LSU Baseball: Texas A&M Overpowers Tigers To Take Game 1 Of Critical Series From Sliding LSU

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

LSU’s 2026 baseball season continues to be death by a thousand cuts.

The Tigers are not out of the race for an NCAA Tournament bid, but it’s getting closer and closer as LSU lost another Southeastern Conference game Friday night at home, 10-4, to No. 7-ranked Texas A&M at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU (23-16, 6-10 SEC) will try to even the series at 7 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network with sophomore right-hander William Schmidt (4-3, 3.22 ERA) going against sophomore right-hander Aiden Sims (6-0, 3.56 ERA).

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The Aggies (29-7, 10-5 SEC) battered LSU ace Casan Evans for six runs on seven hits to take a 4-1 lead in the fifth that grew to 7-2 in the sixth. Evans, who was 5-1 last year with a 2.05 ERA and seven saves, fell to 2-2 on the season with a 6.04 ERA. He struck out eight and looked sharp early, but he walked three, including two that led off innings in which the Aggies scored.

Evans walked eighth batter Bear Harrison – a .265 hitter entering the series – to lead off the third inning, and Harrison moved to third on a Boston Kellner single and scored on a ground out to first by Caden Sorrell for a 1-0 lead.

After LSU tied it 1-1 in the fourth on a home run to left-center field by Steven Milam, Evans walked Harrison again to start the fifth. And he paid for it again. Evans struck out Kellner and got Gavin Grahovac to fly out to center, but he gave up three straight two-out RBI singles to Sorrell, Chris Hacopian and Jake Duer to fall behind 4-1.

The Aggies totaled 12 hits in all, and eight players had at least one hit.

LSU cut it to 4-2 in the fifth on a two-out, RBI single by Cade Arrambide, but reliever Gavin Lyons recovered from that to strike out Milam with runners on the corners. Lyons (6-0) picked up the win, limiting the Tigers to one earned run on four hits while striking out four and walking zero.

Texas A&M put the game away in the sixth as Evans allowed a lead-off single to Terrence Kiel II and a two-run home run to Jorian Wilson to left field for a 6-2 lead. Deven Fontenot relieved Evans and struck out Harrison and Kellner, but he allowed a solo home run to Gavin Grahovac for a 7-2 deficit.

LSU put up 10 hits, but its two-out hitting remained woeful. With runners on the corners in the first inning, Milam popped out to third base. After Milam’s home run in the fourth to cut the Aggies’ lead to 2-1, Omar Serna Jr. doubled with one out. But he was left stranded when Mason Braun grounded out to first base and Josh Pearson bounced out to shortstop.

The Aggies added a run for an 8-2 lead in the eighth after two outs. Reliever Mavrick Rizy hit Chris Hacopian in the mouth with a pitch, and Hacopian had to leave the game. Rizy later threw a wild pitch with a runner on third for the run.

LSU cut it to 8-4 in the eighth on an RBI grounder by Serna and a sacrifice fly by Serna.

Wilson homered again for A&M in the top of the ninth as the Aggies went up 10-4.