BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 8 LSU (37-16, 17-10 SEC) begins its final SEC series of the season at 6:30 p.m. Thursday when the Tigers face top-ranked Florida (43-9, 18-8 SEC) in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Game 2 of the series is set for 6 p.m. CT Friday, and first pitch for Game 3 is 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
The games 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.
The games on Thursday and Saturday will be televised on ESPNU, and Friday’s game will be televised on the SEC Network. All three games may also be viewed online at WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
The Tigers have won nine straight games, including a 7-2 win over Northwestern State on Tuesday. LSU has won six in a row in SEC play with consecutive sweeps over Arkansas and Tennessee.
LSU is 17-10 in the SEC, tied for third place with Ole Miss in the SEC West and just one game behind division leaders Texas A&M and Mississippi State, who have 18-9 league marks. The Tigers are also only 1.5 games behind Florida (18-8), which is in first place in the overall SEC standings.
“Florida is without a doubt one of the most talented teams in the country, and we are facing a very tough task this weekend,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Our guys, though, are loose and playing with a lot of confidence, and they’ve learned how to feed off of the energy generated by our fans in our stadium. We’re going to have fun, play with a lot of enthusiasm and we’ll see where we stand when the series is over.”
| SEC Baseball Standings | ||
| Eastern Division | SEC | Overall |
| Florida | 18-8 | 43-9 |
| South Carolina | 17-9 | 39-13 |
| Vanderbilt | 16-12 | 39-15 |
| Kentucky | 13-14 | 30-23 |
| Georgia | 10-17 | 26-27 |
| Missouri | 8-19 | 25-27 |
| Tennessee | 7-20 | 27-26 |
| Western Division | SEC | Overall |
| Texas A&M | 18-9 | 39-12 |
| Mississippi St. | 18-9 | 37-14-1 |
| Ole Miss | 17-10 | 39-14 |
| LSU | 17-10 | 37-16 |
| Alabama | 15-12 | 31-21 |
| Auburn | 8-20 | 23-31 |
| Arkansas | 7-20 | 26-26 |
| SEC Schedule | ||
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All Times Central and Subject to Change Thursday, May 19 Friday, May 20 Saturday, May 21 Print SEC Tournament Bracket (.pdf) |
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LSU is third in the SEC in team batting average (.298), and the Tiger hitters have the fewest number of strikeouts (242) in the league. Seven of the nine players in the LSU lineup are hitting .306 or better, and the Tigers lead the SEC in stolen bases with 85.
Freshman rightfielder Antoine Duplantis is LSU’s leading hitter, batting .329 with six doubles, five triples, two homers and 34 RBI, while junior catcher Jordan Romero is batting .323 and leads the team in homers (9) and RBI (39).
LSU will face a Florida pitching staff that is No. 1 in the SEC in team ERA (2.92), and the Gator pitchers have recorded a league-high 544 strikeouts.
Florida is No. 7 in the SEC in team batting average (.285), and the Gators are third in the league with 44 homers. Power sources in the Florida lineup include sophomore catcher Mike Rivera, who has eight homers and 44 RBI, and sophomore catcher/DH JJ Schwarz, who has six homers and 43 RBI.
LSU leads the overall series with Florida, 57-43-1, and the Tigers have won six of the last 11 meetings between the teams. The teams’ most recent meeting came in the 2015 SEC Tournament semifinals, when Florida recorded a 2-1 win over the Tigers. The teams also met in the 2014 SEC Tournament championship game, when LSU posted a 2-0 victory over the Gators.
Florida swept a three-game series over LSU in March, 2014, at Gainesville in the teams’ most recent regular-season meeting. LSU swept three games from the Gators in 2013 in the teams’ most recent series played in Baton Rouge.
#1 Florida Gators (43-9, 18-8 SEC) at #8 LSU Fighting Tigers (37-16, 17-10 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
Thursday, May 19 – 6:30 p.m. CT
Friday, May 20 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 21 – 3:30 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La.
RANKINGS
LSU – No. 8 by Baseball America; No. 8 by USA Today; No. 10 by D1 Baseball
UF – No. 1 in all college baseball polls
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates (WDGL 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge); live audio and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
TV/ONLINE
Thursday – ESPNU
Friday – SEC Network
Saturday – ESPNU
All three games may also be viewed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads the overall series with Florida, 57-43-1, and the Tigers have won six of the last 11 meetings between the teams. The teams’ most recent meeting came in the 2015 SEC Tournament semifinals, when Florida recorded a 2-1 win over the Tigers. The teams also met in the 2014 SEC Tournament championship game, when LSU posted a 2-0 victory over the Gators. Florida swept a three-game series over LSU in March, 2014 at Gainesville in the teams’ most recent regular-season meeting. LSU swept three games from the Gators in 2013 in the teams’ most recent meeting in Baton Rouge.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Game 1
LSU – So. RHP Alex Lange (7-3, 3.76 ERA, 88.2 IP, 41 BB, 95 SO)
UF – Jr. RHP Logan Shore (10-0, 2.29 ERA, 82.2 IP, 12 BB, 76 SO)
Game 2
LSU – Jr. RHP Riley Smith (1-0, 7.36 ERA, 14.2 IP, 8 BB, 10 SO)
UF – Jr. LHP A. J. Puk (2-3, 2.88 ERA, 56.1 IP, 27 BB, 82 SO)
Game 3
LSU – Jr. LHP Jared Poche’ (6-4, 4.00 ERA, 72.0 IP, 29 BB, 60 SO)
UF – So. RHP Alex Faedo (10-1, 3.59 ERA, 72.2 IP, 13 BB, 99 SO)
SPECIAL PROMOTION
Fans can get a $5 general admission ticket to any of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional softball games by bringing their ticket from any of the LSU-Florida baseball games. Fans can redeem their tickets at the Tiger Park ticket office.
.@realrallypossum has made his way back to The Box! @LSUmiketiger gave him the behind the scenes tour. #RallyPossum pic.twitter.com/51FwmaeTak
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 19, 2016