Kentucky Ace Dominates LSU, Tigers Fall in Opener
David Billiot Jr • March 28, 2026
Kentucky - 7, LSU - 4
Friday Night Recap
If it’s possible for a series to be a “must win” in week 3 of conference play, it felt like this one is just that for LSU. After dropping each of their first two series in SEC play, the Tigers are already a couple of games behind the 8-ball and the schedule gets even tougher when they leave Baton Rouge following this weekend. So, with Kentucky coming to town, a team that Jay Johnson has mostly controlled since becoming Head Coach, LSU has to have this one. Unfortunately, a 7-4 Friday night loss has them immediately on their heels. The Wildcats jumped on top from the very beginning and never looked back. Following his historic 15 strikeout performance against Oklahoma last week, Casan Evans crashed back down to Earth early tonight. He issued 8 free passes within the first 3 innings, making it nearly impossible to limit the damage. He was able lock in and prevent the night being a disaster, but the damage done early put the Tigers in a hole that they were unable to climb out of.
Despite two half-hearted punches from the Tiger offense, Kentucky came in to Alex Box on a Friday night and cruised to a series opening win. Jaxon Jelkin showed why he is the ace of their staff for 8 innings, severely limiting an already limited offense. Although the 8 strikeouts is down from what that total had been in some recent games, drawing only 2 free passes is no where near how Jay Johnson wants to see his lineup operate. As a unit, they were searching for answers and unable to string together good at bats, which has been the case for the last 5 weeks.
Pitching
Casan Evans was off from the very beginning, walking the leadoff hitter on 4 pitches. A hit by pitch put runners on 1st and 2nd for Kentucky’s star sophomore Tyler Bell. The shortstop did Evans a favor, though, swinging at the first pitch and grounding in to a 6-3 double play to Steven Milam. A strike away from escaping the rough start, Evans through a wild pitch and put the Wildcats on the board first. He’d give up a walk and infield hit, but was able to get out with any further damage. The damage would come in the 2nd after Kentucky got their first two hitters on base, again. A fly out to advance the runner to third base would set up an RBI single. Back to back walks and a sacrifice fly would push the deficit to 4-0 for the Tigers. Evans would allow the first two hitters to reach base for the third straight time to start the game in the 3rd, but was able to retire the next three hitters to finish his first scoreless inning. That’s where he started to work ahead and settle in, retiring 12 up, 12 down. The ace only allowed one more base runner from that point forward and he was erased with the second 6-3 double play of the night. Evans through less pitches in his final 4 innings than he did in his first 2 of the game. As bad of a start that it was, his ability to lock in and stay in as long as he did saved LSU’s short-staffed bullpen for the rest of the weekend.
- Final line: 6.0 IP / 4 hits / 4 runs / 3 Ks / 6 BBs / 100 pitches (53 strikes, 53%)
Ethan Plog entered for the 7th and was not as sharp as we’ve seen him be. A swinging bunt put him in a tough spot to start the inning, but he followed that with a walk. After a big first out with a strikeout looking, Ethan Hindle hit a ball deep to centerfield and despite the leaping attempt and the ball hitting his glove, Derek Curiel was unable to make the gold glove catch and Kentucky was on the scoreboard for the first time since the 2nd inning. Plog’s night was over, but the damage to his final line was not.
- Final line: 0.1 IP / 2 hits / 3 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 16 pitches (11 strikes, 69%)
Mavrick Rizy entered with runners on 2nd and 3rd and only 1 out with LSU already down 5-2. For LSU to have any chance considering the state of their offense, it felt like the Wildcats simply could not score anymore, but certainly not twice. With the infield drawn in, a Trent Caraway fielded a ground ball way too far back to have a chance at making a play at home, but tried anyway. The runner was safe by a mile and the Tigers failed to record an out, which set up a sacrifice fly from the next hitter and both of Plog’s baserunners that Rizy inherited ended up scoring to make it 7-2. He returned in the 8th and was lights out, striking out two and recording a ground out to Ethan Clauss, who came in to the game as a defensive replacement. In the 9th, Rizy struck out the leadoff hitter, but a 1-out single would end his night.
- Final line: 2.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 3 Ks / 0 BB / 25 pitches (20 strikes, 80%)
Seldom used Danny Lachenmayer would enter for his first ever SEC appearance. He threw 2 pitches, both in the strike zone, and recorded a flyout.
- Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 2 pitches (2 strikes, 100%)
With 2 outs in the 9th, Jay Johnson would bring in Zion Theophilus. On his fourth pitch, Eddie Yamin, who came in for Omar Serna for the final inning, would throw out Bell trying to steal second base.
- Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 4 pitches (4 strikes, 100%)
Hitting
Seth Dardar was the only true positive for the offense tonight. After a couple games out of the starting lineup, the senior was back in there at DH and likely earned a spot for the rest of the weekend. Dardar finished 3-4 with 3 doubles and an RBI. His final double in the 9th inning was the hit that brought Alex Box to life and gave the team a sliver of hope to make the comeback. He also garnered praise from Jay Johnson after the game, as Coach noted the improvement that Dardar made with his plate approach.
