First Inning Dooms LSU, Florida Takes Game 1

David Billiot Jr • May 15, 2026

Florida - 11, LSU - 8



Thursday Evening Recap


 

Same story, different night. Although Jay Johnson and LSU seemingly have their eyes on the SEC Tournament next week, there were still games to be played this weekend. When they announced their rotation on Wednesday and didn’t include either William Schmidt or Casan Evans, it was clear what the goal was. They had Thursday listed as a TBA, eventually going with Danny Lachenmayer, followed by some of the lesser-used pitchers. Florida came to Baton Rouge looking for a sweep to try and sneak in to a national seed and with a 6-run 1st inning, they were off to a good start. The pitching throughout the game was what you would expect, considering who was put out there, with the exception of freshman Reagan Ricken.

 

The offense faced the tall task of having to take on one of the best pitchers in the country in Aiden King. Not only is he tough under normal circumstances, but the Gators giving him a 6-0 lead before he even stepped foot on the mound is basically a cheat code. But, give the Tiger bats credit, because they actually hit him a little. A 3-run 3rd inning was the highlight, but King was able to settle back in for a few innings until a solo homerun by Steven Milam knocked him out of the game in the 6th. LSU added a run here and there afterwards, but ultimately, the blow up in the 1st was too much to overcome.



Pitching


 

Danny Lachenmayer got the start on the mound and things quickly got off to an awful start. After back-to-back singles to start the game, he walked Blake Cyr to load the bases for Ethan Surowiec, who blasted a grand slam in to the Diamond Deck in right field. The Tigers were down 4-0 before recording an out. The sophomore did retire the next two hitters, but a double and consecutive walks re-loaded the bases and that’s when Jay Johnson had seen enough from Lachenmayer.

  • Final line: 0.2 IP / 4 hits / 6 runs / 1 K / 3 BB / 39 pitches (20 strikes, 51%)

 

Reagan Ricken was first out of the bullpen and despite a 2-run single allowed upon entering, he locked in from there. He drew a flyout to finally end the 1st, then carried that momentum forward. Back-to-back perfect innings in the 2nd and 3rd innings from the freshman allowed the Tigers to cut the 6-0 deficit in half in the bottom of the 3rd. Ricken’s steak of 8 straight retired ended when he hit the second batter in the 4th. After another strikeout, a stolen base set up an RBI single for the Gators to make it 7-3 before a groundout would end the inning. He was back for the 5th and allowed a leadoff double to Caden McDonald, who advanced to 3rd base on a flyout to Chris Stanfield in right field. With the infield drawn in, a high chopper snuck right over Jack Ruckert’s glove to bring in another run, but it would have been a routine out in a normal scenario. Ricken was able to bounce back by inducing a 6-4-3 double play between Ruckert and Steven Milam to end both the inning and his outing. He set season highs with his 4.1 innings pitched, 56 pitches, and 5 strikeouts. The freshman was fantastic.

  • Final line: 4.1 IP / 4 hits / 2 runs / 5 K / 0 BB / 1 HBP / 56 pitches (39 strikes, 70%)

 

Cooper Williams took over to start the 6th and his rough season continued. His biggest problem in 2026 has been his control and that continued on Thursday night. After walking the leadoff hitter, he recorded a groundout, but then gave up another walk and his night was quickly over.

  • Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 2 BB / 12 pitches (4 strikes, 33%)

 

Connor Benge took over and quickly got out of the jam with a strikeout looking and a ground out. He returned for the 7th and should have had a 1-2-3 inning, but a rare Milam error between two recorded outs kept the inning going. A 2-out walk would end his night.

  • Final line: 1.1 IP / 0 hits / 2 runs (0 ER) / 2 K / 1 BB / 25 pitches (13 strikes, 52%)

 

DJ Primeaux entered to make his first appearance since March 31st against Southern. He walked his first two hitters faced and then delivered a wild pitch to re-extend Florida’s lead to 10-4. Finally, a nice play on a slow-roller by Ruckert ended the inning.

  • Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 2 BB / 14 pitches (5 strikes, 36%)

 

Mavrick Rizy took over to start the 8th and continued the usual Mavrick Rizy experience. His entire sophomore season can be defined by up and down outings and after one of his best of the year last week against Georgia, he followed it up on Thursday night with one of his worst. He started with a walk, strikeout, walk, pop out, and another walk to load the bases. He’d then walk in a run for his 4th free pass of the inning before finally recording the 3rd out and somehow making it out of the inning having only allowed a run. That would be his only inning of work.

  • Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 1 run / 1 K / 4 BB / 30 pitches (11 strikes, 37%)

 

Dax Dathe was tasked with closing out the final inning on the mound for LSU and despite some bumps in the road, he was able to do so without damage. After a flyout to start things off, he hit a batter, gave up a stolen base, then walked one to put runners on 1st and 2nd with just 1 out. But, back to back 6-4 fielder’s choices would hold Florida at 11 runs.

  • Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 K / 1 BB / 1 HBP / 11 pitches (6 strikes, 55%)

 

 

Hitting


 

Steven Milam was the offensive star of the night. He was the only Tiger to record 3 hits, which included his 8th homerun of the year and a double. He drove in 3 RBI, while also scoring the one run and finished 3-5. Despite the slow start to the year, the star shortstop has, once again, turned it on and raised his average to .295 late in the year.

 

Omar Serna may have only had 2 hits, but like Milam, he also homered and recorded a double. The homerun was his 9th of the year and was one of his most impressive swings of the year. Coming off of his bat at 108 mph, the ball went 406 feet, but neither of those numbers are what was shocking. That would be his 18 degree launch angle and only a 56 foot apex. That ball was an absolute missile and the future continues to shine incredibly bright for the freshman. He finished 2-5 with the RBI and 2 runs scored.

 

Cade Arrambide stayed hot, as he’s been since the Tigers were in Knoxville back on Easter weekend. The sophomore finished 2-5 with an RBI.

 

Leadoff hitter Mason Braun is the best on the team at getting on base and after doing so 7 times last weekend in Athens, he delivered again on Thursday. He finished 2-5 with 2 runs scored.

 

Derek Curiel only finished 1-4, but his lone hit was impactful. After the Tigers fell behind 6-0, they finally got the offense rolling in the 3rd. With the bases loaded in a 6-1 game, LSU’s leading hitter delivered a double to help eventually cut the lead in half and get the Tigers back in the game. He also drew a walk.

 


Up Next


 

Although Jay Johnson had mentioned that they felt as if winning the SEC Tournament was their only path in to the postseason following the sweep at Georgia, Thursday’s loss pretty much makes that a mathematical fact. LSU and Florida will return for game 2 on Friday evening for another 6:30 pm central start. Florida will send Liam Peterson to the mound with his 1-5 record, but don’t let that fool you. He can pitch, reaching up to 100 mph. The Tigers will send freshman Marcos Paz out for his 4th consecutive SEC start, looking to bounce back from a rough game in Athens last Saturday in which he didn’t make it through 2 innings. Expect Jay and Nate Yeskie to continue utilizing the back of the bullpen or keeping their guys on very low pitch counts as they prepare to try and make a run in Hoover next week. With the loss, LSU falls to 9-19 in SEC play, which is the new program record for most conference losses in a season. Florida improved to 16-12,

 

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Tulane Green Wave Football: Decisions, Decisions

