Aaron Nola entered Friday with three complete games in his past three outings.
He added a fourth consecutive complete game by baffling Florida’s lineup throughout the night. His effort propelled LSU to a 5-0 series-clinching victory in Baton Rouge at Alex Box Stadium.
Nola allowed just four hits and issued only one walk while striking out three batters. With the win, the Tigers’ ace continued his dominant season, running his record to 9-0.
“Aaron Nola pitched great,” coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He threw the ball back and forth, pitched on both sides of the plate, (and) he threw all three pitches for strikes. He was as good as advertised.”
Florida (25-22, 12-11 Southeastern Conference) struggled to string hits together against one of the nation’s elite right-handers. The Gators’ best scoring opportunity came in the third inning when they put runners on first and second with nobody out.
After Josh Tobias was hit by a pitch to open the frame, Harrison Bader reached on an infield single. But Tobias was forced out at third on a poor bunt by Cody Dent. Nola then induced a lineout and groundout to quell the threat and keep UF off the board.
Trailing 3-0 in the seventh, Florida put its first two runners on base before Vickash Ramjit lined into a double play and Tobias struck out looking to end the inning.
“We’ve just got to push a couple runs across,” O’Sullivan said. “Against really good pitchers, you get one or two opportunities throughout the game to score runs. We had good at-bats and we hit some balls hard. We just quite couldn’t finish it up.”
Bobby Poyner started for the Gators, throwing 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on four hits and two walks. He allowed just one run through four innings — a fielder’s choice RBI by Jacoby Jones in the second — before running into trouble in the fifth.
LSU (42-6, 18-5 SEC) opened the inning with a pair of singles before designated hitter Sean McMullen plated a run with a double to left field. An RBI groundout gave Nola a three-run lead, which was more than enough.
The Tigers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eight.
Consistent offense has proved problematic for the Gators through two games in Baton Rouge. Florida batters struck out 10 times in a 3-2 series-opening loss on Thursday.
“I was OK with our at-bats tonight facing one of the best guys in the country,” O’Sullivan said. “We hit the ball hard. We just couldn’t push any runs across.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Phil Heilman at pheilman@alligator.org.
Outfielder Harrison Bader bats during Florida’s 4-0 win against Ole Miss on March 31, 2013, at McKethan Stadium.
