LSU Offense Finally Steady As She Goes Heading Into SEC Series At Tennessee

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

The formerly slumping LSU offense appears to have solidified itself in recent games as the Tigers (20-10, 4-5 Southeastern Conference) enter a stretch of six straight road SEC games and nine of the next 12.

LSU plays at Tennessee (19-10, 3-6 SEC) on Friday (4:30 p.m., SEC Network), Saturday (5 p.m., ESPN2) and Sunday (12 p.m., SEC Network+), then at Ole Miss (20-10, 3-6 SEC), at home against No. 25 Texas A&M (23-5, 5-4) and at No. 4 Mississippi State (25-4, 7-2 SEC for first).

The Volunteers are coming off three straight walk-off losses at home to Vanderbilt and are No. 150 in the nation and 13th in the 16-team SEC in batting average at .273. LSU, recently toward the bottom in the SEC, are eighth at .291 and No. 77 nationally.

LSU spots another team and the weather a large early lead, but “storms” back again.https://t.co/MZbGPEgL6r

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 1, 2026

Over its last five games, LSU is 4-1 and batting a healthy .357 (60-for-168) with 10 home runs, including four in a 16-6 win over Southern on Tuesday night. The Tigers are also averaging 11.8 runs a game over those last five.

LSU is up to four batters hitting .300 or better after just two a few weeks back. Right fielder Jake Brown leads the way at .356 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 30 starts, followed by center fielder Derek Curiel at .345 with three homers, eight doubles and 29 RBIs in 30 starts after a grand slam on Tuesday. Catcher Omar Serna is hitting .306 with three homers and 20 RBIs in only 17 starts as he splits time with Cade Arrambide, who is hitting .259 with four homers and 16 RBIs in 24 starts.

Left fielder Chris Stanfield is hitting .320 with a home runs and five RBIs in 14 starts as he only returned to the lineup when SEC play opened on March 13 after a hand injury. And third baseman John Pearson and second baseman Seth Dardar are inching toward .300. Pearson is at .295 with five home runs and 17 RBIs in 14 starts. Dardar is hitting .292 with three home runs, 10 doubles and 23 RBIs in 22 starts.

Pearson has taken over at third base in recent weeks with Dardar doing same at second.

“You need stability, and that’s why we’ve been good,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said Wednesday. “We want to get it where we’re bulletproof.”

That may be difficult this weekend as Tennessee is No. 17 in the nation and No. 5 in the SEC in earned run average at 3.70. LSU is 14th and 63rd at 4.73.

Brown has noticed the improvement in an at-bat-by-at-bat basis, particularly over the last five games – 15-5 over Louisiana Tech, 7-4 loss to Kentucky, 7-0 and 17-10 wins over Kentucky and 16-6 over Southern.

“There’s a lot of focus at the plate,” Brown said Wednesday. “Guys are honing in. The two-out hitting has been very impressive. I do think we’re in a good spot right now. We’re playing to our capability like early in the season (8-0 start).”