LSU’s Bullpen Was A Bright Spot In 7-2 Loss To Texas A&M On Saturday

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

In a season running out of bright spots fast, LSU had a few in the late innings Saturday of its 7-2 loss to No. 7 Texas A&M at Alex Box Stadium.

LSU should’ve left the start time at 7 tonight, so it could’ve got rained out.https://t.co/sfIHe1GWDR

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 19, 2026

The Tigers’ bullpen pitched well, particularly true freshman Marcos Paz, the No. 22 right-hander in the nation out of high school in the class of 2026 by Perfect Game.

Paz (6-foot-2, 228 pounds) of Hebron High in Carrollton, Texas, threw two innings of one-hit, shutout ball with one walk and three strikeouts to close the game. He lowered his earned run average from 7.90 to 6.89 on the season Saturday and is 0-2 on the season with 24 strikeouts and 13 walks in 15 and two-thirds innings over 13 appearances. Paz is coming off (Tommy John) elbow surgery and had not pitched for 18 months coming into this season.

“Yeah, I think he’s going to be one of the best, if not the best pitcher in the program at some point,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said after his Tigers lost their second straight game to the Aggies.

Jay Johnson admits blowing it in the portal for this season. “It’s deep rooted. We’re off, and it will never happen again. I made some mistakes in constructing the team.”https://t.co/k9AVIjowOD

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) April 18, 2026

“He’s really accelerated his development here (post surgery). A couple of keys with that that I love to see – he went through their best hitters in that stretch,” Johnson said. “He got a second clean inning, which was a big step, because he hadn’t done that really this season. He’s had a couple things not go his way from a defensive perspective. He did a great job there.”

Paz struck out A&M’s leading hitter in Caden Sorrell (.368, 17 home runs, 57 RBIs), who batted No. 2 in the order, and the No. 5 hitter in the order, Nico Partida (.351, 11 home runs, 37 RBIs).

“Probably the highlight was going through the top of the order and getting us off the field there,” Johnson said. “His role is going to continue to expand obviously as we move toward the end of this season and the next two years here.”

LSU’s other relievers – Connor Benge, Cooper Williams, Zion Theophilus and Danny Lachenmayer allowed no runs on two hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

The Tigers (23-17, 6-11 SEC) and Aggies (30-7, 11-5 SEC) close the series at 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.