The only other big swing of the night came from Derek Curiel. In the 3rd inning when LSU was down 4-0, they loaded the bases with no outs. Omar Serna had a fairly uncompetitive strikeout, brining up Curiel. The sophomore was up in a similar situation last Friday against Oklahoma, albeit later in the game, and was unable to come through. Tonight, Curiel ripped a single through the infield to drive home the first two runs of the game for the Tigers. He finished 1-4 with those 2 RBI.
Omar Serna, Zach Yorke, and Chris Stanfield each contributed 1 hit in tonight’s loss. Yorke and Stanfield each scored once.
Up Next
LSU and Kentucky will return tomorrow afternoon for a 2 pm central first pitch. William Schmidt (3-1) will make his first game 2 start of the season, moving up from his game 3 spot to fill the void following Cooper Moore’s triceps injury. Kentucky will answer with sophomore RHP Nate Harris. He holds a 4.97 ERA with his 3-1 record. In his start at Ole Miss last week, Harris only went 3.0 innings and gave up 5 runs on 4 hits, so the Tigers could have opportunities to get the offense on track.
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Squadron Fall Short
The Storylines: LSU continued Fall Ball action in The Box Sunday with 2 9-inning games against the Troy Trojans. If I had told you back in January that this game would feature 1 team who made the College World Series in 2026, you probably wouldn’t have found that hard to believe. However, it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would. While LSU had perhaps their worst season in 15 years missing the postseason for the first time since 2011, the Trojans made an improbable run to Omaha and eliminated Ole Miss in the CWS before getting bounced out by West Virginia. The work in Fall Ball is put in to prepare a team for when it really matters in February. The Tigers though used some late inning magic to take game 1 from Troy by a final score of 10-9 in what turned out to be a heck of a matchup. LSU trailed the game throughout, at one point being down 9-4 going into the late innings. The comeback started in the 8th when star Shortstop Steven Milam launched a 3-run bomb to cut the Trojan lead to 1. The hero though was Bino Watters, who walked it off with a 2 RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to give the Tigers the 10-9 win. Watters was a First-Team All-ACC selection at Notre Dame in 2026 and was the #1 portal prospect in the country in the offseason. Tiger fans should expect more heroics from him in 2027. In Game 2 of the day, LSU quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead after 4 innings. Freshman Lucas Nawrocki started the scoring with a solo shot to leadoff the bottom of the 1st. Nawrocki, a 2-way player, was without a doubt my player of the day. In Game 1, Nawrocki hit a triple and then struck out 3 on the mound in the 9th. Then Nawrocki added another RBI single later in Game 2 after his solo homer earlier. Jay Johnson said in the time we got to speak with him that he believes Nawrocki will end up being one of the best players to ever come out of this program, a bold statement coming from the head man of the top College Baseball program in the nation. It’s only November and the Tigers still have a lot to work on, but this was a good chance for Jay Johnson to see where his team is at against a squad that made a deep postseason run this past June. Now let’s take a deeper look at what we saw on this Sunday afternoon. Pitching: (I got some help from my friend David Billiot Jr on some of these final stat lines. Make sure to also follow David for excellent Baseball coverage) William Schmidt- Schmidt got the start for LSU in Game 1 and was dominant in 2 innings of work. He gave up only 1 hit while striking out 4, including striking out the side in order in the 2nd. Schmidt looked very sharp and had a lot of swing and miss. Jay Johnson said that both Schmidt and Casan Evans (more on him later) took the time over the offseason to bulk up, which you can definitely tell when Shcmidt stands on the mound. Logan Schmidt- The Freshman came in to start the 3rd and struggled. He only went 0.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 3 hits while walking a batter and hitting 2 more. We haven’t seen much from Schmidt so far this Fall. This is a guy that LSU never expected to come to campus because of his talent. Jay Johnson in talking with the media has mentioned how they’ve had to do things a little differently with Schmidt. He was prepared and amped up to go right into the minors in the Summer, but when he fell through the cracks somehow in the draft, LSU had to cool him down a little bit. Now the staff is in the process of getting him back up and ready for when the season starts in February. With Schmidt’s talent, he will be just fine. Landon Hood- Hood pitched 2 innings in game 1 and looked pretty solid. He pitched a scoreless 4th while striking out 2, working around a walk and a hit by pitch. In the 5th, he recorded another K, but also gave up a single along with a 2-run blast as well. Hood has looked pretty good in the Fall, featuring low 90s heat with good offspeed in the 70s that he throws a ton. Hood was one of the top portal arms in the country coming out of Gonzaga and I wouldn't be shocked if he challenges for a role in the weekend starting rotation. Danny Lachenmayer- Lachenmayer struck out a batter in the 6th, but also gave up 3 singles to bring in another run for the Trojans. Then, he would