Pitching and Homeruns Carry LSU Over Northwestern St
David Billiot Jr • April 16, 2026
LSU - 4, Northwestern St - 2
Tuesday Night Recap
Entering Tuesday on a 4-game losing streak, LSU was in desperate need of a win. That was apparent when Jay Johnson sent bullpen ace Zac Cowan to the mound to start the game. The Tigers have found themselves down early in plenty of midweek games this year, the emphasis was to try and prevent needing a comeback effort. Although it wasn’t a large deficit, LSU still fell behind after a 2nd inning homerun. Midweek pitching has been suspect for most of the season, but the staff was excellent against Northwestern. They struck out 16 Demon hitters, while only walking 2. Jay’s emphasis on winning the game was further proven by going to Deven Sheerin to close the game out, which he did.
While the pitching has struggled in the midweek games, the offense typically has not. Despite only scoring 7 in a loss to Bethune-Cookman a week ago, they had exploded for two double digit wins the previous two games. That was not the case this week, though. Although they recorded 9 hits, the situational offense was suspect, missing more opportunities as we’ve seen throughout the year. All 4 runs that LSU scored crossed home plate on homeruns. They only struck out 4 times, but as a whole, the Tigers were just underwhelming once again.
Pitching
Zac Cowan did what Jay Johnson was hoping for in the 1st, which was getting the Tigers off to a good start. After a flyout and an infield hit, the senior struck out back to back hitters to prevent the Demons from getting anything going. That changed in the 2nd, as Northwestern got a leadoff bloop single, but it was quickly erased on a double play. Demon right fielder Bryce Johnson lined out to John Pearson, who had all day to throw the runner out at 1st base with him attempting a steal. With 2 outs and a 3-2 count, Austrailian catcher Mason Wray blasted his first homerun of the season to Left Field Landing. Cowan would record a groundout back to himself to end the inning and with 34 pitches, he would not return for the 3rd inning.
- Final line: 2.0 IP / 3 hits / 1 run / 2 Ks / 0 BBs / 34 pitches (22 strikes, 65%)
Grant Fontenot was looking to bounce back from a rough start on Sunday, in which he only recorded an out in the 1st inning. His 3rd inning on Tuesday night was far better, though. He went 3-up, 3-down while striking out two. Returning for the 4th, he went 1-2-3 again, including a very nice slow-roller play by Brayden Simpson, who was lined up at shortstop in the shift. Another groundout and his third strikeout of the night got LSU right back in to the dugout with the Tigers looking for their first lead. After two fantastic innings, that would be the end for Fontenot.
- Final line: 2.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 3 Ks / 0 BBs / 32 pitches (23 strikes, 72%)
Reagan Ricken took the mound to start the 5th and gave up a first pitch single through the left side. He then threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt, which has happened far too often for Tiger pitching this season. A catcher’s interference would put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, setting up a sacrifice bunt. The Demons retook the lead on a groundout to Steven Milam, who had to make the play to 1st base. Ricken’s night would be over with 2 outs and a runner at 3rd.
- Final line: 0.2 IP / 1 hit / 1 run / 0 Ks / 0 BBs / 14 strikes (10 strikes, 71%)
Connor Benge entered to try and record the final out and with a lineout to Chris Stanfield, he did just that. He returned for the 6th and started off with a strikeout. A 1-out double on a groundball that took an awful hop on Mason Braun at 1st base would get a runner in to scoring position. Benge fought back with a strikeout, but that would be all. He has quietly put together some solid outings the past few weeks.
- Final line: 1.0 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 2 Ks / 0 BBs / 12 pitches (9 strikes, 75%)
With 2 outs in the 6th and a runner on 2nd, Jay turned to Cooper Williams. He came through with a strikeout and that was it for his night.
- Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 0 BBs / 5 pitches (4 strikes, 80%)
Marcos Paz entered to start the 7th and was fantastic. He struck out the side on three full-counts. His 96 mph is some of the most effortless velocity that I’ve ever watched in person. He’s going to be a stud in this program. His night would end after the one flawless inning.
- Final line: 1.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 3 Ks / 0 BBs / 19 pitches (11 strikes, 58%)
Zion Theophilus took over for the 8th and issued the first walk of the game for LSU pitching. He threw one pitch to the second batter, a foul ball, then was removed. There wasn’t a trainer out on the field, so it appeared as if Jay just didn’t like what he saw:
- Final line: 0.0 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 0 Ks / 1 BB / 5 pitches (1 strike, 20%)
Santiago took over for Theophilus and struck out his first hitter. A wild pitch and an error on John Pearson put runners on the corners with 1 out, then a walk loaded the bases. Jay, visibly frustrated, scurried out of the dugout to make another pitching change.
- Final line: 0.1 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 1 K / 1 BB / 12 pitches (6 strikes, 50%)
Badly needing to win a game, Jay had to turn to Deven Sheerin with the bases loaded and only 1 out. As he always does, he came through with a massive strikeout and then a pop out in foul territory to Pearson to end Northwestern’s biggest threat since the 5th. He returned for the 9th and blew right through the Demon lineup, striking out the side to close out the 4-2 win.
