Bullpen Steps Up, Tigers Eliminate Sooners 6-2

David Billiot Jr • May 20, 2026

Tigers - 6, Sooners - 2

Tuesday Night Recap

LSU lives to see another day. With their backs against the wall, the Tigers stave off packing up their gloves and bats for at least another 24 hours. The odds did not appear in their favor just minutes before first pitch, though. William Schmidt was scheduled to start the game after being rested through the Florida series, but that changed just 15 minutes before the Tigers took the field. Jay Johnson said afterwards that the sophomore’s back “locked up” and he said that he was unable to pitch. With no choice but to find a plan-B or their season was over, LSU turned to a couple of arms that had been established as trustworthy and dependable prior to the start of conference play in March. Tonight, they delivered vintage performances and while the offense found some big swings when needed, it was the much-maligned Tiger pitching staff that stole the night.

While the bats did what they needed to do, there was still some work left to be done. The 6 runs on 11 hits is always solid, but the 15 runners left on base leave a lot to be desired. LSU went 1-12 with runners in scoring position, which is a .083 average. The 12 strikeouts were also a concern. Still, the leaders that you depend on delivered a few big swings and it was enough to overcome some poor baserunning and a couple of errors in the field.

Pitching

It was Grant Fontenot who ended up making the last minute start and despite a 1-out walk, he got off to a good start. With 2 outs and man on 2nd base, Derek Curiel made a nice diving catch to prevent Oklahoma from scoring first. After a 19-pitch inning, the senior bounced back in 2^nd inning with two more flyouts and a groundout to Steven Milam on only 6 pitches. After striking out the leadoff hitter in the 3^rd, a bloop single would be the first hit of the night for the Sooners. Fontenot then induced a ground ball, but it was just a tad away from Jack Ruckert and despite a fantastic diving stop, he was unable to record an out. The next pitch was lined in to left-center for a base hit to tie the game at 1-1. That would be all for Fontenot, but considering the spot he was put in, it was a good outing.

Final line: 2.1 IP / 3 hits / 1 run / 1 K / 1 BB / 36 pitches (24 strikes, 67%)

Gavin Guidry was first out of the bullpen and things got scary for a second. Deiton LaChance blasted a ball 400+ feet just foul, but struck out just shortly thereafter. It looked as if Guidry had back-to-back strikeouts to escape the inning, but Jaxon Willits challenged the 3-2 strike call and it was overturned to a walk to load the bases. Thankfully, the very next pitch was popped up to right field and the inning was over. The 4^th inning, though, was a microcosm of the 2026 season. After Milam made just his fourth error of the season, Guidry was able to get a strikeout and then gave up a stolen base. He struck out the next hitter, but it was on a wild pitch that got away from Cade Arrambide and he tried forcing a throw that got away from Seth Dardar at 1^st base, bringing home the go-ahead run for Oklahoma. Things were getting sloppier and sloppier for the Tigers. LSU’s leader in the #8 locked in, though, recording his third strikeout of the inning and then Arrambide made up for his mistake by throwing out a potential base-stealer. Guidry returned for the 5^th and found his groove with a quick 1-2-3 inning including a flyout, strikeout, and a groundout. Back for the 6^th, LSU got the leadoff hitter on a groundout before Trey Gambill singled through the open side of the shift. After his 6^th strikeout of the night, Guidry gave up a weak ground ball that snuck through Dardar and Ruckert. On what was clearly his last hitter of the game, he worked ahead to a 1-2 count, but lost Dayton Tockey and walked him to load the bases. Guidry was great and gave Jay Johnson everything the team needed and more, but that’s where his outing would come to an end.

Final line: 3.1 IP / 2 hits / 1 run / 6 K / 2 BB / 59 pitches (36 strikes, 61%)

Deven Sheerin entered in a very tight situation. The bases were loaded with 2 outs and the tying run in scoring position, but the big righty came in to throw one pitch and recorded a massive flyout to Chris Stanfield in leftfield. To lead off the 7^th, Jason Walk laid down a pretty good drag bunt, but John Pearson made a fantastic play for a huge first out. After a strikeout, he gave up a 2-out single to set up a big matchup with Willits. Sheerin came out on top, forcing him to chase a high heater to end the inning. The 8^th was far less stressful with a 3-up, 3-down, including a couple of strikeouts. With only 35 pitches, he came back out to try and close out the win. Three pitches in to the 9^th, he added another strikeout for the all-important first out. After a groundout right back to himself, he fittingly struck out his 6^th hitter of the game to close it out.

