GAINESVILLE, Fla. — LSU’s Bo Pettit overcame a slow start to allow Florida just one run over eight innings, and former Gator Matt Heath hit a three-run pinch hit home run in the eighth to give LSU a comfortable lead, but LSU had to again survive nervous ninth inning before holding on for an 8-5 victory to claim a critical Southeastern Conference road series Sunday at McKethan Stadium.
LSU (#20 ESPN/Baseball Weekly, #21 Baseball America, #25 Collegiate Baseball) has now won five of its last six SEC series and 14 of 19 overall in the league since a 2-5 start and continues to hold down second place in the SEC West. Florida (#8 ESPN/Baseball Weekly and Baseball America, #10 Collegiate Baseball) now trails SEC East leader South Carolina by 1 1/2 games heading into the season’s final weekend.
LSU (35-17, 16-10) close the regular season next weekend with a three-game series at Alex Box Stadium against SEC leader Alabama. The opener is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, with game two at 2 p.m. Saturday and the regular season finale at 1 p.m. next Sunday, May 19.
Florida starter Keith Ramsey struck out Jason Columbus to start the eighth, but was removed after giving up a base hit to David Raymer. Tommy Boss came in for Ramsey and walked Chris Phillips before he was removed in favor of Kevin Coleman.
Matt Heath pinch-hit for Jon Zeringue before Florida coach Pat McMahon called on Coleman, and Heath deposited a fastball from Coleman over the right field fence to put the game out of reach. Heath, a Florida native who played for former Gator coach Andy Lopez in 1999 and 2000, was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Saturday’s 6-3 loss.
Ramsey, who threw a one-hit shutout last Sunday at Mississippi State, struck out a career high nine but gave up 10 hits in falling to 6-3.
LSU entrusted an 8-1 lead in the ninth to Jake Tompkins, who worked himself out of three jams in Friday’s 5-4, 10-inning win. But he gave up a one-out pinch-hit home run to Pat Maley, walked two more batters and then yielded an RBI double to Mark Kiger that made it 8-3.
Pat Osborn then lined a base hit up the middle to score Jonathan Tucker, a mistake that became compounded when J.C. Holt made a weak, ill-advised throw that went into the Florida dugout and scored Kiger to make it 8-5 and put Osborn on second.
Osborn went to third on Matt Goss’ fly ball for the second out, but Tompkins finally ended the game by getting Ryan Shealy to fly to Heath in left.
The Gators (37-15, 17-10) got their first baserunner with one out in the first on a walk to Kiger, and then a base hit by Osborn put runners on first and second. Pettit, who threw 45 pitches in the opening frame, retired Goss on a fly ball, but he then gave free passes to Shealy and Aaron Sobieraj to score Kiger for a 1-0 Florida lead.
Houston native Pettit walked six for the second consecutive week, but more importantly allowed the Gators just four singles and no runs in the second through eighth innings in going over .500 for the season at 7-6. After the Gators scored their run, only two runners would reach third base off of Pettit, who threw a career high 149 pitches.
LSU tied the game in the third, as Rocky Scelfo reached on a one-out infield hit, and after moving to second on a balk by Ramsey, scored on a two-out hit by Wally Pontiff.
The Tigers took the lead in the fourth on a rare foul ball sacrifice fly by Chris Phillips, as Gator second baseman Jonathan Tucker caught the ball with his back to home plate, and his throw could not beat Jason Columbus home.
LSU would scratch for single runs in the fifth and sixth to increase its lead to 4-1, scoring in the fifth on Sean Barker’s RBI single and in the fifth on Phillips’ double to deep center field.