LSU baseball defeated Florida 6-1 in the first game of its series tonight in Baton Rouge. Following a series loss last week to open up SEC play versus Mississippi State, the Tigers started this weekend off strong with a dominant win.
Under the lights in Alex Box Stadium, the purple and gold looked like their old selves in their win against the Gators. Led by right-handed pitcher Luke Holman, the Tigers performed exceptionally on the field all game.
Holman was the star of the night, recording a career high of 13 strikeouts through six innings. He only allowed one hit, which was a solo home run from right fielder Ty Evans; Florida’s only run of the day.
The Alabama transfer has solidified himself as LSU’s Friday night ace, bouncing back from a rough outing last weekend. His performance was followed by Griffin Herring, who continued the Tigers’ defensive dominance at the mound until the end.
Herring recorded three strikeouts of his own, only allowing three hits in three innings. He looked confident at the rubber, hitting his spots and catching Florida off guard on a handful of strikeouts. He also converted a pair of hard grounders to the mound, including the final out of the game.
“Great performance by Griffin,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “I have so much faith in him. I just know he would be able to handle himself in that environment. There were a couple times where the count got to 3-2 and he made the pitch. That type of composure is what I was counting on tonight.”
The offense wasn’t as dominant as the defense for the Tigers, but some action-packed innings carried LSU to victory.
The Tigers started the first inning off strong, with Josh Pearson hitting an RBI single to bring Tommy White home for the first run of the game. Ethan Frey followed with another RBI single in the exact same spot as Pearson, bringing home Jared Jones for the second run.
Frey started as the designated hitter for LSU, going 2-4 with an RBI. He is starting to breakout as a reliable option for the Tigers at the plate.
“I want him to play,” Johnson said. “He was on the verge of playing a lot until [his injury]. I really believe in him. I’m excited to continue to get him out there.”
Following their two-run opening inning, the Tigers went scoreless until the sixth inning. Hayden Travinski led off with a double, and Frey once again came to the plate with two on base.
The sophomore hitter hit a deep shot that bounced off the right-center wall, but Travinski and Pearson were unsure if the fly ball would drop, keeping both runners from scoring and loading the bases.
Michael Braswell III drew a walk with the bases loaded, sending one home. Paxton Kling followed with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring another for the Tigers. Bingham hit an infield single just over the third baseman on the next at bat, bringing in the final run of the inning for LSU.
The rest of the game was inactive on offense for the Tigers, with one more run plating in the bottom of the eighth. Braswell was the final run, who was brought home by an RBI double from Bingham.
Led by the strong defensive performances from Holman and Herring, LSU is back to their prior strength following tonight’s win. They go up 1-0 in the series versus Florida, returning to play tomorrow night for game two.