- Final line: 1.2 IP / 0 hits / 0 runs / 4 Ks / 0 BBs / 25 pitches (16 strikes, 64%)
Hitting
Jake Brown had the biggest swing of the night. While down 2-1 in the 5th, a baserunning error threatened to waste a giant opportunity. But the star outfielder stepped up and blasted a 3-run homerun to take the lead. That was his 16th homerun of the season, which doubles his total from 2025. I asked Brown after the game about the power surge and if that was a conscious effort in the offseason, to which he confirmed that it was to try and fill the power void of Jared Jones and Ethan Frey having moved on to the MLB.
Speaking of homeruns, Brayden Simpson transferred to LSU from High Point after hitting 22 homeruns a year ago. Not that anyone realistically expected him to come close to that total, it has been slightly surprising that he had yet to leave the yard this year. That all changed on Tuesday night when he hit a 425 foot bomb off of the batter’s eye in center field to tie the game. After his big swing that extended LSU’s 7-run inning on Sunday, Simpson has strung together a few games of good at bats. Unfortunately, it was him who had the big baserunning blunder prior to Brown’s homerun. It was a play that just cant happen, especially from a senior. His homerun was his last at bat of the night, because he was pulled from the game following the mistake. He should have opportunities to bounce back this weekend, as Seth Dardar continues to recover from his ankle injury.
Steven Milam, Derek Curiel, and John Pearson each had 2 hits on Tuesday night. One of Milam’s hits was a double, the only one of the night for the Tiger offense.
Up Next
Having now improved their record to 23-15, LSU will welcome in Texas A&M to Baton Rouge to kick off the second half of SEC play. The Aggies come in with a 10-4 record in conference play, tied for 2nd in the league. They are coming off of a rare 2 game sweep of Texas last weekend with game 3 on Sunday eventually getting cancelled due to rain all day on Sundaqy. With a 6-9 record following being swept in Oxford last weekend, LSU desperately needs a series win this weekend. First pitch for game 1 will be Friday at 6 pm central.
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Well that was a much more enjoyable watch then last week was it not? The offense was able to move the ball down the field and get the ball in the end zone. The defense was able to hold the Cowboys to long field goals in the first half and special teams did not have any blemishes. Overall quite a successful team performance resulting in the team’s first victory of the preseason. Even if the win does not mean anything towards the regular season standings, being able to start game planning for Week 1 against the Lions with some momentum from a win is better than the alternative. Let’s break down the victory against the Cowboys as we begin to look towards Week 1. First I want to start off by talking about the offense. What a bounce back performance they had today against the Cowboys. Give credit to the offensive line as they were able to create the running lanes needed for the running backs to take full advantage of today. The running back depth chart just might seemingly be dictated by health more so than talent for the Saints this year. Kendre Miller clearly has always had the talent to be an impactful running back in the NFL but health has been his achilles heel thus far in his career but as of right now I believe he will have a spot on the 53 man roster. After him though I will be curious as to what the Saints do with Audric Estime as he has been productive throughout his short tenure with the team. I believe the Saints will find a spot on the 53 man roster for him as he would surely be snatched up by another team if the Saints did not make room for him. At the beginning of the preseason I was curious as to how the depth of the wide receiver room would shake out given all the draft capital the Saints had invested in this past draft. Jordyn Tyson will surely make quite the impact when he recovers from his injury but I wanted to see if the Day 3 wide receivers in Bryce Lance and Barion Brown would be able to flash enough for them to show they can be legitimate positional depth for the Saints. Mission accomplished. Both Lance and Brown have flashed their talent all summer where I feel very good about the wide receiver room which is quite the turnaround considering the status of the room at the end of last season. I look forward to seeing what the rookies can do on the Sundays ahead. The one major thing on offense I am still unsure on is the status of QB2 behind Tyler Shough. Spencer Rattler did what he needed to do today but will that be enough to keep the Saints from bringing in someone from outside the building? I could make a case for either scenario so it will be interesting to see what the Saints do there as the backup quarterback is an important spot to have someone capable there. As not having a capable backup will sink a promising season before you blink. On defense you get the outing you needed to see in the first half. A bend but not break effort resulting in the Cowboys being forced to kick long field goals. The defense was able to keep Joe Milton in check who has been starting to make quite the reputation for himself with good preseason showings in his short career thus far. There was complimentary football being played so the defense was not out in the field for extended periods of time to where you could see them starting to get worn down. The second half however was a bit of a different story. In the second half the Cowboys were able to quickly move the ball down the field thanks to veteran Sam Howell who just shredded the secondary. The beauty of preseason as a fan is when you watch the other team doing so well late in the game you get to fall back on the fact most of these players will have either very limited roles or not even be on the team come Week 1. So although I would have liked to see the defense close out the game better in the fourth quarter they did what they needed in order to secure the victory. I’ll be curious to see if there will be many roster surprises on the defensive side of the ball come cut down day. Last but not least is special teams where there was not much left to interpret there. Daniel Carlson appears to be the new kicker heading into Week 1 and there were not any special teams blunders or impact plays in the game today. Overall just a solid outing from the special teams unit today where hopefully some guys earned some jobs in the league with what they put on tape this preseason. That puts a wrap on the preseason. We’ll see what cut down day has in store for the Saints as they typically have a surprise name or two end up on the 53 man roster. But once the 53 man roster settles all eyes will be ahead looking towards Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. Practice time is over, from here on out, it’s meaningful football again.
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