By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
The 2026 LSU baseball season cannot end soon enough.
The defending national champion Tigers, once ranked No. 1 in the nation this season, set a school record for most Southeastern Conference losses in a season with their 19th on Thursday night, 11-8, to No. 19 Florida at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU has been playing baseball in the SEC since 1933. The previous LSU record for SEC losses in a season was 18 by the 1978 Tigers, who finished 12-34 for the worst winning percentage in school history at .282 and 6-18 in the SEC. The ’26 Tigers lost their fourth straight game to fall to 29-25 and 9-19 in the SEC. Florida improved to 35-18 and 16-12 in the SEC.
The two teams meet again at 6:30 p.m. Friday on SEC Network+ with freshman right-hander Marcos Paz (1-2, 8.28 ERA) starting for the Tigers against junior right-hander Liam Peterson (1-5, 4.28 ERA). The regular season finale will be at 2 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network+.
LSU will play Tuesday in the single-elimination SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama.
The Gators quieted the Box crowd in the first inning on a grand slam home run by Ethan Surowiec off LSU starter Danny Lachenmayer. Kyle Jones and Brendan Lawson each singled to start the game before Lachenmayer walked Blake Cyr to load the bases. After two outs, Landon Stripling doubled before Lachenmayer walked two more batters and left the game. Reliever Reagan Ricken then gave up a two-run single to Jones for the 6-0 advantage as the Gators batted around.
Florida sent 12 to the plate in all in the inning for five hits. Lachenmayer took the loss to fall to 2-1 as he allowed six earned runs on four hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning.
LSU cut that lead in half in the third as the Tigers scored one run on a wild pitch off Florida starter Aidan King and two more on an RBI double by Derek Curiel and an RBI single by Cade Arrambide. King (8-2) picked up the victory after allowing eight hits and four runs in five and a third innings with seven strikeouts and zero walks.
The Tigers got to within 8-4 in the sixth inning on a solo home run by Steven Milam – his eighth of the season. And freshman Omar Serna Jr.’s solo homer in the eighth cut Florida’s lead to 11-5. It was his ninth homer of the season. Brayden Simpson walked with the bases loaded later in the eighth to get the Tigers within 11-6.
Silam added a two-run double with two outs in the ninth for the 11-8 final.
Florida put up eight hits off seven second line LSU pitchers, who walked 13 batters.
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