Final line: 3.1 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 6 K / 0 BB / 47 pitches (34 strikes, 72%)

Hitting

Derek Curiel led the way hitting-wise and was nearly impossible to get out early on. After striking out in his first at bat, the sophomore recorded 3 straight hits, including 2 doubles. He finished 3-6 while driving in 1 RBI and scoring once.

Brayden Simpson was tasked with stepping in for Omar Serna after he departed with his hand injury. Coming off of back-to-back doubles in his final two at bats at Alex Box on Saturday, he went 2-3 tonight with two very hard hit singles. Make that 4 hits in his last 5 at bats.

Steven Milam had the biggest single swing of the night with his 2-run homerun in the 8^th inning. LSU had been clinging to a 4-2 lead and whiffing on multiple opportunities to extend their lead, so that swing from their star shortstop was massive. He finished 1-3 with the 2 RBI and run scored.

Before exiting the game, Omar Serna had made his impact felt. He finished 1-2 with a walk and 2 runs scored, including the first of the game. We will wait to see what his status going forward is, but he was shown on the TV broadcast with his hand wrapped in a soft cast.

Up Next

LSU will return to the Hoover Met tomorrow night for another late first pitch in the final game of the day, just like today. It’s scheduled for 8 pm central, but the chances of it starting on time are slim. There were no weather delays today and the game still started 55 minutes later than scheduled. They will face off with Auburn for the first time in 2026. The last time the Tigers squared off was in 2025 when LSU went to the Plains and got swept by Auburn. Their head coach Butch Thompson announced today that they will send out their ace Jake Marciano, but with a pitch limit of 70-75 pitches. The sophomore is 4-5 on the season, but don’t let that record deceive you. He holds a 2.74 ERA through 75.2 IP and has struck out 96 hitter while only walking 16. His opponents’ batting average against is .208. Auburn comes in to the SEC Tournament as the #5 seed after going 17-13 this year.

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Louisiana's Road to Omaha Starts Today at SBC Tournament: What Will it Take?

By Abdul Abusada • May 19, 2026

After putting a cap on a 34-21 regular season record and 16-14 in the Sun Belt, Louisiana baseball has now turned their heads to the Sun Belt Baseball Championship tournament in Montgomery, Alabama. The Cajuns head into this 10-team tournament as the 7-seed, with hopes they can do enough to earn a spot at a regional. Their first game will be a single-elimination matchup against the 10-seed Thundering Herd of Marshall, who finished 23-31 overall and 13-17 in the conference, today at 3pm. Louisiana sealed their spot in the tournament after winning the series against the 20th nationally ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at home this past weekend. Luckily, this helped boost their resume for an NCAA tournament push. The Cajuns now go into the SBC tournament with series wins over four of the top five teams in the Sun Belt (Southern Miss, Coastal Carolina, App State, and South Alabama). It also brought the Cajuns RPI up to 40th. While their path to earning a spot in the Field of 64 is not guaranteed, it certainly is not out of reach thanks to the resume they have built throughout the season. The Cajuns won series against three of the current five "Quadrant 1" teams they have played this season (Southern Miss, Coastal, and Arkansas State). Not to mention, Southern Miss was ranked in the top 10 nationally during that weekend series. They also have impressive series wins over "Quadrant 2" Dallas Baptist and App State teams, both of which were on the road. UL finished the season with nine 3-game series wins out of the 14 they played. What has hurt the Cajuns this season though is some of their poor losses, especially halfway into conference play when the team entered a lull and lost three straight conference series. As a result of poor pitching and execution, those losses to Texas State (sweep), ULM (lost two of three), and JMU (lost two of three) eventually set the Cajuns back into a hole that they had to dig out of. Before those losses, the Cajuns were nationally ranked and held an RPI in the top 20. That said, the Cajuns will more than likely need to win some games in the Sun Belt tournament to get the likes of the selection committee to strongly consider them for a regional bid, and it starts today against a tricky Marshall team in a first-round "play-in" style game. The Thundering Herd are not a great baseball team by any stretch, but they are not awful either. With the help of a weak schedule this season, they presented a strong offensive game through the likes of Evan Bottone (hitting .387) and Tyler Kamerer (hitting .323), and Jackson Halter (11 HR, 52 RBI). All of that has come from the help of average pitching from their opponents this season (5.8 opponents ERA). Marshall's pitching itself has presented its fair share of weakness with a 6.14 team ERA, playing a big role in why this team has lost a lot of games. With Marshall's RPI sitting at 179 and presenting a losing record through a weak schedule, a win against Marshall will more than likely be necessary for the Cajuns to keep their regionals hopes alive. UL is just now getting back on the radar for regionals bid, but that is under the assumption that they beat this Marshall team. Given an unusually crowded bubble for the field of 64 this season, a Cajuns loss today would probably drop them well enough to make it hard for the selection committee to consider them for a regional bid. Should the Cajuns defeat Marshall, they will find themselves matched up against Coastal Carolina for the fourth time in the last week. That game would take place on Wednesday at 12:30pm. The winner will play on Thursday afternoon against the winner between App State and Texas State. Since this tournament (outside of the first round) is a double-elimination bracket, the loser will move into the loser's bracket for a chance at redemption. With Louisiana being strongly on the bubble for the field of 64, a win against Coastal in this case would almost certainly guarantee them a seed in the NCAA tournament. It would be the final defining statement for the program who appears to have gotten hot at just the right time following the unusual skid they had halfway through the season. If UL loses to Coastal however, it would not be the end of the world thanks to the double-elimination style bracket, but they would definitely need to find themselves back in a game against a team still in the winner's bracket, which would require two wins in the loser's bracket. For now, the Cajuns will need to focus on their task at hand today, which is to beat the Marshall Thundering Herd and earn the right to play Coastal Carolina tomorrow.

