No. 14 Tigers impressed with a 16-4 win over No. 8 ranked Florida at Florida Ballpark on Saturday night. The Tigers’ 16 runs represented their most runs scored in an SEC game since March 17, 2017, when LSU posted a 22-9 win over Georgia in Baton Rouge. LSU collected 13 hits, including four home runs and four doubles.
LSU starting pitcher Ma’Khail Hilliard (2-0) blanked the Gators through the first five innings and was credited with the win. Hilliard pitched a total of 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Right-hander Paul Gervase relieved Hilliard in the sixth and worked 2.1 scoreless innings with no hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
“They didn’t get many good swings off against Ma’Khail,” Johnson said. “He was in and out, up and down, changing speeds, a great performance. Both Ma’Khail and Paul were incredibly hard to hit tonight.”
LSU erupted for six runs in the third inning as Dylan Crews hit a sacrifice fly and third baseman Jacob Berry contributed a run-scoring grounder before Jobert blasted a three-run shot, his fifth of the season. Left fielder Gavin Dugas followed with a solo shot, his second homer of the year.
Florida’s offense finally got going against Hilliard in the bottom of the sixth, with a four-run rally highlighted by Sterlin Thompson’s two-run homer.
The Tigers iced the game with a seven-run ninth inning that featured a three-point home run by Crews, an RBI single by Jobert, a run-scoring double by Dugas and a sacrifice fly by DiGiacomo.
LSU continued its momentum in game three of the series on Sunday and tallied double-digit runs for a second time. The Tigers were hit by pitches eight times and converted on the Gators’ mistakes with five of those runners scoring. The NCAA record for most batters hit by a pitch in a single game is 10.
Samuel Dutton made his first collegiate start on the mound for LSU on Sunday. Coach Jay Johnson and the Tigers got exactly what they needed out of the freshman, who went 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball, surrendering just one hit and allowed LSU to build its early lead.
Dutton turned the ball over to fellow freshman Grant Taylor, who also put together a strong outing of 5.1 relief innings. Taylor allowed two runs but really controlled the strike zone effectively with the double-digit lead.
The pitching over the last two days was a bright spot for a group that really struggled at the start of SEC play. For two true freshmen on the road in the SEC to control the game the way they did is a massive positive sign for this staff. LSU won 11-2 Sunday and took their first series against an SEC opponent this year.
Over the final two games, the Tigers outscored the Gators by a combined score of 27-6. The 29-13 run margin for the three game series is the fourth highest in the history of these two programs.
This was obviously a huge momentum-boosting weekend for the Tigers, who not only pull even in SEC play, but also prove to everyone they can hang with the best in the conference.
“It was just the way you want to draw it up with a bunch of extra-base hits and a bunch of walks,” said Johnson.
The Tigers will look to keep their momentum going on Tuesday night against in-state rival ULM at 6:30 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
