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Florida baseball drops first game to LSU Tigers in College World Series

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•06/24/23•

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COLLEGE BASEBALL: MAY 25 SEC Baseball Tournament - Vanderbilt vs Florida
(Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire)

OMAHA, Neb. — The Florida baseball team lost a game for the first time in three weeks. An excellent, back-and-forth baseball game was tipped in favor of LSU when designated hitter Cade Beloso hit a solo home run to right field in the top of the eleventh inning. The Tigers would hold on to the 4-3 lead and are one game away from the program’s seventh National Championship.

LSU got to Florida starter Brandon Sproat early. Dylan Crews was hit by a pitch in the first inning and advanced to second. The All-American center fielder would score when Cade Beloso singled to left field. Gavin Dugas homered to start the third inning, extending the lead to 2-0. Florida was able to cut back into the lead with a run in the bottom of the frame.

The Gators tied the game in the fifth inning. Ty Evans doubled to left field, moved over on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Cade Kurland groundout.

The Gators and Tigers traded home runs the rest of the way. BT Riopelle gave Florida a 3-2 lead with a solo shot. Tommy White tied the game with a massive homer in the eighth, and Beloso’s dinger was the dagger.

Gators who came up big

  • BT Riopelle broke a 2-2 tie with a massive solo home run in the sixth inning.
  • Cade Fisher was phenomenal in relief. He made one mistake to Tommy White and paid for it.

LSU player that gave Florida trouble

  • Ty Floyd broke the College World Series record for strikeouts in nine innings with his 17. The right-hander with a 7-0 record on the season was sensational for the Tigers in a no-decision.
  • Tommy White’s home run was a backbreaker.
  • Gavin Dugas was 3-4
  • Cade Beloso hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 11th inning.

Most important stat of the game

  • A head-scratcher of a stat: Florida and LSU combined to hit just 1-20 on Saturday night.
  • Florida and LSU combined to strike out 36 times on Saturday night.

Big picture

The Gators’ backs are against the wall on Sunday. Florida will need to beat LSU twice to win a National Championship. The Gators will send Hurston Waldrep to the mound on Sunday but the bullpen was used extensively in the loss. Cade Fisher threw 50 pitches and Brandon Neely threw 54. How much will they be available on Sunday? That could present a huge issue for Florida.

What’s next?

The Florida baseball team and the LSU Tigers will play on Saturday at 3:00 pm EST.

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