Florida baseball uses 6-run 1st inning to outlast LSU in series opener
Florida baseball exploded out of the gates and proved too much for the LSU Tigers, whose late inning rally fell short. Here's the recap of the events.
An Ethan Surowiec grand slam in the top of the first inning highlighted a six-run onslaught that helped to propel Florida baseball to an 11-8 victory over the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Thursday night. Things got going from the first pitch, as Kyle Jones singled off starter Danny Lachenmayer's opening offering, followed by a single from Brendan Lawson and a walk to Blake Cyr. That set the table for Surowiec's four-run homer, plating all four of the first Florida batters of the frame.
Landon Stripling then doubled with one out, followed by walks by Cade Kurland and Cash Strayer to load the bases for a second time. Turning the order back over to Jones, the leadoff hitter singled to bring in two more Gators across the plate. Florida added a run in the fourth and fifth frames on RBI singles from Cyr and Stripling, respectively.
A bases-loaded walk by Haden Yost followed by a wild pitch accounted for the two runs in the seventh; another bases-loaded free pass to Kurland brought in a run in the eighth to close out the offensive effort. Gators starter Aidan King went 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits — including a home run — and two walks while striking out seven Tigers hitters. He earned the win despite one of his weaker efforts of the second half, but fortunately, the bats came to play.
Jackson Barberi relieved King and gave Kevin O'Sullivan 1 2/3 innings and was charged with a pair of runs, while Billy Barlow struck out and hit a batter in his 1/3 frame of work, and Ernesto Lugo-Canchola issued a walk in his 2/3 of an inning— but both held LSU scoreless in the eighth. Ricky Reeth came in to close out the ninth inning, and a defensive blunder after a leadoff single brought in a run, making things too interesting for O'Sullivan. He replaced the lefty with Joshua Whritenour, who surrendered an RBI double to bring the Tigers within three.