Thursday Evening Recap

Same story, different night. Although Jay Johnson and LSU seemingly have their eyes on the SEC Tournament next week, there were still games to be played this weekend. When they announced their rotation on Wednesday and didn’t include either William Schmidt or Casan Evans, it was clear what the goal was. They had Thursday listed as a TBA, eventually going with Danny Lachenmayer, followed by some of the lesser-used pitchers. Florida came to Baton Rouge looking for a sweep to try and sneak in to a national seed and with a 6-run 1^st inning, they were off to a good start. The pitching throughout the game was what you would expect, considering who was put out there, with the exception of freshman Reagan Ricken.

The offense faced the tall task of having to take on one of the best pitchers in the country in Aiden King. Not only is he tough under normal circumstances, but the Gators giving him a 6-0 lead before he even stepped foot on the mound is basically a cheat code. But, give the Tiger bats credit, because they actually hit him a little. A 3-run 3^rd inning was the highlight, but King was able to settle back in for a few innings until a solo homerun by Steven Milam knocked him out of the game in the 6^th. LSU added a run here and there afterwards, but ultimately, the blow up in the 1^st was too much to overcome.

Pitching

Danny Lachenmayer got the start on the mound and things quickly got off to an awful start. After back-to-back singles to start the game, he walked Blake Cyr to load the bases for Ethan Surowiec, who blasted a grand slam in to the Diamond Deck in right field. The Tigers were down 4-0 before recording an out. The sophomore did retire the next two hitters, but a double and consecutive walks re-loaded the bases and that’s when Jay Johnson had seen enough from Lachenmayer.

• Final line: 0.2 IP / 4 hits / 6 runs / 1 K / 3 BB / 39 pitches (20 strikes, 51%)

Reagan Ricken was first out of the bullpen and despite a 2-run single allowed upon entering, he locked in from there. He drew a flyout to finally end the 1^st, then carried that momentum forward. Back-to-back perfect innings in the 2^nd and 3^rd innings from the freshman allowed the Tigers to cut the 6-0 deficit in half in the bottom of the 3^rd. Ricken’s steak of 8 straight retired ended when he hit the second batter in the 4^th. After another strikeout, a stolen base set up an RBI single for the Gators to make it 7-3 before a groundout would end the inning. He was back for the 5^th and allowed a leadoff double to Caden McDonald, who advanced to 3^rd base on a flyout to Chris Stanfield in right field. With the infield drawn in, a high chopper snuck right over Jack Ruckert’s glove to bring in another run, but it would have been a routine out in a normal scenario. Ricken was able to bounce back by inducing a 6-4-3 double play between Ruckert and Steven Milam to end both the inning and his outing. He set season highs with his 4.1 innings pitched, 56 pitches, and 5 strikeouts. The freshman was fantastic.

• Final line: 4.1 IP / 4 hits / 2 runs / 5 K / 0 BB / 1 HBP / 56 pitches (39 strikes, 70%)

Cooper Williams took over to start the 6^th and his rough season continued. His biggest problem in 2026 has been his control and that continued on Thursday night. After walking the leadoff hitter, he recorded a groundout, but then gave up another walk and his night was quickly over.

• Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 2 BB / 12 pitches (4 strikes, 33%)

Connor Benge took over and quickly got out of the jam with a strikeout looking and a ground out. He returned for the 7^th and should have had a 1-2-3 inning, but a rare Milam error between two recorded outs kept the inning going. A 2-out walk would end his night.

• Final line: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs (0 ER) / 2 K / 1 BB / 25 pitches (13 strikes, 52%)

DJ Primeaux entered to make his first appearance since March 31^st against Southern. He walked his first two hitters faced and then delivered a wild pitch to re-extend Florida’s lead to 10-4. Finally, a nice play on a slow-roller by Ruckert ended the inning.

• Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 2 BB / 14 pitches (5 strikes, 36%)

Mavrick Rizy took over to start the 8^th and continued the usual Mavrick Rizy experience. His entire sophomore season can be defined by up and down outings and after one of his best of the year last week against Georgia, he followed it up on Thursday night with one of his worst. He started with a walk, strikeout, walk, pop out, and another walk to load the bases. He’d then walk in a run for his 4^th free pass of the inning before finally recording the 3^rd out and somehow making it out of the inning having only allowed a run. That would be his only inning of work.

• Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 1 run / 1 K / 4 BB / 30 pitches (11 strikes, 37%)

Dax Dathe was tasked with closing out the final inning on the mound for LSU and despite some bumps in the road, he was able to do so without damage. After a flyout to start things off, he hit a batter, gave up a stolen base, then walked one to put runners on 1^st and 2^nd with just 1 out. But, back to back 6-4 fielder’s choices would hold Florida at 11 runs.

• Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 11 pitches (6 strikes, 55%)

Hitting

Steven Milam was the offensive star of the night. He was the only Tiger to record 3 hits, which included his 8^th homerun of the year and a double. He drove in 3 RBI, while also scoring the one run and finished 3-5. Despite the slow start to the year, the star shortstop has, once again, turned it on and raised his average to .295 late in the year.

Omar Serna may have only had 2 hits, but like Milam, he also homered and recorded a double. The homerun was his 9^th of the year and was one of his most impressive swings of the year. Coming off of his bat at 108 mph, the ball went 406 feet, but neither of those numbers are what was shocking. That would be his 18 degree launch angle and only a 56 foot apex. That ball was an absolute missile and the future continues to shine incredibly bright for the freshman. He finished 2-5 with the RBI and 2 runs scored.

Cade Arrambide stayed hot, as he’s been since the Tigers were in Knoxville back on Easter weekend. The sophomore finished 2-5 with an RBI.

Leadoff hitter Mason Braun is the best on the team at getting on base and after doing so 7 times last weekend in Athens, he delivered again on Thursday. He finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored.

Derek Curiel only finished 1-4, but his lone hit was impactful. After the Tigers fell behind 6-0, they finally got the offense rolling in the 3^rd. With the bases loaded in a 6-1 game, LSU’s leading hitter delivered a double to help eventually cut the lead in half and get the Tigers back in the game. He also drew a walk.

Up Next

Although Jay Johnson had mentioned that they felt as if winning the SEC Tournament was their only path in to the postseason following the sweep at Georgia, Thursday’s loss pretty much makes that a mathematical fact. LSU and Florida will return for game 2 on Friday evening for another 6:30 pm central start. Florida will send Liam Peterson to the mound with his 1-5 record, but don’t let that fool you. He can pitch, reaching up to 100 mph. The Tigers will send freshman Marcos Paz out for his 4^th consecutive SEC start, looking to bounce back from a rough game in Athens last Saturday in which he didn’t make it through 2 innings. Expect Jay and Nate Yeskie to continue utilizing the back of the bullpen or keeping their guys on very low pitch counts as they prepare to try and make a run in Hoover next week. With the loss, LSU falls to 9-19 in SEC play, which is the new program record for most conference losses in a season. Florida improved to 16-12,

Follow me on X for much more @DCBilliotJr