Thursday, May 14
Baton Rouge, La.
7:30 PM
Florida Gators
35-18, 16-12
11
at
8
LSU
29-25, 9-19
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 8 | 1 |
| LSU | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 2 |
Ethan Surowiec rounds the bases during his first-inning grand slam. / UAA Communications photo by Madilyn Gemme
Florida Uses Six-Run First to Down LSU in Game One
Thursday, May 14, 2026 | Baseball
Ethan Surowiec bashed a first-inning grand slam as UF jumped out to a 6-0 lead on five hits in the first.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 9/19 Florida jumped on LSU early and led from start to finish to win the series opener, 11-8, at Alex Box Stadium on Thursday night.
The Gators (35-18, 16-12 SEC) broke the contest open with a six-spot on the Tigers (29-25, 9-19 SEC) in the opening frame and never looked back. Ethan Surowiec (1-for-6) popped a first-inning grand slam to open the scoring before Kyle Jones (2-for-2) added a two-run single for his second hit of the inning. That propelled ace hurler Aidan King to his eighth victory of the campaign, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball with seven strikeouts to zero walks. The sophomore has now finished five frames in seven-consecutive starts.
Powering Florida to its sixth win in the last seven games, Jones and Landon Stripling (2-for-4) posted multi-hit efforts. Stripling finished with one double, one RBI, one run scored and one walk. The Gators utilized a patient approach for much of the night, drawing a season-high 13 walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out nine times.
The first three hitters reached base for Florida in the top half of the first, as Jones and Brendan Lawson led off with singles before Blake Cyr drew a walk. Stepping to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs, Surowiec bashed a 1-2 offering over the right-field wall for an opposite-field grand slam to break the game open at 4-0. The Gators did not stop there, putting together a two-out rally as Stripling doubled while Cade Kurland and Cash Strayer worked walks. Jones then collected his second hit with a two-run single back up the middle, extending the UF advantage to 6-0.
Spotted with a six-run lead, King quickly dispatched of the LSU top of the order on eight pitches while picking up his first strikeout in the bottom of the first. The Tigers led off the home half of the second with a pair of singles to threaten, but King struck out three-straight batters to leave both baserunners stranded.
LSU broke through in bottom-three, as Chris Stanfield and Mason Braun hit singles to put Tigers on the corners and the former came home on a wild pitch to Omar Serna Jr. Derek Curiel then doubled in a run while Cade Arrambide added an RBI single to center to cut the UF advantage in half at 6-3. King bounced back to induce an inning-ending, six-three double play to Lawson at shortstop.
In the top of the fourth, Florida responded by getting one run back to make it a 7-3 ballgame. With one man down, Hayden Yost drew a walk, swiped second base and scored on a two-out, RBI single to left-center off the bat of Cyr.
King held the four-run lead with a zero in the fourth, navigating around a leadoff double thanks to a tremendous leaping catch up against the right-center field wall by Strayer. Caden McDonald then led off the top of the fifth with a double off the left-field wall and later scored on a one-out single to right from Stripling to push the UF edge to 8-3.
Chucking a second-straight zero, King fanned the LSU side in order in the home half of the fifth to reach seven strikeouts. He went back out for the sixth at 89 pitches, but exited as the pitcher of record after surrendering a one-out homer to right by Steven Milam with the tally at 8-4. Jackson Barberi was called on to make his long-awaited return out of the bullpen and quickly fanned Josh Pearson with a 100mph heater en route to pitching UF out of the frame.
The Gators were gifted two runs the following half inning to surge further in front at 10-4 at the seventh-inning stretch. Karson Bowen reached on a throwing error at shortstop, followed by walks to Kurland and Strayer to load the bags. Yost was walked to force home Bowen while a wild pitch to Lawson allowed Kurland to scamper home safely for a second run.
Remaining on the hill for the bottom of the seventh, Barberi struck out two on his way to a clean inning. Florida tacked on another run in the top of the eighth as LSU reliever Mavrick Rizy issued four walks in the frame to force in Cyr and make it an 11-4 game.
The Tigers answered with a solo homer from Serna Jr. in the home half of the seventh before adding a sixth run on a bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Brayden Simpson. With Florida holding an 11-6 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, LSU put the first two runners on via base hits. Closer Joshua Whritenour took over to clean things up and fanned the first-two Tigers he faced before Milam hit a two-run double to left-center to bring the score to its final tally of 11-8. With the tying run on deck, Whritenour induced a groundout to first base of pinch-hitter Seth Dardar to cement the series-opening win.
