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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