LSU To Try To Avoid 1st 3-Game Skid To Non-Power Conference Teams Since 2007 Tonight

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

As LSU’s players were packing up in the dugout to leave after losing, 7-2, at Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday night, an enthused Cajun fan savored the moment a few feet away just outside the fence at Tigue Moore Field.

“Man, y’all look like you just got beat, 7-2, by the Cajuns,” he said. “What’s wrong? You guys played like Brian Kelly’s your coach.”

LSU Drops 2nd Straight In Sloppy Fashion At Louisiana-Lafayette, 7-2

The Tigers had just committed three errors and let go of three wild pitches while registering only seven hits and leaving seven runners stranded. It was their second straight loss. LSU committed four errors and left 10 on base in a 13-10 loss to Northeastern the previous Monday after trailing 10-0 in the third.

“I mean, it’s college baseball, you’re going to get punched in the face,” LSU pitcher Gavin Guidry, who took the loss Wednesday, told reporters as the fan lingered. “It just kind of feels like it’s happened a lot in the past couple days. So, people are hitting the panic button.”

The No. 2-ranked and 11-3 Tigers, who are No. 74 in the Ratings Percentage Index, can ease the panic against No. 261 RPI Sacramento State (3-9) on Friday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+) at Alex Box Stadium. The two teams play at 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

LSU isn’t hitting and it’s making errors, but Jay Johnson at the moment at least feels good about one part of his team:https://t.co/QoXRPb0uhn

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 5, 2026

LSU has not lost three straight games to non-power conference teams in three consecutive games since 2007 when the Tigers fell to Central Florida, 5-4, Tulane, 8-3, and Lipscomb, 7-6, from Feb. 25 through March 2. They lost a fourth straight that year to Lipscomb, 10-7, on March 3 on their way to a 29-26-1 final record (12-17-1, Southeastern Conference) in coach Paul Mainieri’s first season.

The Tigers last loss three straight non-conference games overall at Texas, 8-1, 8-4 and 7-6 in 2019.

LSU coach Jay Johnson is not on the hot seat. He did just win his second national championship in three years last season, but many fans are on the ledge. And he has been more involved with the offense, considering that the Tigers are hitting .209 over their last six games.

“We just need to get better and be better,” Guidry said. “Things are just not going our way. It’s really just getting back to work. There’s nothing else you can do That’s all we know is working. That’s all we know.”

“I’m really going to go hands on with the hitting more than ever in my time at LSU. That’s my baby.”
-LSU coach Jay Johnson, and the baby is in a slump:https://t.co/Bflii91K9m

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 5, 2026

Johnson can also change the lineup, and he planned a more purposeful practice than usual on Thursday.

“We’ve got some work to do to still get it lined up right,” he said Wednesday night after the Cajun fan finally exited. “But it’s not just getting it lined up right. It’s if whoever we put in there is playing as well as they can, and the construction of it will work a lot better. That’s why I’m excited to go back to practice – to put the players in position to execute better.”

First things first.

“I mean, we want to score more runs,” he said. “Like, I mean, that’s – we want to score more runs. I’m going to try to keep it simple.”

LSU is averaging just 4.8 runs over its last six games after averaging 12 through its first eight.

“And then we have to stay out of the big inning (on defense),” he said. “That’s the biggest predictor in wins and losses. That’s usually created by free bases (from errors, walks, wild pitches, passed balls). We’re not getting enough of those on offense right now. We need to look at our hallmark – our plate discipline and our approach – to create those. And you suppress big innings by not giving them them.”

Johnson had several meetings with players in separate groups on Thursday.

“It’s a guy-by-guy deal,” he said. “We’re working mindset. They know what I feel about about what needs to be there from a mindset standpoint. That will be fine. We need to hit mistakes better. We need to create more free bases. We need to sustain more consecutive quality at-bats.”

And maybe they’ll see the No. 14 RPi Cajuns (10-3) again in the postseason, preferably at Alex Box.

LSU OUTFIELDER CHRIS STANFIELD MAY RETURN

INJURY UPDATE: Starting left fielder Chris Stanfield has a chance to play tonight and/or this weekend after missing the last 12 games with a bruised hand.

“He’s not starting tonight,” Johnson said Friday. “We’ll evaluate at game time to see capacity he can play in.”