No.
3 LSU (43-6/19-5 SEC) used a 19-hit offensive outburst to hand Florida
(25-23/12-12 SEC) an 18-6 setback on Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium to
take all three games of the series. The Tigers collected their
fourth-consecutive win and handed the Gators their fourth loss in a row. Junior
JaCoby Jones (2-for-5) had a career-high six RBI, including a grand slam during
an eight-run sixth inning, while freshman Alex Bregman went 3-for-5 with three
RBI and scored three runs for the hosts.
The
Gators jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning against junior right-hander
Ryan Eades (8-1) on an RBI triple by sophomore Taylor Gushue (Boca Raton,
Fla.) (2-for-3) and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Justin Shafer (Lake
Wales, Fla.). Sophomore Casey Turgeon (Palm Harbor, Fla.) (3-for-4) had
singled up the middle with one down and Gushue lined a triple off of the wall
in right field to put the visitors on the scoreboard. Shafer followed with his
fourth sacrifice fly of the season to straightaway center field to bring home
Gushue.
Sophomore
Josh Tobias (Greensboro, N.C.) earned a free pass with one down in the
second inning and moved into scoring position with his fifth stolen base. After
Eades struck out freshman Harrison Bader (Bronxville, N.Y.), Tobias
swiped third base with two out. However, Eades responded with an inning-ending
strikeout of senior Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.).
LSU
answered with three runs on three hits in the home part of the inning to seize
a 3-2 advantage. Senior Mason Katz (2-for-3) led off with a single into center
field and senior Raph Rhymes (2-for-3, two runs) had a base-hit through the
left side of the infield before junior Christian Ibarra (3-for-3, two RBI, two
runs) was hit by freshman starter Danny Young (Boca Raton, Fla.) (3-4)
to load the bases with none out. A fielder’s choice by junior Ty Ross (1-for-4,
two runs) resulted in Katz being thrown out at the plate and Jones tied the
game with a two-run double down the left-field line. Freshman Andrew
Stevenson’s RBI grounder to second base scored Ross to move the Tigers in
front.
Turgeon
drew a one-out walk in the third and stole second base before Shafer earned a
free pass on four pitches with two down. Eades had redshirt sophomore Zack
Powers (Seffner, Fla.) fly out to center field to strand the runners.
Freshman
Eric Hanhold (Palm Harbor, Fla.) replaced Young (2.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R) prior
to the Tigers’ third at bat and issued a leadoff walk to freshman Mark Laird.
After Katz punched a one-out single into center field, Hanhold induced an
inning-ending 5-4-3 double play on a grounder by Rhymes.
LSU
tallied four runs on three hits in the fifth, highlighted by a bases-clearing
double by Ibarra, to build a 7-2 advantage. Junior Sean McMullen (3-for-4, two
runs) began the stanza with a double down the right-field line and went to
third on a one-out wild pitch by Hanhold. Bregman expanded LSU’s lead to 4-2
with a two-bagger to left field, prompting a pitching change. Sophomore Ryan
Harris (Jupiter, Fla.) took over for Hanhold (2.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R) and walked
Katz for runners on the corners and one down. After Katz stole second for two
Tigers in scoring position, Rhymes was walked intentionally to bring junior Daniel
Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) out of the bullpen for Harris. Ibarra greeted the
reliever with a double to left field that plated Bregman and Katz, with Rhymes
also coming home on a fielding error by Bader.
The
Tigers added eight more runs in the sixth on seven hits to increase their
margin to 15-2. Stevenson began the inning with a bunt single to third base,
McMullen singled through the right side to advance his teammate to third and
Laird walked to fill the bags. Bregman had a two-run double into right center,
Katz had an RBI grounder and Rhymes sliced an RBI single through the right side
of the infield. Consecutive singles by Ibarra and Ross loaded the bases and
freshman Jay Carmichael (Cape Coral, Fla.) took over for Gibson. Jones
connected on a grand slam to left field to empty the sacks, his fifth
round-tripper of the campaign, second of the series and LSU’s first grand slam
of the season. Freshman Chris Chinea had a three-run double with two down in
the seventh for an 18-2 score.
Florida
used six-consecutive singles in the ninth to complete the scoring at 18-6. With
one down, sophomore Connor Mitchell (Tampa, Fla.) had a pinch-hit single
to first base, freshman Brady Roberson (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) had a
pinch-hit single into left field and freshman Christian Dicks
(Jacksonville, Fla.) had a base-hit into left field to load the bases. Freshman
Richie Martin (Brandon, Fla.) drove in Mitchell with a run-scoring
single into left field and Turgeon’s base-knock to left brought home Roberson.
Freshman Kevin Stypulkowski (Lake Worth, Fla.) came through with
an RBI single into right field to plate Dicks and a fielder’s choice by
redshirt freshman Cory Reid (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) scored Martin with
the Gators’ final run. LSU had a 19-11 advantage in hits, with six different
players turning in multiple-hit efforts.