give up a leadoff homer in the 7th along with a hit by pitch before coming out of the game. Lachenmayer had moments where he was solid last season. It will be interesting to see who emerges on this staff as the go-to left handers, something the Tigers struggled to find last season. Diego Velazquez- The USC transfer would come in with no outs and a runner on in the 7th. He would record 3 strikeouts in the inning, but also hit a batter and give up another run off of 2 singles. Velazquez would come back to set down the side in order in the 8th. Velazquez threw in the mid 90s and had a good slider in the upper 80s. He was a key arm coming out of the bullpen on a USC team that made it to a Super Regional in 2026. Lucas Nawrocki- Won’t spend a ton of time here since he was mentioned earlier, but Nawrocki was so impressive tonight with what he did at the plate while striking out the side in the 9th in between 2 singles given up. Casan Evans- Now we move to Game 2, where Casan Evans started and much like William Schmidt, dominated in 2 innings of work. He struck out 5 in those 2 innings while giving up a single and hitting a batter. Both Evans and Schmidt pounded the strike zone tonight and looked to be in control. There has been some talk about some potential shakeup in the starting rotation in 2027, but if these 2 keep performing like this, I find that hard to believe. Cooper Sides- The Freshman also went 2 innings and got up to 96 mph. He would walk 2 and record 2 strikeouts in the 3rd before getting out of the inning unscathed with a flyout. Sides would then retire the side in order in the 4th, adding another strikeout. Sides was ranked according to Perfect Game as the #20 RHP in the nation coming out of High School, #3 in the state of California. Braxton Beaty- Another impressive Freshman who gets up to 96 mph, Beatty looked lights out in the 5th retiring the side in order with 2 strikeouts. He would walk 2 in the 6th before striking out 2 more to get out of the inning. Sides was ranked as the #12 LHP in the nation coming out of High School, #2 in the state of Texas. Kaden Smith- The USF transfer came in and struggled in the 7th inning, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks. He came back out in the 8th and I thought he did a nice job of bouncing back with 2 strikeouts, but then he issued 2 more walks before coming out of the game. Smith has good stuff, but struggled with command in the past at USF and has done the same when I’ve seen him so far this Fall. Ethan Plog- Plog would come in with 2 outs in the 8th and get a huge punchout to get LSU out of a jam before recording 2 more strikeouts in the 9th. Hitting: At the plate, I’ll just go over a few things that stand out. We’ve already talked about Lucas Nawrocki’s stellar performance and Steven Milam’s 3-run monster mash in Game 1 that cut the Troy lead to 9-8. Not only did Bino Watters walk it off in Game 1, he also had 2 more singles in that game as well along with an RBI double later in Game 2. Even when Watters struck out in the first AB of Game 1, he did it after battling over 10 pitches. Watters was impressive just like we thought he would be. A guy that might fly under the radar is Angel Laya, but I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from him so far this Fall. Laya had a nice Game 1 with a solo bomb that started the scoring for LSU followed up by a 2 RBI single later in the game. Laya has a good build at 6’2, 211 pounds and was named a Freshman All-American by Perfect Game in 2026. Cade Arrambide and Dominic Santarelli both had RBI singles against the Trojans. Arrambide has had a little bit of a slow start to the Fall, but he led the Tigers with 18 homers in 2026 and was arguably the most dangerous hitter in the lineup from the beginning of April onward. Santarelli is a mountain of a man for a true freshman who has light-tower power similar to that of Jared Jones. For instance, Santarelli hit a ball 118 mph off the bat earlier this Fall. 118 MPH!!! I’m so excited to see what Santarelli will do over the next 3 seasons in the Purple and Gold. Parker Loew and Jason Wachs also drove in runs in Game 2 as well, but I want to give some love to Jack Ruckert. While Ruckert didn’t do much in today’s scrimmage, I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen from him so far this Fall. I went to 2 straight Friday intrasquad scrimmages in October where Ruckert hit homers in both of them. He just looks a lot more comfortable at the plate now in my opinion. We’ve seen guys take the jump from Year 1 to Year 2 like Cade Arrambide did in 2026, and I think Jack Ruckert might be able to do the same. Final Thoughts and What’s Next: You can’t win much in November, but it was nice to see the Tigers go out and perform today against a solid Troy program that just made it to Omaha last season. This LSU team will continue to grow and get better before February, but I love the mix of veteran returners like Casan Evans and Steven Milam along with important portal additions like Bino Watters and Landon Hood. Don’t forget about one of the best Freshman classes we’ve seen step on campus in Baton Rouge in quite a long time with guys like Dominic Santarelli and Lucas Nawrocki. I look forward to bringing more Baseball coverage to The Kneaux leading up to February and throughout the season as well. The Tigers will host Southeastern in The Box this upcoming Friday with first pitch at 5:30. Follow Babin On The Bayon on X: https://x.com/BabinOnTheBayou