Pitching Dominates, LSU Evens Series With UK
David Billiot Jr • March 28, 2026
LSU - 7, Kentucky - 0
Saturday Afternoon Recap
Saturday was as much of a must-win game as you can find halfway through the season. After dropping game 1 of the series last night and having no defined starting pitcher for game 3 on Sunday, LSU simply had to have this game. Give credit to Jay Johnson and his squad, because they showed up and played like it. William Schmidt pitched in and out of trouble as he has all season. Kentucky did a fine job of making him work, a hallmark of pesky offenses like theirs. He refused to give in, though, shutting them down at every turn. Schmidt earned the win to improve his record to 4-1. Zac Cowan followed him and was just as magnificent, if not more. Jay said after the game that he believed that was Cowan’s best performance in his LSU career, which had plenty of them in 2025. He also explained just how important he is to their team, saying that Cowan was a top 5 reason that they won the College World Series a year ago. He earned his first save of the season.
The offense was much better. Although they only scored three times in their eight at bats, they put up crooked numbers each time and never appeared satisfied. LSU recorded 9 hits as a team and only struck out 5 times, a far cry from last night. The most promising note is that they did their damage with only 3 combined hits from Jake Brown, Derek Curiel, and Steven Milam, the typical leaders of the team. Today, it was two freshman that delivered multiple times and that is something this team has been lacking.
Pitching
William Schmidt was looking to get off to a more efficient start and despite a 1-out infield hit off of Zach Yorke’s backhand attempt, he did just that. Things got interesting for a bit, as Omar Serna hesitated on a steal attempt and then threw the ball in to centerfield to put the runner on third base. Schmidt delivered back to back breaking balls to 4-hole hitter Hudson Brown to strike him out and end the threat. After a 3-pitch strikeout to start the 2nd, he allowed another 1-out single, but another fantastic play by Steven Milam and a pop out to Serna would lead to a quick 9-pitch inning. The 3rd inning was the stiffest test, yet, for the sophomore. After a leadoff infield single, Schmidt started the second hitter 3-0, but came back to record the big out. Kentucky executed a perfectly drawn up hit-and-run to put runners on the corners with 1 out with Tyler Bell coming to the plate. A 96 MPH fastball on the inside corner with a 3-2 count locked up the star shortstop for a massive second out. A fly out would keep the Wildcats off of the scoreboard, yet again. They got right back on the basepaths in the 4th, drawing a leadoff walk, but a beautifully turned 6-4-3 double play by Milam and Seth Dardar, followed by a one pitch flyout would quickly get Schmidt off of the field with an 8-pitch inning. Schmidt danced around more trouble in the 5th after hitting the leadoff hitter, despite starting him 0-2 and then throwing a wild pitch to allow him to second base. A 1-out single put runners on the corners and set up the defensive play of the game. On a shallow flyball to Jake Brown, Kentucky tried tagging up to score, but the former pitcher gunned him out at home to a raucous applause from the Alex Box crowd. The day would end for Schmidt in the 6th after allowing a walk and a single, with a flyout between. He finished with 88 pitches and battled throughout the day. Kentucky got at least one baserunner on in every single inning for the first 6 innings.
- Final line: 5.1 IP / 6 hits / 0 runs / 3 Ks / 2 BBs / 88 pitches (52 strikes, 59%)
Zac Cowan was a name many considered as a possibility to fill Sunday’s TBA spot, but he was called upon with runners on 1st and 3rd and only 1 out with LSU holding a 5-0 lead. A quick stolen base put both runners in scoring position, but the senior struck out consecutive hitters to leave a Wildcat runner on 3rd base for the fourth time in the game. The 7th inning was the first 1-2-3 inning for the Tigers all day. In the 8th, Cowan had to pitch through some trouble, but as it was all day, it was no issue. The inning started with a very good play on a slow-roller by Dardar, but then a walk and a single put runners on 1st and 3rd with only 1 out. Like he did when taking over for Schmidt in the 6th, Cowan struck out back to back hitters to end the threat. Two more Ks in the 9th helped only the second 3-up, 3-down of the day and LSU closed out a 7-0 victory to even the series.
- Final line: 3.2 IP / 1 hit / 0 runs / 7 Ks / 1 BB / 54 pitches (39 strikes, 72%)
Hitting
Mason Braun made the start at DH and despite not playing as much recently as he did earlier in the season, he delivered multiple times today. His RBI double in the 2nd was just the first impact swing, but it wasn’t even his biggest. In his next at bat in the 4th, Braun launched a 3-run homerun through a strong wind that was blowing straight in. That swing pushed LSU’s lead to 5-0 and was the type of insurance that they have struggled to find at times this season. The freshman finished 2-4 with 4 RBI and a run scored.
Omar Serna made his third consecutive start at catcher and continued to deliver in every facet. After throwing out a base-stealer last night, he followed up with a stellar job of blocking pitches in the dirt and preventing extra bases for Wildcat runners. At the plate, he went 2-4 and also drew a walk.
Steven Milam only finished 1-4, but his one swing was huge. In the 6th, LSU had put runners on 2nd and 3rd base with 0 outs. A groundout with the infield drawn in and a pop out to the second baseman kept both runners in place and it appeared as if they may miss a giant opportunity. Milam stepped in and ripped a ground ball down the 1st base line to bring both runners home and extend the lead to 7-0.
Jake Brown’s numbers aren’t going to jump off of the page today with a 1-5 finish, but it is worth noting that his 8th inning single was his first time on base today and that makes it 27 of 28 games that the star outfielder has reached base in 2026. As I mentioned earlier, he also threw out a runner at home with a rocket of a throw that helped preserve the shutout.
Seth Dardar followed up his 3 doubles night with a 3 walks performance. Officially, he finished 0-1, but he reached base at a .750 rate today and he also scored once. The senior also played excellent defense at 2nd base today, drawing praise from Jay Johnson in his postgame press conference.
John Pearson and Zach Yorke each finished 1-2. Pearson had a double, walked twice, and also scored twice. Yorke drew a walk, scored twice, and drove in an RBI.
Up Next
LSU and Kentucky will return for a massive rubber match tomorrow. First pitch is set for 12 noon central. Jay Johnson told us after the game that they needed to sit down as a coaching staff and look at what options they have available to decide who they will start, as it is currently listed as TBA. Junior LHP Ben Cleaver will start for the Wildcats. He started game 1 for Kentucky last week at Ole Miss and went 3.2 IP and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 4 and walking 2 hitters.
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