© Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
College World Series: LSU Tigers Outlast Florida Gators in Extra Innings
Florida baseball's quest for its second national title in program history just got much more complicated.
A record outing from LSU pitcher Ty Floyd, posting 17 strikeouts en route to tying the nine-inning record in College World Series history, aided the LSU Tigers to outlast the Florida Gators, 4-3, in extra innings of game one on Saturday.
The Gators fell down early as Cade Beloso singled to left off Florida pitcher Brandon Sproat with two outs on the board. Putting the ball in play brought in the projected No. 1 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft, outfielder Dylan Crews, to open the scoring on the night in the top of the first inning.
Sproat rebounded to strand two runners on base to close the first inning without further damage.
In the top of the third, Gavin Dugas extended the Tigers' lead to 2-0 with a solo home run to left, presenting a much-needed cushion for the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
However, the Gators closed that gap in the bottom of the third as star Swiss-army knife Jac Caglianone drove in a run when he grounded out to first, allowing Cade Kurland to score from third base.
It brought the UF deficit to just one run.
The score held through the fourth inning until Kurland made an impact from the plate to drive home Ty Evans with an RBI ground out to second in the bottom of the fifth to tie the tight contest. During Florida's next appearance at the plate, catcher BT Riopelle sent a solo home run shot to right field to give the Gators the go-ahead run.
The two pitchers combined for five strikeouts in the seventh as each went one-two-three, with Floyd striking out the side, to move quickly into the eighth.
Just as LSU's chances began to look bleak for a game-one win, given the stingy rate at which runs were allowed, Tommy White — the Tigers' savior from the semifinal round against Wake Forest — took UF relief pitcher Cade Fisher yard to tie the game at three runs apiece in the eighth. Ultimately, White's heroics kept the Tigers' chances alive and sent the game into extras.
Beloso struck again in the 11th to put the exclamation point on the evening, homering for his second RBI of the contest. Florida couldn't answer in its final plate appearance of the night, finalizing the LSU's impressive late-game surge to take the crucial game one.
The Gators will retake the diamond against the Tigers on Sunday at 3 p.m. EST, looking to even the series and set up a championship-deciding third contest.
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