Florida baseball is looking to end the regular season with three straight SEC series wins. The Gators will have to get it done on the road against the LSU Tigers after taking down the Oklahoma Sooners and Kentucky Wildcats the past two weeks.
Florida’s offense is finding its groove with Caden McDonald continuing to shine in the designated hitter spot. Brendan Lawons bounced back from a month-long slump with two home runs last weekend. Blake Cyr and Ethan Surwoiec continue to hit in the middle of the lineup, too. Kyle Jones was day-to-day last weekend with turf toe after walking it off on Friday, but he wasn’t listed on the injury report this week.
Florida also has most of its pitchers back for the first time since the Miami series. Ricky Reeth has been pitching the last few weeks, and Jackson Barberi is no longer listed as out, although he didn’t pitch last week. Luke McNiellie remains questionable, but he could be used in a pinch. Cash Strayer is also back and will get some action in right field.
Here’s everything you need to know before the series starts on Thursday.
Projected Starting Lineup: Florida Gators
Probable Starters: Game 1 – Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET)
NOTES: Aidan King proved he is, in fact, human last week with a season-high five earned runs scoring on him. That elevated his ERA to 2.19 ERA, which should tell you how good he’s been this season. There’s no reason to believe he won’t bounce back this weekend.
Casan Evans is the Game 1 guy for LSU, but right arm discomfort led to him being sidelined in late April. He missed the two series but has returned to start Game 3 against Georgia last weekend. The TBA designation could mean he’ll be back in his normal spot this weekend.
The other option is William Schmidt, who has moved up the rotation thanks to multiple injuries. More likely, some combination of the two will be used to keep Evans from throwing too much.
Both are potential first-rounders in 2027, but they can deal with some control problems. Evans is 95-96 mph on the fastball with a plus changeup. Schmidt has a plus mid-80s slider with a 94-96 mph fastball, an 87-88 mph cutter and 77-81 mph curve. He has good spin on everything, but the slider is an elite pitch that draws a whiff rate above 50%.
Probable Starters: Game 2 – Friday (7:30 p.m. ET)
NOTES: Liam Peterson has had a rough year, but his numbers are still decent. The ERA isn’t too high, and he’s learned to pitch deeper in games. Last week, he went 7 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk. He also recorded seven strikeouts for the first time since Ole Miss at the beginning of April. Some offensive support this week would be nice.
Marcos Paz was a draft prospect out of high school, and LSU was excited to get him on campus. He’s a potential ace down the line with a fastball that sits in the mid-to-high 90s and has touched 98 this year. He has two breaking balls and a changeup, too.
Paz had Tommy John surgery last year, so he’s been brought along slowly. He did some backend stuff and made two mid-week starts before becoming a real factor on the weekends. He’s started the last three weeks and had mixed results. His best outing was against South Carolina, where he went five innings and gave up just one run. Georgia got to him early last week for seven runs through 1 1/2 innings, though. His walk rate is elevated aty 18.7%, and his 8.28 ERA is obviously concerning.
Cooper Moore was the Game 2 until the third week of SEC play. Triceps soreness turned into a season-ending injury for him. Schidt moved into the spot briefly before Evans’ injury forced him to become the Game 1 guy.
Probable Starters: Game 3 – Saturday (3 p.m. ET)
NOTES: Russell Sandefer had only made it through 3 2/.3 innigns last week, but Caden McDonald bailed him out with 4 1/3 no-hit innings in relief. Kevin O’Sullivan would like to see the Sandefer that threw seven innings of one-run ball agaisnt Oklahoma this week.
Zac Cowan had a strong 2025 and worked in the back end with one start in the postseason for LSU. He’s served as an innings eater for most of this season and has now been thrust into a part-time starting role due to injuries on the staff. Last week, he relieved Evans, who made his return on a Sunday. Cowan was excellent against South Carolina the week before, throwing six innings of two-hit, scoreless baseball.
He doesn’t walk guys (5.4% walk rate for his career) and strikes out at a high clip (27.3% for career). Cowan throws a low-90s sinker with a changeup, curveball and slider — all in the low-80s.
Other Players to Watch
Offense
There are fewer 1.000 OPS guys on LSU’s roster than one might expect, but the bulk of the starting lineup checks in above .800.
Catcher Cade Arrambide and outfielder Jake Brown are the two sluggers with 16 homers each. Brown leads the team with 49 RBIs, and Arrambide is close behind with 46. Arrambide is more strikeout-heavy with 53 to Brown’s 32, but these are the danger bats.
Derek Curiel is always a threat. The centerfielder has a .932 OPS with 44 home runs. He walks (31) almost as much as he strikes out (38) and has a team-high 72 hits and 13 stolen bases on the year.
Other threats are shortstop Steven Millam, with 59 hits, 14 doubles and 39 RBIs. Millam walks (31) more than he strikes out (23). Freshmen Mason Braun and Omar Serna Jr. have also put together a good season with a .915 and .927 OPS, respectively.
Bullpen
LSU’s stalwarts in the bullpen are left-handers Santi Garcia and Cooper Williams and right-handers Deven Sheerin and Gavin Guidry. Garcia and Williams have 20 appearances apiece. Despite elevated ERAs (5.64 and 8.10, respectively), both are considered high-leverage arms. Garcia has converted two saves, and both have a strikeout rate above 32%.
Sheerin (4.28 ERA) has the most saves on the team and has worked more than 33 innings over 18 appearances. His 33% strikeout rate is elite, and his 11% walk rate is strong as well. More importantly, opponents are hitting him at a .205 clip. At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, it’s hard to miss him. He has a 97-98 mph heater and a strong mid-to-high-80s sweeper. He also throws an 82 mph curve and an 88 mph circle change. If LSU has the lead late, this is who the Tigers will turn to.
Guidry has been one of LSU’s better relievers for the last four seasons, but a back injury derailed him in 2025. He has a career 31.8% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate. Opponents are hitting him for a .229 average, which is up from the last two seasons, and his ERA is a career-high 6.81 this year.
Grant Fontenot and Mavrick Rizy are two other often-used relievers with 19 appearances apiece and sub-4.00 ERAs. Fontenot has a high-90s heater and good strikeout numbers. Rizy is a 6-foot-9 giant, with a fastball that reaches 98 mph and a good slider that spins a lot.
SEC Availability Report
Series History
Notes: Florida took two out of three for a series win in the team’s last trip to Baton Rouge in 2024 (L 6-1, W 6-4, W 12-2).
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball closes out regular season with LSU series
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