King (8-2) earned the victory in his final regular-season start, throwing 5 1/3 frames of four-run ball on eight hits. He struck out seven Tigers and did not issue a free pass.
LSU starter Danny Lachenmayer (2-1) was saddled with the loss in his second start of the season. The sophomore left-hander lasted just two-thirds of an innings while allowing six earned runs on four hits, three walks and one strikeout.
NOTABLES
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On getting off to a fast start and King battling on the mound…
"Scoring six in the first, that doesn't happen very often. But obviously, getting off to that start was probably the difference in the ballgame. I thought Aidan really battled tonight. And after the three-run third, he put up a couple zeros after that and I was pleased with his tempo after that. It was good to get Barbs back out there. Thought he threw the ball good, was trying to keep him at about 30 pitches…"
On the importance of getting Barberi back out there…
"It was really good to get him out there and like I said, wanted to keep him at 30 pitches which worked out perfectly. But certainly after that, we obviously need to do a better job. There's no reason, like I said, we have to go to our main relievers up six, seven runs."
ON DECK
The Gators and Tigers face off again in game two, scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
The Gators (35-18, 16-12 SEC) broke the contest open with a six-spot on the Tigers (29-25, 9-19 SEC) in the opening frame and never looked back. Ethan Surowiec (1-for-6) popped a first-inning grand slam to open the scoring before Kyle Jones (2-for-2) added a two-run single for his second hit of the inning. That propelled ace hurler Aidan King to his eighth victory of the campaign, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of four-run ball with seven strikeouts to zero walks. The sophomore has now finished five frames in seven-consecutive starts.
Powering Florida to its sixth win in the last seven games, Jones and Landon Stripling (2-for-4) posted multi-hit efforts. Stripling finished with one double, one RBI, one run scored and one walk. The Gators utilized a patient approach for much of the night, drawing a season-high 13 walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out nine times.
The first three hitters reached base for Florida in the top half of the first, as Jones and Brendan Lawson led off with singles before Blake Cyr drew a walk. Stepping to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs, Surowiec bashed a 1-2 offering over the right-field wall for an opposite-field grand slam to break the game open at 4-0. The Gators did not stop there, putting together a two-out rally as Stripling doubled while Cade Kurland and Cash Strayer worked walks. Jones then collected his second hit with a two-run single back up the middle, extending the UF advantage to 6-0.
Spotted with a six-run lead, King quickly dispatched of the LSU top of the order on eight pitches while picking up his first strikeout in the bottom of the first. The Tigers led off the home half of the second with a pair of singles to threaten, but King struck out three-straight batters to leave both baserunners stranded.
LSU broke through in bottom-three, as Chris Stanfield and Mason Braun hit singles to put Tigers on the corners and the former came home on a wild pitch to Omar Serna Jr. Derek Curiel then doubled in a run while Cade Arrambide added an RBI single to center to cut the UF advantage in half at 6-3. King bounced back to induce an inning-ending, six-three double play to Lawson at shortstop.
In the top of the fourth, Florida responded by getting one run back to make it a 7-3 ballgame. With one man down, Hayden Yost drew a walk, swiped second base and scored on a two-out, RBI single to left-center off the bat of Cyr.
King held the four-run lead with a zero in the fourth, navigating around a leadoff double thanks to a tremendous leaping catch up against the right-center field wall by Strayer. Caden McDonald then led off the top of the fifth with a double off the left-field wall and later scored on a one-out single to right from Stripling to push the UF edge to 8-3.
Chucking a second-straight zero, King fanned the LSU side in order in the home half of the fifth to reach seven strikeouts. He went back out for the sixth at 89 pitches, but exited as the pitcher of record after surrendering a one-out homer to right by Steven Milam with the tally at 8-4. Jackson Barberi was called on to make his long-awaited return out of the bullpen and quickly fanned Josh Pearson with a 100mph heater en route to pitching UF out of the frame.
The Gators were gifted two runs the following half inning to surge further in front at 10-4 at the seventh-inning stretch. Karson Bowen reached on a throwing error at shortstop, followed by walks to Kurland and Strayer to load the bags. Yost was walked to force home Bowen while a wild pitch to Lawson allowed Kurland to scamper home safely for a second run.
Remaining on the hill for the bottom of the seventh, Barberi struck out two on his way to a clean inning. Florida tacked on another run in the top of the eighth as LSU reliever Mavrick Rizy issued four walks in the frame to force in Cyr and make it an 11-4 game.