By Patrick Harkness • September 27, 2026
Tulane football is not short on players who will compete. That much was clear in the 28-24 win over South Alabama, when the Green Wave found a way at Yulman and reminded everyone what this roster can look like when the plan matches the talent. The problem sitting over this 2-2 start is not effort in the locker room. It is decision-making in the offices above it. From the December search to the portal to the Week 1 depth chart to who is wearing the headset on Saturdays, the staff has spent nine months choosing caution when the moment called for conviction. The players have been asked to live with those choices. That is the story of this season so far. The hire that set the tone: When Jon Sumrall left for Florida after a College Football Playoff run, Tulane held one of the best Group of Five jobs in the country. The search did not treat it that way. Blake Baker, a former Green Wave linebacker and then LSU’s defensive coordinator, was the first choice. Tulane interviewed him. Memphis interviewed him. Lane Kiffin used that interest the way a Power program uses it. He kept Baker in Baton Rouge on a three-year deal reported at $9.3 million. Baker later said the alma mater pull was real, then said there was “not a better defensive coordinator job” than the one he already had. Tulane became the leverage, not the landing spot. By the time Baker was off the board, the rest of the short list had moved. Bob Chesney went to UCLA. Charles Huff went to Memphis. Billy Napier landed at James Madison. Jason Candle took UConn. The window closed, and the athletic department promoted from inside. Will Hall knows this place. He coordinated the offense here in 2019 and 2020. He came back in 2025 as passing-game coordinator. Continuity after a historic year had an argument. It was also the option left after the favorite used the opening to get paid at LSU and every other serious name took a job elsewhere. A championship program spent its most important offseason decision waiting, then settled. That is how the year started. It is also how the year has been coached. Caution in the portal: Hall was open about the quarterback plan. The staff did not want to “over-sign transfers and squish the development” of the young players already in the room. The idea was two older quarterbacks to compete, then let Trace Johnson, Jay Beamon, Bruno and Cade Scott grow behind them. That sounds careful. In this sport, it also sounds like a staff more worried about hurting feelings in the meeting room than about winning the first month. The previous year Sumrall brought in 4 potential guys fighting for one job. Jake Retzlaff was gone. The 2025 offense ran through him. The response was not a finished portal veteran who had just won at this level. The response in the portal was way more to be desired. The same hesitation showed up on the DL. The Wave added players. What the staff did not add was a true veteran pass-rush closer, the kind of player who wrecks a game in September while a new defensive staff is still installing, granted that was supposed to be McCallister but he is no longer on the roster. Through the first three games Tulane had one team sack. A defense that posted 34 sacks across 13 games a year ago was generating almost nothing. That is not the players failing to rush. That is a personnel plan that asked a transitioning front to create pressure without the one piece that makes a new scheme look fast. Protect the room. Don’t scare anyone into the portal. Those are coaching and front-office choices. They have shown up on third down, run defense, and pass rush. Week 1 starter Decision: Chriss-Gremillion at Duke. Hall cited experience, dual-threat ability, fewer turnovers in practice, and speed. That is a coaching evaluation. It is also the evaluation that put the wrong plan on the field for the opener. Duke 17-3. Chriss was pulled at halftime. Semonza finished the game and started the next one. Against South Alabama he threw for 212 yards, Jaylin Lucas ran for 214, and Tulane won 28-24. Led an amazing comeback and beautiful throw. None of that is an indictment of Chriss as a player. He did what the staff asked him to do in a system still being installed. The mistake was the decision itself: taking the more natural passer off the card for Week 1 on the road against a Power conference defense because the staff liked the look of the dual-threat package in August. Starting Semonza a week later was the correction. The correction should not have been required. I like Semonza a lot and want nothing more than success for him but he is not a finished product. No quarterback in this room is, because the staff chose not to bring in a finished one. That, again, is on the people drawing the depth chart. Callaway on the headset: Russ Callaway is in his first season as Tulane’s offensive coordinator. He held the same title at Florida a year ago. He last called plays as a primary play-caller at Samford. The offense this fall has looked like a staff still arguing with itself about what it wants to be. The scoring line is the tell: 3 points at Duke, 28 at home against South Alabama, 20 at Kansas State, 24 against USM. 18 points per game. Three hundred fourteen yards per game. When Lucas gets 214 on the ground, this team can win a one-score game. When the run game is contained and the passing attack has to carry a series, the operation slows down and the play sheet feels a series or two behind. That is not receivers dropping balls (minus USM) or backs missing holes as a rule. It is structure. Protection. Tempo. Play selection on second-and-medium. The things a play-caller is paid to solve. Hall is an offensive coach. That is why he was hired. Leaving the call sheet with a first-year coordinator while the offense searches for an identity is the same pattern as the hire and the portal: defer, protect, wait. The first change should be the headset. Will Hall should call the offense from here on out. That is not a public firing. It is the head coach taking ownership of the unit he was sold as being able to run. A defense that has not been put in position to look like itself: Tayler Polk inherited real pieces. Jack Tchienchou and Dickson Agu are still here. Chris Rodgers (Hurt) is still here. Kevin Adams III has been around the ball. The names are familiar. The results have not matched the standard this program set a year ago. Tulane is allowing 24 points and 429 yards per game. Opponents are running for 211 yards a night. The pass rush has not arrived until they played a bad USM team. The players are tackling and competing. They are not dictating, because the staff did not give this front the veteran disruption it needed and has not yet found a way to manufacture it with what is here. Granted some positives did come from USM. A playoff defense does not become average because the calendar flipped. It becomes average when the scheme and play-calling haven’t been up to par and need to be re-tooled. Give Trace Johnson a real plan: Trace Johnson is a true freshman. He is also the best pure passer on the roster, and people inside the building have said as much since spring. Hall has called him driven, accurate, and the kind of player who would have carried a different recruiting label if he were three inches taller. Johnson was in the offices watching film at 5 a.m. the morning after he was told he was not in the Week 1 mix. That is not a kid hiding from the moment. That is a kid the staff recruited as the next Pratt or Mensah, then parked. From here on, he should get a shot. Not a garbage-time cameo. A plan. If the offense keeps settling, the coaching staff owes this season a look at the quarterback it asked fans to be patient for. Protecting the room in January only works if the room is used. Using it means Johnson is in the conversation now. What is still true: The South Alabama win was not a fluke of officiating or weather. It was this roster when the staff simplified enough to let the skill players work. Lucas looked like the most explosive back on the field. Johnnie Daniels and Maurice Turner give Tulane a backfield that can tilt a game. Destyn Hill and Anthony Brown-Stephens can take the top off a coverage. Tchienchou, Agu, and Adams will play. The locker room that went to Oxford in December did not forget how to compete in nine months. Hall knows Yulman. He knows this city. The American schedule is still in front of them, Army, Memphis, UTSA, the November stretch. None of that is closed. A 2-2 start in a transition year is not a death sentence if the next set of decisions is better than the last one. The last year-plus has been a study in hesitation at the top: letting Baker walk the job to a raise in Baton Rouge, refusing to crowd the quarterback room, passing on veteran edge help, naming the wrong starter in Week 1, and handing the offense to a coordinator still finding the fit. The players have answered when they have been put in position. The correction is not a press conference about culture. It is Hall taking the headset, Johnson getting real snaps, and this staff coaching the roster it has like a playoff program it is. South Alabama showed what this team looks like when the decisions catch up to the talent. That version is still available. The rest of the season will tell us whether the people making the choices are done being careful. Look you may not agree with me on this or like it, but I’m just trying to be 100% honest with how I feel with the state of Tulane football. I love this team to much to settle for mediocrity. I want nothing more than success for all the players, Tulane and its coaches now and in the future. Hopefully in Jan we can look back at this and say I was dead wrong and everyone can call me an idiot. Nothing would make me happier! #RMFW #RollWave #WinTheAAC Make sure to follow Patrick Harkness on X

