No. 12 Florida Gators host No. 5 LSU at McKethan Stadium

The No. 12 Florida Gators (14-8, 0-3 SEC) return home to McKethan Stadium following four consecutive road games. Kevin O’Sullivan’s ballclub plays host this weekend to No. 5 LSU (17-5, 3-0 SEC) this weekend.

The Gators stumbled on the road last weekend, dropping all three games to start the 2017 SEC conference schedule at Auburn. LSU, on the other hand, was on the other end of a sweep, taking all three games at home against Georgia last weekend and shutout Southeastern Louisiana 8-2 on Wednesday night.

Weekend schedule/pitching matchups:

Friday, 7 p.m. (SEC Network):
RHP Alex Faedo (3-1, 2.93 ERA, 30.2 IP, 13 BB, 35 K)
vs. RHP Alex Lange (3-1, 5.04 ERA, 25.0 IP, 9 BB, 36 SO)

Saturday, 3 p.m. (ESPN2):
RHP Brady Singer (2-1, 1.74 ERA, 31.0 IP, 9 BB, 31 SO)
vs. LHP Jared Poché (5-0, 0.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 4 BB, 23 SO)

Sunday, 1 p.m. (SEC Network):
RHP Jackson Kowar (3-0, 2.35 ERA, 30.2 IP, 12 BB, 27 SO)
vs. RHP Eric Walker (3-0, 2.67 ERA, 27.0 IP, 5 BB, 30 SO)

 

Series History

LSU holds the all-time series record at 60-45-1. The Gators have a winning home record over the Tigers (24-17). Last year Florida dropped the season-ending series in Baton Rouge 2-1 and split a pair of games with LSU during the SEC Tournament.

LSU has won nine of the last 16 games against Florida.

The last time LSU visited McKethan Stadium (2014) the Gators swept a three game series.

LSU has won three of the last four series, going 7-5 in games played…However, Florida has won six of the last 10 series dating back to 2006, going 18-12 in games played

The Gators have swept three of the last six overall series against the Tigers

 

LSU leading the way

The Tigers have several players that lead the SEC in various statistical categories

Jared Poché leads the SEC and the country in wins (5).
Kramer Robertson leads the SEC with 33 runs scored.
Greg Deichmann leda the SEC with eight home runs.

 

Duplantis coming in red-hot

Antoine Duplantis comes into the matchup after a stellar week, batting .425 (10-for-23) in five games with two doubles, one home run, 14 RBI, seven runs scored and a .536 on-base percentage. In LSU’s three-game SEC series sweep of Georgia, Duplantis batted .615 (8-for-13) with one double, one home run, 10 RBI, six runs and a .688 on base percentage. He set the LSU single-game record for hits on Friday night versus UGA going 6-for-6 at the plate with one double and a career-high seven RBI.

 

Gators in the rankings

Florida’s .983 fielding percentage is tops in the SEC and eighth in the nation.
The Gators have turned 21 double plays, second most in the conference.
Freshman left-hander Andrew Baker leads all SEC pitchers with 12 appearances this season.

 

Gators batting leaders over the last five games

Jonathan India — .368 (7-19, 5 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI)
Ryan Larson — .333 (4-12, 1 R)
Mike Rivera — .286 (4-14, 2 R, 2 RBI)
Mark Kolozsvary — .286 (2-7, 1 R, 3 RBI)
Christian Hicks — .263 (5-19, 4 RBI)

Around the SEC
Ole Miss (14-7, 2-1) at Kentucky (16-6, 3-0)
Alabama (11-10, 0-3) at South Carolina (15-5, 3-0)
Arkansas (18-4, 3-0) at Missouri (20-1, 3-0 SEC)
Auburn (18-5, 3-0) at Georgia (9-13, 0-3)
Tennessee (13-5, 0-3) at Mississippi State (12-10, 0-3)
Texas A&M (15-7, 0-3) at Vanderbilt (14-8, 1-2)

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC