Florida Baseball Drops Series Against LSU

The Florida Gators dropped Game 3 against the LSU Tigers on Saturday as the Tigers won the series and the game 11-2. Florida has lost all three road SEC series they’ve played in this season and have been outscored 107-43 in those games.

What Happened?

The Gators continued to struggle, both on the mound and at the plate Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge. Florida produced eight hits, and the only two runs they scored came from a two run homer off the bat of Corey Acton in the fourth inning.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1119701081066549248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1119701081066549248&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffloridagators.com%2Fnews%2F2019%2F4%2F20%2Fbaseball-gators-drop-series-at-lsu.aspx%3Fpath%3Dbaseball

Gator starting pitcher Jack Leftwich, starting for the first time since suffering a blister on his pitching hand a few weeks back, did not get out of the second inning.  In the first inning, lead off hitter Josh Smith doubled and Brandt Broussard walked.  Antoine Duplantis singled in a run and Daniel Cabrera was hit by a pitch.  Cade Beloso hit into an RBI force out but designated hitter CJ Willis followed with a run scoring double.  The Tigers would add three more runs in the second as Drew Bianco singled and Smith hit an RBI double.  Broussard was hit by a pitch and that chased Leftwich.  Duplantis singled in a run and a double play ground ball gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.

https://twitter.com/LSUbaseball/status/1119697727821176834

Florida Pitching Continues to Struggle

Leftwich game up six earned runs in just one inning of work.   Reliever Jordan Butler didn’t fare much better, giving up three earned runs in two innings as LSU built a 9-0 lead.  Butler was replaced by Tyler Dyson, who left the game with an apparent injury after 2.1 innings of relief where he gave up two runs, one earned.  The only pitching bright spot was Austin Langworthy who pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.

B6: Dyson leaves the game with an injury. Austin Langworthy is now on the mound for the Gators.

DiGiacomo is up with one out.

Tigers lead 10-2.

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) April 20, 2019

Gator coach Kevin O’Sullivan still needs to look for more consistency from his pitching staff as the Gators continue to struggle on the mound, especially in road SEC series.

Langworthy Steps Up Despite Loss

Langworthy also did a nice job at the plate on Saturday, going 3 for 4 that included a double and a run. He was the only Gator hitter that had more than one hit on the day.

Langworthy gets ANOTHER one to drop!

He's 3 for 3 today, and 6 for 11 in the series. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/6LBSw63oKh

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 20, 2019

Langworthy had six total hits in the series and did not allow a run on the mound in four innings of relief in the two games he appeared in as a pitcher.

What’s Next?

Florida (26-16, 7-11 SEC) returns home and faces Florida Atlantic on Tuesday at 6 p.m., followed by a three-game series with Kentucky beginning on Friday at McKethan Stadium.