By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Last Monday, LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson announced that starting pitcher Cooper Moore was done for the season after a second doctor’s examination discovered a broken bone near his elbow. He had already missed the previous four weeks with what was thought to be a triceps injury.
On Tuesday, Johnson announced that star right fielder Jake Brown – the team’s home run and RBI leader – had broken the hamate bone in his wrist the previous Sunday against Texas A&M and would also be lost for the rest of the season.
And on Friday night in Starkville, Mississippi, just before he was supposed to start the Tigers’ game at Mississippi State, ace right-hander Casan Evans told Johnson he didn’t feel good. And Evans (2-2, 5.47 ERA), who has struggled most of this season, was scratched from the lineup.
This LSU loss may be most frustrating of all … 10-8 in 11 innings at Mississippi State.https://t.co/ITfExFoBZl
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 25, 2026
And the Tigers’ season from hell continued. LSU lost its seventh straight Southeastern Conference game Friday, 10-8, in 11 innings to State on a two-run, walk-off home run by Kevin Milewski. The former No. 1 Tigers fell to 24-19 overall and 6-13 in the SEC after winning the national championship last season.
“He had discomfort with his arm,” Johnson said after the game. “He did not throw. Just literally, he was like stretching. We went through the scouting meeting, and then he said he just didn’t feel good. That’s it. That’s all I know.”
Evans was the best freshman pitcher in the country last year as he went 5-1 with a 2.05 ERA and seven saves.
“With a prospect like that, even as important to our team as he is, obviously, I’m not going to mess that up,” Johnson said.
Johnson was unsure of Evans’ status for the rest of the series.
LSU and Mississippi State (32-10, 11-8 SEC) play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2 and at 1 p.m. Sunday on SEC Network+.
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