LSU Finally Looks Like A Tournament Team In SEC Tournament Win Over Oklahoma

By TODD HORNE, Executive Editor

HOOVER, Ala. — LSU’s pitching plan changed roughly 20 minutes before first pitch Tuesday night when projected starter William Schmidt was scratched with back spasms.

For most of this season, that kind of development might have felt like the beginning of another pitching unraveling.

Instead, it became the setup for one of LSU’s best collective mound performances of the year.

Behind strong relief outings from Gavin Guidry and Devin Sheerin — and a late two-run homer from Steven Milam — LSU defeated Oklahoma 6-2 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

The win kept LSU’s season alive and advanced the Tigers into a Wednesday matchup against Auburn. LSU’s only path to the NCAA Tournament is winning the SEC Tournament.

For one night, the program’s most disappointing unit finally gave LSU exactly what it needed.

Grant Fontenot made the emergency start after Schmidt was scratched and kept the game from slipping away early. Fontenot lasted 2.1 innings, allowing one run before handing the ball to Guidry with the score tied 1-1 and runners aboard.

Guidry stabilized the middle innings.

He worked 3.1 innings, allowed only one unearned run and struck out six. His biggest escape came after Oklahoma threatened to take control in the third. Easton LaChance launched a towering foul ball down the left-field line that nearly changed the game, then Guidry came back to strike him out.

When Johnson removed Guidry in the sixth, his message was short and telling.

“Great job.”

Then Sheerin delivered the cleanest and most important relief appearance of the night.

The freshman entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth, LSU protecting a 4-2 lead. One pitch later, the inning was over on a fly ball.

From there, Sheerin dominated.

He threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and five strikeouts. Oklahoma never mounted a serious threat against him again.

LSU’s pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts and held Oklahoma to six hits. After Fontenot exited, Guidry and Sheerin combined for 6.1 innings, one unearned run and 11 strikeouts.

That was the story.

Not simply because LSU won, but because it won with the one thing it has lacked most of the season: reliable, composed, layered pitching.

Offensively, LSU created pressure all night but repeatedly left runs on the field. The Tigers stranded 15 runners, loaded the bases multiple times and still waited until the eighth inning to finally create breathing room.

Derek Curiel continued his late-season surge with another strong night, ripping two doubles and driving in a run. His RBI double in the third scored Jake Serna Jr. from first and gave LSU a 1-0 lead.

Serna later helped ignite LSU’s decisive fifth inning, but his night ended after his hand was spiked while sliding home safely.

LSU trailed 2-1 before answering in the fifth. Curiel doubled again, Milam put pressure on Oklahoma with a ball that produced two runs on a throwing error, and LSU turned a one-run deficit into a 4-2 lead.

The game itself was messy: ABS reversals, catcher’s interference, defensive miscues, a balk and repeated missed chances by both teams.

Milam finally gave LSU separation in the eighth. After Cade Arrambide singled, Milam crushed a two-run homer to right field, stretching the lead to 6-2 and effectively ending Oklahoma’s best chance to hang around.

Milam finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs, two walks, a stolen base and a homer. It was an imperfect but highly impactful night from LSU’s shortstop.

Now LSU turns to Auburn, a team it did not face during the regular season. Casan Evans is expected to start for LSU, while Auburn is expected to counter with its ace.

Serna’s status will be one of the biggest questions after the hand injury.

But Tuesday night gave LSU something more important than one win.

It gave the Tigers a pitching formula.

Fontenot absorbed the emergency. Guidry bridged the middle. Sheerin closed the door. Evans remained untouched for Wednesday.

For one night in Hoover, LSU looked less like a talented team fighting its own flaws and more like a dangerous tournament team with its season still alive.