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Another offensive explosion gives LSU important series win

Maybe going on the road and a lineup change was all LSU really needed.

Pounding out 12 hits including three home runs, the Tigers again dominated Florida in an 11-2 victory Sunday afternoon in Gainesville to win their first SEC series of the Jay Johnson era.

With the win on the heels of their 16-4 Saturday victory , the Tigers improved to 17-7 overall and 3-3 in the SEC. Florida dropped to 17-7 on the season and 3-3 in league play. It was LSU's first series win at Florida since 2012 after losing in Gainesville in 2017 and 2014.

“It’s a great accomplishment for our team against a great program,” Johnson said. “I thought we attacked at the plate over the last two days, and we had great effort on the mound today and all weekend. We had a bunch of quality at-bats and stuck to our plan against a really good pitching staff.”

Scoreless through three innings, LSU put four runs on the board in the fourth highlighted by the first of two home runs by designated hitter Brayden Jobert. Catcher Hayden Travinski also had a two-run homer in the inning.

The Tigers followed it up with a seven-run outburst in the sixth as Jobert blasted a three-run bomb and Tre’ Morgan, Jordan Thompson and Giovanni DiGiacomo all drove in runs.

“When our team attacks the game with confidence and aggressiveness, they can play closer to the best version of themselves,” Johnson said. “It’s about re-committing each game to do that, and if they can, they can accomplish great things.”

While the Tigers were pounding out double-digit runs and hits for the second consecutive day, the freshman pitching duo of Samuel Dutton and Grant Taylor combined to limit the powerful Florida offensive attack to only two runs on five hits. Dutton started the game, going 3.2 innings, allowing only a single hit and Taylor picked up the win in relief, scattering two runs on four hits and striking out six in 5.1 innings of work.

The other noticeable change for LSU was its defense. The Tigers entered the weekend ranked 260th among 263 Division 1 teams in fielding percentage, commiting 37 errors in its first 21 games.

Johnson flip-flopped shortstop Jordan Thompson and second baseman Cade Doughty and the move seemed to have an instant positive effect. The Tigers committed only two fielding errors on the weekend.

LSU returns home to Alex Box Stadium on Tuesday to take on ULM before welcoming in Auburn for a home SEC series that runs Thursday-Saturday.



LSU Sports Information contributed to this report


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