Final Home Stand: LSU Takes On Florida With Postseason Hopes On The Line

Florida Gators (34-18, 15-12 SEC) at LSU Tigers (29-24, 9-18 SEC)

DATES/TIMES (ONLINE)
Thursday, May 14 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Friday, May 15 @ 6:30 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)
Saturday, May 16 @ 2 p.m. CT (SEC Network +)

STADIUM
Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field in Baton Rouge, La. (10,718)

RADIO
-LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
-Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com

RANKINGS
UF – No. 9 (Baseball America); No. 19 (D1 Baseball); No. 20 (USA Today)

LSU SERIES RECORD VS. FLORIDA
-LSU has a 69-55-1 all-time record versus Florida, as the series began in 1971 … the teams’ last meeting came on March 22-24, 2024, when the Gators won two of three games in an SEC regular-season series in Baton Rouge … Florida holds a 12-10 lead in the 22 meetings between the teams since 2016.

-LSU holds a 6-3 all-time advantage over Florida in College World Series games … the Tigers won two of three games over the Gators in the 2023 CWS Championship Series June 24-26, in Omaha, Neb. … the Tigers won two CWS games over the Gators in both 1991 and in 1996 en route to national championships … LSU and Florida also met in the 2017 College World Series Championship Series, when UF posted two straight wins over the Tigers to claim the Gators’ national title.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1:
LSU – TBA
UF – So. RH Aidan King (7-2, 2.19 ERA, 74.0 IP, 16 BB, 77 SO)

Game 2:
LSU – Fr. RH Marcos Paz (1-2, 8.28 ERA, 25.0 IP, 23 BB, 35 SO)
UF - Jr. RH Liam Peterson (1-5, 4.28 ERA, 67.1 IP, 34 BB, 88 SO)

Game 3:
LSU – Sr. RH Zac Cowan (3-3, 4.97 ERA, 38.0 IP, 12 BB, 46 SO)
UF – Jr. RH Russell Sandefer (3-2, 4.30 ERA, 46.0 IP, 16, BB, 50 SO)

QUOTING COACH JAY JOHNSON
“This is the last home weekend for a lot of our guys, and we’re going to give everything we have to win. It’s a good opportunity for our players; we’re going to focus on this weekend’s series with an eye toward the SEC Tournament next week. We have to be mindful of keeping the team aware of staying in the moment, executing what is front of you - the pitch, the game, state of mind. It’s my job to set us up for what’s ahead, and that’s what I’m going to do.


ABOUT THE TIGERS
-Sophomore centerfielder Derek Curiel hit a team-high .538 (7-for-13) in four games last week with two doubles, one RBI, seven runs, five walks and a .632 on-base percentage … he hit .500 (5-for-10) in the three-game series at Georgia with one double, one RBI, four runs, three walks and a .571 on-base percentage … Curiel is No. 2 in the SEC this season in hits with 73, and he is No. 7 in the league in runs scored (58) and No. 8 in the conference in triples (2) … Curiel leads LSU in multiple-hit games (21), and he is tied with shortstop Steven Milam for the most multiple-RBI games on the club (14).

-Freshman first baseman Mason Braun batted .385 (5-for-13) in four games last week with one double, three runs, four walks, one hit-by-pitch and a .556 on-base percentage … Braun is No. 5 in the SEC this season in on-base percentage (.481), and he has reached base safely in 12 consecutive games … Braun is LSU’s leading hitter this season in SEC games, batting .344 (22-for-64) with two doubles, one triple, two homers, nine RBI and 13 runs.

-Freshman catcher/DH Omar Serna Jr. has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games … Serna Jr. is batting .353 (24-for-68) over his last 18 games with six doubles, five homers, 16 RBI and 16 runs scored … he is batting .326 (31-for-95) in SEC games this season – third on the team this season behind Mason Braun and Cade Arrambide – with seven doubles, six homers, 20 RBI and 17 runs.

-Junior shortstop Steven Milam has a current reached-base safely streak that has stretched to 30 games, and he composed a 17-game hitting streak that began on April 10 and ended on May 9 … he hit .353 (24-for-68) during the 17-game streak with six doubles, three homers, 19 RBI and 11 runs scored … Milam has recorded three doubles, six RBI, four runs, five walks and a .500 on-base percentage over LSU’s last four games … Milam has committed just two errors all season in 195 chances, producing a .990 fielding percentage.

-Sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide logged one double, two homers, seven RBI and four runs scored in LSU’s four games last week … he is No. 10 in the SEC this season in slugging percentage (.659) … Arrambide is batting .341 (29-for-85) this season in SEC games with four doubles, 10 homers, 29 RBI and 21 runs scored.

ABOUT THE GATORS
-Florida is 34-18 overall, 15-12 in the SEC, and the Gators are in a three-way tie for sixth place in the league standings with Mississippi State and Arkansas … Florida won two of three games last weekend over Kentucky in Gainesville, Fla.

-The Gators are No. 12 in the SEC with a .271 team batting average, and UF has produced 81 doubles, eight triples, 73 homers and 42 steals in 55 attempts … outfielder Blake Cyr is hitting .329 with 13 doubles, 11 homers and 47 RBI; infielder Ethan Surowiec is batting .305 with 11 doubles, one triple, eight homers and 47 RBI, and infielder Brendan Lawson is hitting .289 with eight doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 38 RBI.

-Florida is No. 2 in the SEC with a 4.00 cumulative ERA, and the Gators have recorded 529 strikeouts in 454.0 innings while allowing 36 home runs and a .236 opponent batting average.

(Release via LSU Athletics)