tournament in front of possibly a strong Nebraska crowd in Oklahoma. 

First pitch is set for 3 p.m. in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and can be streamed on ESPN+.