By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU No. 2 starting pitcher Cooper Moore could return this weekend against No. 10 Texas A&M from an arm injury after not pitching since March 20 against Oklahoma.
Moore (3-3, 3.38 ERA, 39 strikeouts, 7 walks, 32 innings, 6 starts), a junior transfer from Kansas, will not start, and may only be able to pitch for part of an inning or an inning. But the way LSU coach Jay Johnson sees it, anything could help amid a four-game losing streak, including a sweep at Ole Miss over the weekend.
“He has re-started his throwing program (over the last week). I am hopeful, certainly not certain, that he will be available to pitch in some capacity this weekend,” Johnson said on his weekly radio show Monday night. “That won’t be decided until Friday. There are a couple more marks that he needs to hit, but this was the timeline all along.”
Moore was expected to be out for three to four weeks, and the Texas A&M series Friday through Sunday would be four weeks.
Quote of the Year from LSU coach Jay Johnson on his own team’s offense, and he’s the Offensive Coordinator:
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 13, 2026
“Don’t have a lot else, but they can come back from a late deficit on a Sunday (vs. bottom line pitching).”https://t.co/voUfdx7M1x
“He’s certainly not going to go back to four or five innings right away,” Johnson said. “But we’re hopeful, and even one inning – one scoreless inning – is something that I’ll be happy to take as he’s one of the best pitchers on our staff.”
LSU (22-15, 6-9 Southeastern Conference) hosts Northwestern State (23-13, 14-7 Southland Conference for first place) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Alex Box Stadium.
Left fielder Chris Stanfield has a chance to play Tuesday after bruising ribs when he hit the wall on Sunday in the 8-7 loss to Ole Miss and left the game.
LSU ended the 2024 season at 10-5 in the SEC for a 13-17 finish. Can this LSU team that is 6-9 in the SEC finish that strong or anywhere close to that and get a bid?https://t.co/Ryf7cl0TB9
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 13, 2026
“He texted me on my drive over here that he got his treatment, and he was feeling much better today, believes he’ll be available to play,” Johnson said. “So, that was a real positive. I need to get our pitching staff to throw better pitches, so guys aren’t hitting 110 mph line drives to left field. Because he’s ran into the wall twice and gotten nicked up. That’s a guy who makes us a much better team when he’s on the field. So, if we can stop doing that for Chris Stanfield’s health and safety, that would be great.”
Second baseman Seth Dardar (ankle) is questionable for Tuesday. He missed Sunday’s game because he aggravated his injury after playing Friday and Saturday. He hurt the ankle sliding into second base in the loss to Bethune-Cookman last Tuesday.
“I was proud of him for trying to give it a go,” Johnson said. “He wasn’t very effective on Friday or Saturday, and staying on it didn’t really help. So, we decided it was in his best interest to not play Sunday. We’ll see how he feels on Tuesday. I don’t think it’s a long term thing. He’s a little beat up. Thought it was a courageous effort by Seth to try to play, but it set him back a little bit.”
GETTING OVER OLE MISS SWEEP
Johnson had a quick meeting with his team after the three losses in Oxford, Mississippi, on Sunday because he noticed how torn up his team already was after coming back from a 7-0 deficit after six innings to tie it 7-7 before losing 8-7.
“I went a different route with this,” he said. “I didn’t say a whole lot after the game. I told them I was proud of the comeback, but the baseball wasn’t good enough to win. ‘Don’t have a lot else for you right now, so we’re going to get back to it on Tuesday.’ They were hurting. That was a good comeback and to fall a little bit short after putting ourselves in position to win, so to come out of there empty was tough. I’m looking forward to this week.”
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