Jac Caglianone used his bat to even the series between No. 6 Florida and No. 5 LSU hours before he’ll take the mound as the Gators seek a series victory.

The Gators and Tigers needed more than 9 innings to decide Game 2 of their weekend series at Alex Box Stadium, which drew a crowd of 12,892 on Saturday night. It was a 4-4 game before Caglianone crushed a ball over the wall in right-center field. The 2-run bomb put the Gators up 6-4.

UF reliever Ryan Slater allowed just 1 hit in the bottom of the 11th, securing a 6-4 victory to even the series to 1-1. Slater pitched 2 innings, tossing 34 pitches (24 strikes) against 7 batters faced, striking out 2 Tigers.

Caglianone will take the mound in Sunday’s rubber game. While SEC teams typically throw their ace on Friday nights, Caglianone has been UF’s top starter this season while continuing his routine of throwing on Sundays.

In 4 starts, Caglianone holds a 1.77 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. Over 20.1 innings, Caglianone has allowed 9 hits for 5 runs (4 ER), posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 34-13. He has a 2-0 record on the season.

The decisive Game 3 is set for 3 p.m. ET, airing on the SEC Network.

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How the series got to 1-1

Friday night’s series opener was all LSU, a 6-1 win for the Tigers. Cade Fisher, Florida’s Friday night starter, gave up 5 earned runs in 5 innings, bringing his ERA to 8.13.

The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead Friday with a pair of RBI singles in the 1st inning. UF’s Ty Evans cut it to 2-1 with a solo homer in the top of the 4th inning.

Fisher pitched into the bottom of the 6th, but loaded the bases before recording an out. Slater allowed the 3 inherited runners to cross the plate on a walk, sac fly and RBI single, making it a 5-1 game. LSU added an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th for the 6-1 victory.

Saturday night, LSU was on track to claim the series. The Tigers went up 4-2 in the bottom of the 5th inning, when starter Liam Peterson allowed solo homers to Mac Bingham and Jared Jones.

Three of Peterson’s 4 earned runs came on solo homers by the Tigers. He left with a line of 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K on 92 pitches.

The Florida bullpen has struggled at times, but it shined on Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Gator hurlers Slater, Brandon Neely, Grayson Smith, Luke McNeillie and Frank Menendez combined for 6.2 scoreless innings to allow UF to tie things up and win it in extras.

Florida cut into the lead with an unconventional run in the top of the 8th. Cade Kurland struck out swinging, but the dropped 3rd strike allowed Kurland to reach safely and Ty Evans raced home to make it 4-3.

In the top of the 9th, Evans hit a 2-out single to center, plating Michael Robertson to make it a 4-4 ball game.

Neely, Florida’s closer, needed just 12 pitches for a clean bottom of the 9th to send the game to extra innings. Neely will be available to pitch on Sunday if needed.