Grand slam propels Florida to series-opening win at LSU

The No. 9 Florida Gators opened their final regular season series on Thursday night with an 11-8 win at LSU. UF took control early with a grand slam and then held off a late rally by the Tigers. Both teams had their struggles on the mound, but Florida capitalized on them the most. UF took a 6-0 lead in the first inning with Ethan Surowiec’s grand slam and a two RBI single by Kyle Jones. After LSU’s three-spot in the third, the Gators scored at least once in four of the next five innings to build an 11-4 lead behind RBI singles by Blake Cyr and Landon Stripling and three scores on two walks and a wild pitch. LSU’s Steven Milam hit a solo homer in sixth that got Aidan King pulled for Jackson Barberi, who retired his first five batters. However, Florida’s bullpen fell apart in the eighth and ninth as UF went through five pitchers. Barberi gave up a leadoff dinger to Omar Serna Jr. and a walk before being replaced by Billy Barlow, who lasted 10 pitches. The Tigers scored a second run in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk by Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. Ricky Reeth threw just seven pitches to start the ninth and was taken out for Joshua Whritenour. He fanned his first two batters before a two-out, two RBI double by Milam, but LSU couldn’t trim the deficit beyond that. Took the opener 🤫 pic.twitter.com/93D8ROgWWW— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 King (8-2) earned the win and had seven strikeouts, eight hits and four runs in 5.2 innings. LSU’s pitching staff walked 13 Gators (vs. by UF), hit two batters and threw three wild pitches with as many earned runs as strikeouts (nine). Get the On3 Top 10 Newsletter in your inbox every morningBy clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein. Game two between the Gators and Tigers is on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Both remaining games are on SEC Network+. Here are live updates from Florida (35-18, 16-12 SEC) vs. LSU (29-25, 9-19 SEC): By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 8th: Florida 11, LSU 605/14/2026 10:17:42 PMThe Gators loaded the bases for the second straight inning with three walks and a fourth free pass on Kurland plated Cyr for another score. The Tigers answered with two runs on one hit — Omar Serna Jr.’s leadoff homer — and loaded the bases on a walk, an error and a hit batter before scoring on a walk by Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, Florida’s third pitcher of the eighth. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 7th: Florida 10, LSU 405/14/2026 09:08:23 PMThe Gators scored two more runs on no hits, three walks, a wild pitch and an error. After loading the bases for the third time, Yost was walked to plate Karson Bowen. Kurland then came home on a wild pitch. Barberi tossed a 1-2-3 frame with two strikeouts. The Gators have missed him in relief. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 6th: Florida 8, LSU 405/14/2026 08:42:39 PMKing was pulled following a solo home run by Steven Milam. He struck out seven Tigers in 5.1 innings and gave up eight hits and four runs, throwing 94 pitches and 68 strikes. Reliver Jackson Barberi made his return to the mound and fanned his first batter before Cyr chased down the final out. The Gators got two free passes but left them stranded after LSU’s third pitching change and second of the inning. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 5th: Florida 8, LSU 305/14/2026 08:18:23 PMCaden McDonald hit a leadoff double and then scored on Stripling’s RBI single to right field. The Tigers ending the inning on a double play. King struck out all three Tigers for his second 1-2-3 frame of the game and now has seven strikeouts. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 4th: Florida 7, LSU 305/14/2026 08:02:02 PMThe Gators responded to LSU’s three-run inning with another score in the fourth. After Hayden Yost was hit by a pitch to end Ricken’s streak of retired batters at eight, he came home on Blake Cyr’s RBI single to left center. King gave up a leadoff hit for the third straight inning but pitched a scoreless frame as RF Cash Strayer made a catch at the wall for the last out. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 3rd: Florida 6, LSU 305/14/2026 07:47:12 PMAfter Ricken tossed another 1-2-3 frame to retire seven straight Gators, the Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the third with a three-spot. King allowed back-to-back singles for the second straight inning and a wild pitch plated LSU’s first score. Florida gave up two runs on RBI hits by Derek Curiel and Cade Arrambide before making a double play for the final two outs. By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 2nd: Florida 6, LSU 005/14/2026 07:32:59 PMLSU reliever Reagan Ricken pitched a 1-2-3 frame and struck out Surowiec. After giving up back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the second, King fanned three Tigers in a row — two looking — to end the inning. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 By:Zach AbolverdiEnd of 1st: Florida 6, LSU 005/14/2026 07:08:46 PMThe top of the first was a grand opening for the Gators. After back-to-back knocks by Kyle Jones and Brendan Lawson, Blake Cyr was walked and cleanup hitter Ethan Surowiec smacked his first career grand slam. Landon Stripling hit a two-out double and then Florida loaded the bases again with two straight walks, forcing LSU to pull pitcher Danny Lachenmayer, and then Jones came up with his second hit of the inning to drive in Stripling and Cade Kurland. UF starter Aidan King tossed a 1-2-3 frame with one strikeout. — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 14, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 14, 2026 — Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 15, 2026 Florida Gators Starting Lineup 1. CF Kyle Jones2. SS Brendan Lawson3. LF Blake Cyr4. 3B Ethan Surowiec5. DH Caden McDonald6. C Karson Bowen7. 1B Landon Stripling8. 2B Cade Kurland9. RF Cash Strayer SP: RHP Aidan King Not a member of Gators Online? CLICK HERE to join the Gators Online community for $1! It’s the top place for passionate Florida fans to find the best insight and news in the market. Boasting a talented collection of experienced journalists, we dig deep into recruiting and provide breaking news and analysis on UF sports. SIGN UP for the Gators Online Newsletter — Receive Breaking News, In-Depth Analysis via Email!