HOOVER, Ala. – No. 7 LSU (42-17) plays in the semifinal round of the 2016 SEC Tournament at 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday when the Tigers meet top-ranked Florida (46-12) at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
LSU, which has won 14 of its last 15 games, is the No. 5 seed in the tournament, while Florida is the No. 4 seed. The winner of the LSU-Florida game will play the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal between Ole Miss and Texas A&M in the tournament championship game, which is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
Saturday’s LSU-Florida game will be carried on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, including WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge, Live audio of the game may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net/live with live stats at www.LSUstats.com.
Saturday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network, and it may also be viewed online at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
The SEC Tournament semifinal will mark the fifth meeting between LSU and Florida over the past week. The Tigers won two of three games over the Gators to close the regular season last weekend in Baton Rouge, and LSU edged Florida, 5-3 in 14 innings, Wednesday on Day 2 of the tournament. Wednesday’s game spanned five hours and seven minutes, marking the longest contest in SEC Tournament history.
LSU is in the SEC Tournament semifinal round for the fourth straight year and for the seventh time since 2008. The Tigers have won the tournament title in five of the past eight seasons under coach Paul Mainieri, and LSU has a 27-5 record in SEC Tournament games during Mainieri’s tenure.
LSU has a league-best 77-39 all-time record in the SEC Tournament, and the Tigers own a conference-high 11 tournament titles.
The LSU pitching staff has been especially effective over the past 15 games, recording a 2.85 ERA in 139 innings with 105 strikeouts and a .233 opponent batting average.
“Our team has continued to improve throughout this season, and I’m very especially proud of our players for competing at such a high level at the most important time of the year,” Mainieri said. ‘We’re playing with a lot of confidence, and our pitching has been really outstanding over this 15-game stretch. We’ve adopted the attitude of simply trying to win as many ball games as we can over the past few weeks, and we’re working to place ourselves into the best possible position for the NCAA Tournament.”
Mainieri said that freshman Caleb Gilbert (4-3, 5.11 ERA) will start Saturday’s game on the mound for the Tigers. Gilbert, who is a Hoover, Ala., native, started last Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Gators. He worked 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts
LSU leftfielder Beau Jordan is the Tigers’ leading hitter through the first three games of the SEC Tournament, batting .556 (5-for-9) with one run scored. Rightfielder Antoine Duplantis is hitting .438 (7-for-16) during the tournament with one double and one RBI, and shortstop Kramer Robertson, first baseman Greg Deichmann and catcher Michael Papierski have each produced three RBI in the Tigers’ three tournament games.
LSU leads the overall series with Florida, 60-44-1, and the Tigers have won nine of the last 15 meetings between the teams. The teams also met in the 2015 SEC Tournament semifinals, when Florida recorded a 2-1 win over the Tigers.
LSU and Florida faced off in the 2014 SEC Tournament championship game, when the Tigers posted a 2-0 victory over the Gators.
SEC TOURNAMENT
No. 5 seed LSU (42-17) vs. No. 4 seed Florida (46-12)
DATE/TIME
Saturday, May 28 – 3:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 7 by Baseball America; No. 7 by USA Today; No. 8 by D1 Baseball
UF – No. 1 by USA Today; No. 4 by Baseball America; No. 4 by D1 Baseball
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge); live audio and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV/ONLINE
SEC Network – the game may also be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the overall series with Florida, 60-44-1, and the Tigers have won nine of the last 15 meetings between the teams. The teams also met in the 2015 SEC Tournament semifinals, when Florida recorded a 2-1 win over the Tigers. LSU and Florida faced off in the 2014 SEC Tournament championship game, when the Tigers posted a 2-0 victory over the Gators.
PITCHING MATCHUP
LSU – Fr. RHP Caleb Gilbert (4-3, 5.11 ERA, 37.0 IP, 18 BB, 40 SO)
UF – So. LHP Scott Moss (2-0, 2.20 ERA, 16.1 IP, 8 BB, 24 SO)