A nightmarish regular season for LSU baseball finally came to a close on Saturday, when the Tigers were swept for a fifth time in six weeks this weekend by Florida.

LSU lost to Florida 11-8 on Thursday, 11-1 in seven innings on Friday and 15-11 on Saturday.

Next up for LSU is a trip to Hoover, Alabama, where the Tigers will play at least one game at the SEC Tournament. LSU, the No. 14 seed, will face No. 11 Oklahoma on Tuesday before potentially facing No. 6 Auburn the next day.

For LSU to make the NCAA Tournament, it will need to win the SEC Tournament by earning five victories in six days. But before the festivities in Hoover get underway, here are five takeaways from this weekend’s three-game set with Florida.

Why William Schmidt and Casan Evans didn’t start

With LSU’s fate sealed heading into the weekend in needing to win five games in six days at the SEC Tournament to make an NCAA regional, LSU coach Jay Johnson decided to pull back and rest his top two starters ahead of the Tigers’ first game in Hoover.

Evans threw 41 pitches in relief on Friday, while Schmidt wasn’t even on the active roster this weekend. The slow week for both sophomore right-handers meant that they’ll both be available to throw against Oklahoma on Tuesday night.

Johnson wasn’t happy with his own decision.

“Do I love not having William Schmidt and Casan Evans against Florida?” Johnson said. “No, I hate it. It makes me sick in my stomach.”

Is Omar Serna ok?

After blasting a home run and a double in the first two games of the series, LSU’s freshman catcher sat out Saturday’s game to rest ahead of the SEC Tournament.

“I just told him, I hope today is the last day off he ever has at LSU,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, we’re in a position (where) you can make that decision that’s definitely best for him.”

Serna has been dealing with a back injury since the South Carolina series. He sat out LSU’s final midweek game against Tulane because of the ailment.

Johnson said that he’ll be ready to go on Tuesday against Oklahoma.

“It’s probably better to get him in position to play on Tuesday,” Johnson said, “and try to play as many games as we can there than use him today.”

More eye-popping pitching numbers

Without Schmidt or Evans available to start this weekend, matters got even worse for LSU on the mound.

Florida pushed 37 runs across the board across the three-game series. LSU pitchers surrendered 35 earned runs in 25 innings, posting a 12.60 ERA with 23 walks and 10 home runs allowed.

It was a continuation of the Tigers’ struggles last week in Athens, when they registered a 14.32 ERA against Georgia. But their issues on the mound extend past the last two weeks.

In the five series in which LSU has been swept over the last six weeks, the pitching staff had a 10.46 ERA, walked 103 batters and gave up 38 home runs in 123 innings.

“I believe in some of the pitchers that can return, but they have to get better. They have to get a lot better,” Johnson said. “And they know it, and they want to get better. And we’re going to make sure that we do everything in our power to put them in a position to be successful. And I think there are guys that can be a lot better than they are.”

Was that it for Steven Milam?

If Saturday was Steven Milam’s final game at Alex Box Stadium, the Tigers shortstop finished it off with a bang. The junior went 2 for 5 with a three-run home run in his last at-bat in the ninth inning.

But what if that wasn’t it for Milam? He didn’t crack MLB.com’s top-150 draft rankings, and he didn’t make The Athletic’s top-100 draft prospects list either.

Since the question has been raised, Johnson has insisted that there is no chance that Milam will return to school. But LSU fans on Saturday still chanted “one more year” during his at-bat in the eighth inning.

“Somebody’s going to give him $2 million,” Johnson said. “I mean, I appreciate (the chant).

“He loves it here. That’s the one thing we have going for us. It’s just, I don’t think 30 teams are going to mess it up.”

What are the stakes for Oklahoma?

Oklahoma came into the week as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament field, meaning that its spot in the tourney was secure even after losing two of three games to Tennessee this weekend.

There’s not a lot riding on Tuesday’s game for the Sooners, since its odds of hosting a regional are next to nothing. But don’t be surprised if Oklahoma turns to its usual Friday starter, right-hander LJ Mercurius, on Tuesday. Mercurius only threw one inning in relief against Tennessee on Saturday.