LSU Baseball: The Levees Have Broken As Tigers Flooding With Losses And Reasons For Them

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Panic has been subdued by a calm acceptance of what is happening to the LSU baseball team.

That’s what a sixth straight loss in the Southeastern Conference, which happened on Sunday to Texas A&M by 5-2, will do to a coach and a team. LSU (23-18, 6-12 SEC) got swept at home for the first time since coach Jay Johnson’s first season in 2022 – to eventual national champion Ole Miss that May.

LSU loses 6th straight in SEC.https://t.co/guZUbVjw98

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 19, 2026

That’s what happens when the flood waters just keep rising.

“And I talk about that to have a chance – A CHANCE – to win the game tomorrow night,” Johnson said after the 10-4 loss to the Aggies on Friday night that opened the series.

Johnson emphasized the word “chance” incredulously and with a little panic. There he was talking about his team – once No. 1 to open this season and the 53-15 (19-11, SEC) national champion of last season that won its last eight game and 10 of 11 – having a “chance” only if it improved its play dramatically.

And the cold truth was, LSU never had much of a chance the next day in a 7-2 loss Saturday and the 5-2 loss on Sunday.

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“And even though, it may not move the needle, I’m going to coach it like the flood’s coming through town if we don’t win,” Johnson said Friday. “And it’s going to wreck everything and wreck everybody.”

Two days later, and the needle’s still moving down. No. 15 Mississippi State (30-10, 10-8 SEC) awaits in Starkville this weekend.

Johnson did see the waters coming, though maybe not 0-6, as the competition level rose with Ole Miss and the Aggies the last two weekends.

“Like, they got completely derailed with Texas A&M’s Friday starter (Shane Sdao) and two of the best hitters in the league (Caden Sorrell and Gavin Grahovac),” he said. “And Ole Miss – same thing. I saw that storm coming. We got another one next week. We have to focus on us.”

But Johnson sees a different team in his dugout than what he watched this weekend in the other – 22 runs on 28 hits and six home runs. Meanwhile, LSU put up only eight runs on 22 hits with three home runs.

“Watching that team – it’s a really good team,” he said. “And how I’ve seen a couple of their players grow. They’re a much stronger, physical team. We have to get that element back.”

And he’s not talking this season.

“We certainly had that,” he said.

Johnson said on Sunday that he will be reevaluating his program’s strength and conditioning, what it does during the summer, in September and in the fall season.

“I like to play a lot of games. That didn’t land as well this year,” he said. “It’s always under construction. We have to find a way to advance there. Yes, there will be some things under construction.”

Still, there is hope for this season. LSU teams have been this bad at this point in 2021 and in 2024 and somehow managed to finish 13-17 in the SEC and get into the postseason.

And Mississippi State did just lose six straight to Georgia and Tennessee before this weekend sweeping South Carolina (19-22, 5-13 SEC), which will be in Baton Rouge in two weeks. LSU’s bullpen has put up two excellent games – one run on three hits with 13 strikeouts and two walks over six and a third innings Sunday and zero runs on three hits with five strikeouts and one walk over three and two-thirds innings on Saturday.

“The bullpen for two days was really good,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to get a little more offense to gave that a chance to matter. If we get a little bit more out of our starters with that contribution, we’re going to be in games.”

In games?

A chance?

That’s how far has fallen in just a season.

As bad as LSU just plays the game with a ridiculous number of errors, wild pitches and passed balls, its top two starters – Casan Evans (2-2, 5.47 ERA) and William Schmidt (4-4, 4.14 ERA) are not even close to LSU’s top two starters last year in Kade Anderson (12-1, 3.18 ERA) and Anthony Eyanson (12-2, 3.00 ERA.)

Evans was 5-1 with seven saves and a 2.05 ERA last year as a freshman. He’s not the same. And Schmidt, who was 7-0 with a 4.73 ERA as a freshman last year mainly in mid-week games, has shown flashes, but remains a disappointment. Zac Cowan is not the same as last year either. He is now 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA after allowing four runs on three hits and three walks in just two and two-thirds innings Sunday for the loss. He was 3-3 with six saves and a 2.94 ERA last season.

Four of LSU’s best statistical pitchers this season are relievers – Deven Sheerin (3-0, 2.84 ERA, 3 saves), Grant Fontenot (0-0, 2.93 ERA, 2 saves), Santiago Garcia (1-1, 3.94 ERA, 2 saves) and Mavrick Rizy (0-0, 3.50 ERA).

LSU may not get injured starter Cooper Moore (3-3, 3.38 ERA) for another couple of weeks, so Sheerin may deserve a start and Fontenot another one.

“We’re certainly not where we want to be at this juncture,” Johnson said. “And not where we expect to be.”