LSU avoids sweep

Senior right-hander Jared Bradford fired LSU’s first complete game of the season Sunday to lead the Tigers to a 6-3 victory over No. 18 Florida at McKethan Stadium.

Bradford (5-3), who was charged with the loss in Game 1 of the series on Friday when he allowed five runs on five hits without recording an out, came back Sunday to limit Florida to three runs on nine hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Bradford threw 121 pitches in Sunday’s outing.

Designated hitter Matt Clark paced the Tigers at the plate as he was 2-for-4 with two homers and three RBI. Second baseman Ryan Schimpf was 2-fo-5 with a homer, a double and two RBI.

“I thought Jared Bradford turned in a remarkable performance,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “He had a rough outing on Friday, but I knew that he’s the type of player who can overcome adversity. He’s one of the best pitchers I’ve ever coached, and he demonstrated that today. He has meant so much to our program, and I’m so proud he’s a part of our team.

“We also played great defense behind Jared today, and I liked our approach at the plate. It was a great win for our team, something we can build upon as we move forward.”

Clark launched a two-run blast – his 12th of the season – to give the Tigers a 2-0 second-inning lead.  Centerfielder Leon Landry followed with a solo shot – his first career homer – to increase the advantage to 3-0.

Florida shortstop Cole Figueroa narrowed the deficit to 3-1 with a home run in the fourth, but Schimpf blasted his fourth dinger of the season in the top of the fifth to extend the Tigers’ lead to 4-1.

Figueroa led off the sixth with a homer to right field  to trim the gap to 4-2. Designated hitter Dustin Bamberg added another solo shot later in the inning, drawing the Gators to within one run.

Clark unloaded his second homer of the game in the seventh, a two-out dinger to right field to expand the lead to 5-3.

The Tigers added a run in the ninth on Schimpf’s run-scoring double to right field.

Florida starter Tommy Toledo was charged with the loss, as he worked 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts.