LSU Baseball Has Its Back To The Warning Track For SEC 2nd Half After Getting Swept At Ole Miss

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

Consider LSU on the NCAA postseason bubble big time.

The Tigers (22-15, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) were swept three games to zero by Ole Miss over the weekend with an 8-7 loss on Sunday that dropped them three games below .500. And they entered the weekend with a whopping No. 75 ranking in the Ratings Percentage Index.

LSU Fights Back Again From 7-0 Deficit, But Loses At Ole Miss, 8-7, And Is Swept, 3-0

At least, they won’t drop that much as Ole Miss (26-11, 8-7 SEC) came in at No. 11 in RPI.

But now it gets even more difficult, or at least stays as difficult for the rest of the way. Or, perhaps, who knows, considering this league?

LSU hosts No. 13 RPI Texas A&M (27-7, 9-5 SEC) this weekend with the Aggies coming off two wins over No. 2 Texas. They were going after a sweep on Sunday night. Maybe A&M will be emotionally drained after the blood fest as former Aggies coach Jim Schlossnagle brought his Longhorns to College Station, breathing fire. And he left A&M for Texas after three whole seasons, including its best ever in 2024 with a College World Series finals finish. New LSU basketball coach Will Wade just pulled that on North Carolina State after one year and no postseason wins.

Then LSU plays at No. 17 RPI Mississippi State (26-10, 7-8 SEC) the following weekend, but the Bulldogs are spiraling. They have been swept at home over the last two weekends by Georgia and Tennessee. And that was after State won three straight at Ole Miss. And Tennessee was coming off two home losses to LSU. What is it with this league?

The Tigers then catch a break with a home series against South Carolina (18-19, 5-10 SEC), or so it seems. LSU will likely have to sweep that series to keep breathing for an NCAA invite. But new South Carolina interim coach Monte Lee, who replaced former LSU coach Paul Mainieri, just won three at Missouri.

Basically, LSU is too often not playing its brand of baseball. Column:https://t.co/AEglinJ6Gg

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 11, 2026

What is waiting for a pedestrian LSU over the final two weekends are perhaps the best two teams on their schedule. On May 8-10, the Tigers play at No. 24 RPI Georgia, which is a glittering 29-8 overall and 11-4 in the SEC after the Bulldogs lost two of three at home to Florida.

The No. 5 RPI Gators (27-10, 9-6 SEC) close the regular season at LSU on May 14-16.

There could be help on the way this weekend for the Tigers as coach Jay Johnson may get No. 2 starting pitcher Cooper Moore (3-3, 3.38 ERA) back after an arm injury that has kept him sidelined since pitching against Oklahoma on March 20.

LSU enters the second half with a long injury report. Second baseman Seth Dardar did not play Sunday with a lower leg injury, and left fielder Chris Stanfield may have bruised his ribs going into the wall Sunday. Infielder Trent Caraway (hand) missed the whole series.

“We have to stay positive and keep believing, keep working,” Johnson said.

The question now may be if LSU can just be as good as it was the last time it was a defending national champion. The 2024 Tigers were on the bubble most of the season after a 3-12 mark at the halfway point in SEC play before rallying to finish 13-17 and get sent to North Carolina for a regional.

Considering how LSU has been playing in what is a four-game losing streak, Johnson may take that now.

Because the team that has lost the last four does not look like it can go on a 10-5 run to finish the regular season.