How the Tigers Got Their Swagger Back

By Rudy Georgetti • May 18, 2026

The date was Monday, November 17, 2025. I was sitting in the Baton Rouge airport, ready to depart back home. Keep in mind, this came following the first game without Brian Kelly since 2021 — a game I attended that resulted in a lackluster 23-22 victory over a two-win Arkansas team. As I scrolled through X to kill some time before my flight, I started seeing reports that Lane Kiffin might be on his way to Baton Rouge to meet with LSU officials. I immediately turned to my buddy to show him, thinking to myself, “ What if?” Fast forward two weeks later to November 30th, and Lane Kiffin was officially announced as the head football coach of the LSU Tigers. The college football world was set ablaze. For weeks, it felt like Lane Kiffin and LSU was all anyone wanted to talk about. Every talking head seemed eager to chime in and capitalize — monetarily or otherwise — on the sheer magnitude of the situation. Despite Indiana’s undefeated season, Lane Kiffin to LSU still somehow felt bigger. Since then, Lane and his staff have assembled the number one rated transfer portal class in the country — showing everyone that he meant exactly as he said during his introductory press conference back in December. One of the main reasons Kiffin gave in departing Ole Miss for seemingly greener pastures at LSU was that this place is “ Just Different ,” and he has shown his desire to prove exactly that. Speaking from the heart of a fan, I felt a sigh of relief knowing that better days were ahead. A fresh face, a new regime, and a new era at LSU was set to begin. For most — if not all — of the fanbase, it was time. Time to right the wrongs of the previous regime and get back to winning ways. Something was missing: the attitude, swagger, and culture of LSU’s past. This was something Tiger fans did not feel the previous head coach truly embraced. That is exactly why I, like many others, believe Lane Kiffin is the right man for the job. I think I can speak for most college football fans when I say Brian Kelly was not very well-received in Baton Rouge. He tried very hard with his recruiting dance videos and many other viral disasters, but no one was buying it. Most importantly, Louisiana did not buy it. Everything about it felt forced — forced attempts to embrace the fans, the culture, and the way things are expected to be at LSU. As we now approach the middle of May, I have noticed the intent and effort that Coach Kiffin has been putting in trying to embrace all that comes with being the head man at LSU. With Lane, it all feels effortless. Whether it’s his Instagram stories featuring music from Louisiana hip-hop icons, casually sporting Kobe Bryant Nike sneakers, or meeting with LSU legends of the past; it all feels authentic. As the college football world awaits a primetime showdown on September 5th in Death Valley; the expectations will grow, the chatter will increase, and the butterflies in our stomachs will begin to flutter. A loaded roster, a star-studded coaching staff, and a fanbase desperate to return to the promised land are all looming. This is the chance to restore a proud brand of people, football, and culture to its former glory. All the makings of something special are brewing in the heart of Louisiana. This feels… “Just Different.” Make sure you follow Rudy Georgetti on X.