By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Zac Cowan pitched so well in relief in LSU’s 7-0 win over Kentucky on Saturday that it’s hard not to think that maybe coach Jay Johnson should have saved him for the start Sunday. Particularly since Cowan entered the game with a comfortable 5-0 lead.
The Tigers (18-10, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) go for their first SEC series win of the season on Sunday against the No. 19 Wildcats (21-5, 5-3 SEC) at noon on SEC Network+.
“We really need to come out and play as well as we can tomorrow.”
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) March 28, 2026
-Jay Johnson, who is a win away from first SEC series win. https://t.co/ld9yzb7YLY
And Johnson is missing his third starter – Cooper Moore, who injured his forearm last weekend and is out for three or four starts. Johnson moved regular No. 3 starter William Schmidt to the No. 2 spot on Saturday in Moore’s place. Schmidt shut out Kentucky over five and a third innings on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks for the win to go to 4-1.
Cowan then struck out seven of the 13 batters he faced over three and two-thirds innings and one-hit the Wildcats with one walk for his first save of the season. And he was coming off two impressive appearances before that. Cowan gave up no runs on one hit with five strikeouts and no walks over three and a third innings of relief at Vanderbilt on March 13. And he allowed no runs, hits or walks with a strikeout in an inning and a third of relief against Oklahoma last week.
He didn’t have a good outing in his last start on Feb. 18 against Nicholls State as he allowed one run on four hits, including a home run, with a walk in an inning and a third.
But Cowan’s start before that was memorable in a good way. You might remember it.
He allowed one run on four hits with six strikeouts over five and a third innings in a no-decision against Arkansas at the College World Series on June 18. The 6-5 LSU win put the Tigers in the national championship series that they won over Coastal Carolina. And Cowan was a first team All-SEC player last year and a pre-season All-American this year.
“Yeah, that was possible,” Johnson said of considering Cowan to start Sunday. “Very possible, but there’s a point that I like to where he can really expose a team. And we were at that point today. And we needed to win today’s game. Just call it what it is. And I thought that he could do what he did today, and not that he couldn’t have tomorrow. But I think we have a good set-up for tomorrow.”
Because Cowan’s relief appearance left no need to use another pitcher.
“It changes our team,” Johnson said. “That really helps us. It changes the complexion of tomorrow’s game.”
Johnson wasn’t sure what pitcher would start as of Saturday night, but he pointed to three possibilities for the third starter Sunday last week – junior right-hander Gavin Guidry (3-3, 4.26 ERA, 1 save), senior right-hander Grant Fontenot (0-0, 2.45 ERA, 1 save) and junior left-hander Santiago Garcia (0-0, 4.82 ERA, 2 saves). None of those three have pitched yet this weekend.
Of the three, only Guidry has started a game this season. He went two and a third at Louisiana-Lafayette on March 4 and took the loss as he allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in two and a third innings.
Kentucky will start junior left-hander Ben Cleaver (1-1, 2.45 ERA).
If LSU can come up with a couple of Cowan-like performances, the Tigers may have their first SEC series win of the season.
“I’m really proud of him,” Johnson said. “The first few weeks of the season were not as good as he was last year. He was exceptional last year. The reason we have a national championship is because Zac Cowan is one of the top five reasons that actually happened. And three weeks in a row, he’s come in and pitched well. I think he pitched better today than he has at any point here. And that’s saying a lot after last year.”
Johnson singled out Cowan after the game as he huddled with his team.
“I told them, ‘If you’re a young player struggling to get to the other side of it, just look at him,'” Johnson said. “It’s not a surprise.”
LSU finds itself at the halfway point of the season with an offense that at the moment needs excellent pitching to get to .500 and over it in the SEC.
“The zeroes across the scoreboard were really good,” Johnson said. “We’re working offensively to find ourselves exactly at the 50 percent mark of this thing. It takes a lot of pressure off when guys pitch like that. Schmidt is moving to be one of the best pitchers in the country. He is. And Zac is one of the best relievers in the country.”
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