Rivera’s homer lifts Florida over LSU in SEC Tournament
Published 12:15 am Sunday, May 24, 2015
HOOVER, Ala. (AP) – Mike Rivera homered to open the top of the ninth inning and Florida beat LSU 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game.
The Florida Gators will battle the Vanderbilt Commodores for the SEC Championship, Sunday at 2:30 on ESPN2.
Taylor Lewis (6-1) allowed one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings, including a perfect ninth, for the Gators (43-16). They’ll face Vanderbilt, a 12-3 winner over Texas A&M, for the title on Sunday.
The top-seeded Tigers (48-10) had been seeking their third straight SEC tournament title and sixth in eight years.
LSU led 1-0 until Florida tied it in the eighth when JJ Schwarz drove in Josh Tobias. Then, Rivera drove a pitch from reliever Jesse Stallings over the left-field fence.
Lewis recorded two flyballs to center field and a groundout in the ninth to seal the win.
Harrison Bader went 3 for 4 for the Gators.
LSU starter Alex Lange pitched seven scoreless innings.