The Tigers answered with a solo homer from Serna Jr. in the home half of the seventh before adding a sixth run on a bases-loaded walk to pinch-hitter Brayden Simpson. With Florida holding an 11-6 lead going into the bottom of the ninth, LSU put the first two runners on via base hits. Closer Joshua Whritenour took over to clean things up and fanned the first-two Tigers he faced before Milam hit a two-run double to left-center to bring the score to its final tally of 11-8. With the tying run on deck, Whritenour induced a groundout to first base of pinch-hitter Seth Dardar to cement the series-opening win.
King (8-2) earned the victory in his final regular-season start, throwing 5 1/3 frames of four-run ball on eight hits. He struck out seven Tigers and did not issue a free pass.
LSU starter Danny Lachenmayer (2-1) was saddled with the loss in his second start of the season. The sophomore left-hander lasted just two-thirds of an innings while allowing six earned runs on four hits, three walks and one strikeout.
NOTABLES
- Florida scored its second-most first-inning runs (six) in a game this season (Feb. 14 vs. UAB, nine).
- The Gators have won six of their last seven games while outscoring opponents, 63-32.
- Florida has now won three-straight games at Alex Box Stadium dating back to 2024.
- The Gators have won 11 of their last 15 SEC series dating back to last season, going 30-16 across 46 SEC contests in that span.
- Florida is a now 21-12 against unranked teams this season on top of being a nation-best 14-6 against ranked opponents and repping the second-most Quad 1 wins in the country (15).
- King picked up his eighth win of the season and has now completed five innings in seven-straight starts.
- King has allowed 17 of his 30 runs in the third inning.
- King struck out the side in order in the fifth to reach seven strikeouts.
- King failed to completed six innings on the mound for the first time in seven starts.
- He has pitched into the seventh inning in five of his last seven SEC starts.
- Across his last 19 starts dating back to last season, King is 12-3 with a 1.91 ERA and 112-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 118.0 innings pitched (25 earned runs allowed).
- Surowiec opened the scoring with his first-career grand slam with no outs in the top of the first inning, increasing his season home run total to nine.
- Surowiec's blast marked Florida's third grand slam of the campaign.
- Jones went 2-for-2 with two RBI and one run scored in the first inning.
- Barberi made his first pitching appearance since April 3 vs. Ole Miss (Game 2).
- The Gators drew a season-high 13 walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out nine times.
- Nine Gators recorded runs including eight UF starters.
- Florida has won 52 of its last 75 regular-season games dating back to last season.
- The Gators are now 56-69-1 all-time and 18-32-1 in Baton Rouge against LSU.
- Florida is 27-22 overall and 10-12 on the road vs. the Wildcats under Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan.
- Thursday night's official attendance was 10,553.
FROM HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
On getting off to a fast start and King battling on the mound…
"Scoring six in the first, that doesn't happen very often. But obviously, getting off to that start was probably the difference in the ballgame. I thought Aidan really battled tonight. And after the three-run third, he put up a couple zeros after that and I was pleased with his tempo after that. It was good to get Barbs back out there. Thought he threw the ball good, was trying to keep him at about 30 pitches…"
On the importance of getting Barberi back out there…
"It was really good to get him out there and like I said, wanted to keep him at 30 pitches which worked out perfectly. But certainly after that, we obviously need to do a better job. There's no reason, like I said, we have to go to our main relievers up six, seven runs."
ON DECK
The Gators and Tigers face off again in game two, scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: King, Aidan (8-2)
L: Danny Lachenmayer (2-1)
Batting:
2B: McDonald, Caden 1 ; Stripling, Landon 1
HR: Surowiec, Ethan 1
RBI: Jones, Kyle 2 ; Yost, Hayden 1 ; Cyr, Blake 1 ; Surowiec, Ethan 4 ; Stripling, Landon 1 ; Kurland, Cade 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Kyle 1 ; Yost, Hayden 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 1 ; Cyr, Blake 2 ; Surowiec, Ethan 1 ; McDonald, Caden 1 ; Bowen, Karson 1 ; Stripling, Landon 1 ; Kurland, Cade 2
SB: Yost, Hayden 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 1
HBP: Yost, Hayden 1 ; Lawson, Brendan 1
Batting:
2B: Omar Serna Jr. 1 ; Derek Curiel 1 ; Steven Milam 1 ; John Pearson 1
HR: Omar Serna Jr. 1 ; Steven Milam 1
RBI: Omar Serna Jr. 1 ; Derek Curiel 1 ; Cade Arrambide 1 ; Steven Milam 3 ; Brayden Simpson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mason Braun 2 ; Omar Serna Jr. 2 ; Derek Curiel 2 ; Steven Milam 1 ; Chris Stanfield 1
HBP: Seth Dardar 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
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RHP/1B
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RHP
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OF
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