Lamar’s Fast Start Too Much for Nicholls in 49-18 Loss

By Bobby Autin • September 27, 2026
THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls spent most of Saturday afternoon trying to recover from a first half that got away from the Colonels in a hurry. Lamar scored 28 points in the first quarter and took a 42-10 lead into halftime before going on to defeat Nicholls 49-18 at John L. Guidry Stadium. The Cardinals finished with 439 yards of offense and created big plays through the air, on the ground and on special teams. By the time Nicholls found some answers defensively in the second half, the deficit was already too much to overcome. Lamar Starts Fast It did not take long for Lamar to set the tone. Aiden McCown connected with Blake Thomas for a 41-yard touchdown on the Cardinals’ opening possession. On Lamar’s next drive, McCown found Davin Driskell for a 49-yard score to make it 14-0. Nicholls answered with one of its better drives of the afternoon. Ean Rodrigue led the Colonels 65 yards on 10 plays, finishing the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ellis Stewart. That brought Nicholls back within 14-7 with 9:55 remaining in the first quarter. The momentum did not last long. Caleb Holmes took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, putting Lamar right back in control at 22-7. McCown then added his third touchdown pass of the quarter on the final play of the first, finding Cam Patterson from 11 yards out. Lamar led 28-7 after just 15 minutes. Cardinals Continue to Pull Away Nicholls was able to keep Lamar off the scoreboard for part of the second quarter, but the Cardinals eventually put together two long touchdown drives. Parker Jenkins finished a 12-play, 79-yard possession with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 35-7. Later in the quarter, LaDamion McDowell capped a 10-play, 68-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. That pushed Lamar’s lead to 42-7. Nicholls was able to add points before halftime when Kingston Phan connected on a 43-yard field goal, but the Colonels went into the locker room trailing 42-10. The biggest problem for Nicholls in the opening half was not just that Lamar was moving the football. It was how quickly the Cardinals were creating points. Lamar had touchdown passes of 41 and 49 yards, the 86-yard kickoff return and scored on six different possessions before halftime. Nicholls Defense Settles Down The third quarter was a completely different game. After allowing 42 points in the first half, Nicholls held Lamar scoreless in the third quarter. Skylar Husband also came up with the Colonels’ lone takeaway of the afternoon when he intercepted McCown. Nicholls was not able to turn the improved defensive play into points, however, and the score remained 42-10 heading into the fourth. The Colonels also struggled to stay on the field offensively throughout the game, finishing just 3-of-15 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. Colonels Find the End Zone Again Nicholls finally broke through again early in the fourth quarter. Rodrigue found Jordan Smith for a 29-yard touchdown to finish a 12-play, 89-yard drive. Rodrigue then connected with Stewart for the two-point conversion, cutting the Lamar lead to 42-18. But once again, Lamar answered. McCown broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run on the Cardinals’ next possession, giving Lamar its final points of the afternoon and pushing the lead to 49-18. McCown ended up hurting Nicholls in just about every way possible. He finished 13-of-19 passing for 232 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed six times for 80 yards and the 56-yard touchdown. Driskell led Lamar through the air with four catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Rodrigue Leaves in Fourth Quarter One of the bigger stories coming out of the loss may be the status of Rodrigue. The Nicholls quarterback left the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent shoulder injury and was replaced by Preston Welch. Rodrigue finished 18-of-31 for 191 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed nine times for 46 yards. Welch attempted two passes after entering the game but did not complete either. There was no immediate update on the extent of Rodrigue’s injury. By the Numbers Jordan Smith led Nicholls with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Greg Donaldson finished with five catches for 75 yards. Shane Lee led the Colonels on the ground with 64 yards on nine carries. Nicholls finished with 138 rushing yards as a team. Lamar outgained Nicholls 439-329, including a 246-191 advantage through the air and a 193-138 advantage on the ground. The Cardinals also finished with 23 first downs compared to 19 for Nicholls. One area that continued to hurt the Colonels was penalties. Nicholls was flagged 12 times for 111 yards, compared to eight penalties for 65 yards for Lamar. Nicholls did win the turnover battle. Husband’s interception was the only turnover of the game, while the Colonels did not give the football away. But the early deficit, explosive plays and inability to consistently extend drives proved to be too much. Lamar left Thibodaux with a 49-18 win after doing most of its damage in a first half that put Nicholls in a hole it was never able to climb out of. Nicholls Recognizes 2026 Hall of Fame Class Before kickoff, Nicholls also took time to recognize its 2026 Hall of Fame Class along with its newest Hall of Distinction selection. The six-member Hall of Fame class included Jacob Bender, Terrel Castle, Kasey Frederick, Chuck Hickman, Ashley Ray and Kadi Whisnant. Norby Chabert was also selected for the Hall of Distinction. Bender was a standout offensive lineman for the Colonels from 2003-06 and earned FCS All-American Third Team honors as a senior. He was also a two-time All-Southland First Team selection and helped Nicholls win its first Southland Conference championship in 2005. Castle played two seasons for the Colonel men’s basketball team and was a key part of the 1994-95 Southland championship team. He averaged 14.6 points and 3.5 assists during his Nicholls career and helped the Colonels finish 24-6 in his final season, still the most wins in a single season in program history. Frederick was a three-time All-Southland selection during her softball career and earned first-team honors twice. She finished her career among the program leaders in RBIs, home runs, doubles and total bases and helped Nicholls win the 2018 Southland regular season title. Hickman was one of the most productive hitters in Nicholls baseball history. The former shortstop recorded more than 90 hits in each of his final two seasons and set a single-season school record with 93 hits in 2002. He finished his Colonel career with a .364 batting average. Ray put together one of the best two-year stretches in Nicholls softball history. She was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in 2011 after hitting .368 with a school-record 17 home runs. She finished her career with a .361 batting average and a program-best .677 slugging percentage. Whisnant earned 12 letters while competing in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. She became just the second Colonel to win back-to-back 3,000-meter steeplechase championships and left Nicholls as the school record holder in the event. Chabert was honored through the Hall of Distinction for his continued support of Nicholls and its athletic programs. A Nicholls graduate and former Louisiana State Senator, Chabert has been a longtime advocate for the university and its athletic department. The group was recognized before Saturday’s game against Lamar, adding another moment to the day at John L. Guidry Stadium before the Colonels and Cardinals took the field.
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