By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
No. 13 LSU tuned up a sluggish engine just in time for the start of Southeastern Conference play by beating Creighton, 8-4, on Tuesday night with clutch hitting and critical bullpen pitching at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU offense wakes up with Omar Serna Jr. grand slam and 2-run HR by Jake Brown to beat Creighton, 8-4.https://t.co/xhEsclFGUG
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 11, 2026
The Tigers (13-5) open SEC play Friday at Vanderbilt (11-7) at 6 p.m. on SEC Network+ with a 7 p.m. game Saturday on the SEC Network and the 3 p.m. finale on ESPN2.
“I’m proud of the team. It was hard fought,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said after snapping a two-game losing streak and four losses in five games. “We made it really difficult on ourselves early in the game by walking and hitting some guys. But they hung in there.”
The Tigers (13-5) found themselves trailing Creighton 4-1 after three innings before getting an unearned run in the fourth to cut it to 4-2 before a master blast by freshman catcher Omar Serna Jr. – a 455 foot grand slam to left field to put LSU up 6-4 in the fifth.
Elmo absolutely DESTROYED that baseball @_omarserna26 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/oKJoeP0vZd
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 11, 2026
“Great swing by Omar there,” Johnson said. “Nice to kind of feel that and break through. That was awesome. He’s got great power. I’m proud of how he’s slowing the game down. His strides defensively have been immense since he’s been here. He hits the ball hard. He’s walked. He’s going to be a great player. I mean we’re so lucky to have him and Cade Arrambide (LSU’s other catcher). They can work together this year, and then both play every day next year and hit in the middle of the order. They can both be really good offensive players, and if they can help each other with the catching load, that helps them be really good offensive players.”
Jake Brown added a two-run home run for the 8-4 lead in the eighth, but LSU didn’t need that because of its bullpen.
Late Night Launch 🚀@JakeBrown_14 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/EHq9dJzVsT
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 11, 2026
Sophomore Deven Sheerin threw two and a third innings of shutout ball with one hit, one walk and four strikeouts in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings for the win to go to 1-0 on the season. Then junior transfer Santiago Garcia struck out another four in two and two thirds innings with no runs and one hit for his first save.
Reliever Mavrick Rizy set up Sheerin with an inning and two thirds of shutout pitching on two hits with a strikeout and no walks.
“Great job by the bullpen – six zeroes the last six innings,” Johnson said. “I believe that’s what they’re capable of. And I’m sure proud of them for executing tonight. Been a tough couple of games, but I think it was a good growth step for our team tonight. I’m proud of Deven. He had a rough outing on Saturday (in loss to Sacramento State). I did not feel like he was sharp. But I was very interested in his response tonight. And he gave us a good one.”
Sheerin helped restore LSU’s momentum as did LSU pushing across an unearned run to get with 4-2 in the fourth.
“It’s really a tough question, man,” second baseman Brayden Simpson said when asked about the crux of LSU’s offensive issues. “I don’t know.”https://t.co/vt3xfg9f68
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 9, 2026
“The momentum was back in our dugout, and that’s something that’s been escaping us a little bit lately,” Johnson said. “And then we immediately put up the four runs on the grand slam. And then he (Sheerin) went out and got a zero after that. I know he’s going to be a big part of our team, and it was great to see him do that.”
Same for Garcia.
“He’s going to be a big piece of our team,” Johnson said. “As we’ve gone through this scuffle, you start thinking about, ‘Ok, who can maybe emerge and elevate themselves on the staff?’ And he’s been kind of on my mind. We really needed that.”
Garcia finishing the game was able to keep closer Gavin Guidry, who was warming up in the bullpen, rested for the SEC opening series.
The three-hour and 43-minute game followed a three-hour practice Tuesday afternoon that Johnson felt the team needed following the two-game losing streak and four losses in five games that featured poor hitting and poor defense.
“I think there’s a ton of value in the time we spent here today,” Johnson said. “These guys have been here since about noon. We’re going to keep working, because that’s what’s going to be required. It’s not getting any easier – 10-week haymakers. You know what I mean, one after the other.”
LSU is scheduled to play 10 three-game SEC series over the next 10 weeks.
“We recruit against Vanderbilt all the time,” Johnson said. “They’re going to be fundamentally sound. They’re an athletic team. Excited to get in there. Excited to get into SEC play. If a couple of these guys throw the ball the way they did tonight out of the bullpen, you feel a lot better about how those pieces come together. And offensively, we just need to keep working. We have good players, and we need to put them in position to be successful. So, we’re going to keep working hard with them to help them do that.”
CHRIS STANFIELD RETURNS
LSU senior left fielder Chris Stanfield played Tuesday night for the first time since injuring his hand in the second game of the season. He entered as a pinch-runner for Tanner Reaves after a walk in the fifth inning just after Serna’s grand slam. Stanfield batted in the seventh and struck out, but still received a loud round of cheers from the Alex Box crowd.
He will be a valuable addition at Vanderbilt and in seven or 10 days, Johnson said, when he can start and play entire games again.
“The type of team we have this year, his skills that he brings to the table are unique, and they fit well with everybody else,” Johnson said on his radio show Monday night “Having him out, it’s made us a little bit vanilla, in a way. We’ve probably felt, and you fans maybe have felt, his impact not being in there and maybe appreciate him a little bit more.”
Stanfield hit .298 with a .414 on-base average in 67 starts and 68 games last season with 15 doubles, two triples, five stolen bases in six attempts and a home run.
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