GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Interstat) — A dominant six-inning start from Aidan King and a decisive three-run homer from Blake Cyr powered the Florida Gators to a 6-3 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the opener of a Southeastern Conference series Thursday afternoon at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium.

The game, played under clear skies that gave way to evening, saw the Gators improve to 28-11 overall and 9-7 in the SEC. Auburn fell to 25-12 and 7-9 in conference play.

The most important sequence of the game came in the bottom of the third inning, erasing Auburn’s early lead and shifting momentum permanently to the home side. The Tigers had struck first in the opening frame against King. Chase Fralick doubled and later scored on an RBI single from Logan Gregorio, part of a three-hit inning that gave Auburn a 1-0 advantage.

Florida answered with a run in the first on an RBI double from Karson Bowen, but trailed until the third. After a walk to Cade Lawson and a single by Luke Surowiec, Cyr stepped in with two outs. The left fielder launched a 1-0 pitch from Auburn starter Andreas Alvarez deep over the wall in left-center field for a three-run home run, vaulting Florida into a 4-1 lead.

The homer spelled the end for Alvarez, who was charged with four earned runs over 2 1/3 innings. From there, the Gators’ pitching staff took control. King, the top star for Florida, settled in emphatically after the rocky first. The right-hander allowed just two more hits after the first inning, finishing with six innings pitched, three hits, one earned run and eight strikeouts. He retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced, striking out the side in the fourth.

Florida added crucial insurance in the fifth off reliever Garrett Brewer. With two on and two out, Keaton Jones doubled down the right-field line, scoring two runs to extend the Gators’ lead to 6-1.

Auburn mounted its only sustained threat against King’s successors in the seventh. Facing reliever Fisher Reeth, the Tigers strung together four hits, including an RBI single from Mason McCraine and a run-scoring single from Fralick, to cut the deficit to 6-3. Florida manager Kevin O’Sullivan turned to Ernesto LugoCanchola, who induced an inning-ending groundout with two runners on to quell the rally.

LugoCanchola and Joshua Whritenour closed the door from there, combining for 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Whritenour worked a hitless ninth for his first save.

Auburn’s bullpen provided bright spots in the loss. LJ Cormier followed Alvarez with 1 2/3 hitless innings, and Abe Chancellor was superb in relief, tossing three perfect innings with four strikeouts to keep the Tigers within reach.

King’s performance continued an exceptional stretch for the junior. In his last three starts, he has allowed just six earned runs over 20 2/3 innings with 22 strikeouts.

The teams will continue the three-game series Friday night.