Junior outfielder Hayden Yost saved his best performance of the year for Florida’s regular-season finale.
He went 4-for-5 with three home runs and five RBIs as Florida (37-18, 18-12 SEC) outslugged LSU (29-27, 9-21 SEC) 15-11 Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Gators swept the Tigers, totaled 36 runs in the series and extended their win streak to five games.
Florida’s offense stayed aggressive throughout the afternoon and delivered its biggest punches late.
Though both teams were retired in order in the first inning, the Gators broke through in the third. Senior second baseman Cade Kurland launched a solo home run to left field and Yost followed with a single. Sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson was then hit by a pitch, setting up sophomore third baseman Ethan Surowiec’s two-run single up the middle that gave Florida a 3-0 lead.
LSU answered with a run in the bottom of the third, but Florida added another in the fourth. Freshman outfielder Cash Strayer singled and Bowen followed with a bunt single, allowing junior first baseman Landon Stripling to line an RBI single to right field and extend UF’s lead to 4-1.
After LSU tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single from 5th-year senior infielder Seth Dardar, Yost delivered a go-ahead swing in the sixth. The junior crushed a two-run home run into the right-field bleachers to put Florida back in front 6-4.
The Gators added more insurance in the seventh when Kurland and Yost launched back-to-back home runs. The pair of solo shots extended their lead to 8-4 before Lawson scored UF’s ninth run. He was hit by a pitch for the third time in the game, stole second base and later scored on another RBI single off the bat of Surowiec. UF led 9-4 entering the final two frames.
LSU cut into Florida’s lead in the eighth, but the Gators responded with an offensive onslaught in the ninth.
Bowen was hit by a pitch to open the final inning before Stripling ripped a single up the middle. Two consecutive passed balls allowed Bowen to score, pushing Florida’s lead to 10-8.
Yost then launched his third home run of the game to right field to pad Florida’s lead, 12-8, and cap a career day at the plate.
But the Gators weren’t done. Senior left fielder Blake Cyr followed with a walk, Lawson lined a single to right field and Surowiec walked to load the bases for redshirt sophomore two-way player Caden McDonald. After tossing two innings in relief, McDonald cleared the bases with a three-run double that dropped between redshirt junior left fielder Edward Yamin IV and junior shortstop Steven Milam, extending Florida’s lead to 15-8.
Though Florida’s pitching staff looked sharp early, a chaotic finish nearly spoiled the sweep.
Junior right-hander Russell Sandefer retired LSU in order in the first inning and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the second thanks to a great diving catch by Cyr.
He allowed LSU’s first run in the third on sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide’s solo home run but settled back in. Sandefer ran into trouble again in the fifth, however, as Arrambide launched his second homer of the game — a two-run shot that cut Florida’s lead to 4-3.
Redshirt senior Ricky Reeth entered in relief but allowed two straight hits as LSU tied the game at four. Without recording an out, Reeth was pulled for junior right-hander Schuyler Sandford who limited the damage by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Caden McDonald entered the game as a pitcher in the sixth and worked through traffic before LSU mounted its biggest threat in the eighth.
Junior infielder Brayden Simpson doubled off the left-field wall, allowing junior shortstop Steven Milam to drive in a run with a single. Sophomore centerfielder Derek Curiel later walked to load the bases before Arrambide smoked an infield single that plated another run. Freshman first baseman Mason Braun followed with a stinging two-run single to right field, cutting Florida’s lead to one, 9-8.
Sophomore right-hander Cooper Walls entered in relief and escaped the eighth by inducing a comebacker off the bat of Dardar.
Walls returned in the ninth and closed out the game, but not before he surrendered a three-run home run to Milam. It was the junior’s third homer in as many games against Florida, shortening the Gators’ lead to 15-11.
Florida ultimately held on to secure the sweep and will enter the SEC Tournament feeding off of a five-game win streak.
Contact Colton Veres at cveres@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @colton_veres.
Colton Veres is a senior sports journalism student in his first semester at The Alligator. He is currently the Summer 2026 baseball reporter. In his free time he enjoys watching the Red Sox and spending times with friends and loved ones.
