BATON ROUGE, La. – Florida centerfielder Hayden Yost hit three homers and drove in five runs Saturday to lead the ninth-ranked Gators to a 15-11 win over LSU in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
Florida improved to 37-18 overall, 18-12 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 29-27 overall and 9-21 in conference play.
The Tigers return to action at approximately 8 p.m. CT Tuesday when they face Oklahoma in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Ala.
LSU is the No. 14 seed, and Oklahoma is the No. 11 seed in the single-elimination tournament. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised on the SEC Network.
The winner of Tuesday’s LSU-Oklahoma game advances to play sixth-seeded Auburn on Wednesday at approximately 8 p.m. CT.
“Our focus turns now to a game Tuesday night against a good Oklahoma team,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “We need to play well in the game; we’ll put our best foot forward, we’re not going to save any pitchers. Guys are going to have to be ready to pitch on back-to-back days if we feel like they can help us win.
“A positive from this weekend was that everyone on the pitching staff touched the mound, and it gave us a chance to see where we’re at going into the coming week.”
Yost was 4-for-5 at the plate on Saturday with three homers and five RBI. Florida second baseman Cade Kurland hit two solo homers, as the Gators collected 18 hits in the contest.
LSU produced 16 hits on the day, including a 3-for-6 performance by catcher Cade Arrambide, who homered twice and collected four RBI.
Shortstop Steven Milam homered and drove in four runs for the Tigers, and designated hitter Mason Braun was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Florida reliever Schuyler Sandford (2-0) was credited with the win, as he worked 1.1 scoreless innings with no hits, two walks and one strikeout.
Cooper Walls earned his first save of the season for the Gators, working the final 1.1 innings and allowing three runs on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
LSU reliever Grant Fontenot (0-2) was charged with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings with no walks and three strikeouts.