Textbook baseball created a lot of momentum for LSU baseball to top Milwaukee in Game 3 of the opening series in a lopsided 21-7 score achieved over seven innings.
After an early deficit in the first inning, a second inning two-out rally that featured a couple hit-by-pitches, a Bradyn Simpson single and a Trent Caraway sacrifice bunt brought the Tigers ahead. This energy was matched in the third through sixth innings, with each inning widening the score gap.
Senior first baseman Zach Yorke said during a preseason press conference that head coach Jay Johnson loves station-to-station ball, and that’s why they’re going to be so dominant in 2026.
“[Johnson] runs kind of a West Coast style of coaching, a lot of small ball, really good pitching,” Yorke said. “He says all the time, we need to be a team that can win in any type of game, any type of stadium, so it doesn’t really matter where we play. We’re going to play our brand of ball.”
That’s exactly what his team did on Sunday.
It wasn’t the multi-run moonshot home runs like it was on Friday, and it wasn’t a scrappy, stay-alive game like Saturday. Sunday was a bunch of small things coming together for the Tigers that led to the lopsided score.
Walks were drawn, bunts were executed and base hits were timely. There were a few strikeouts, and with so many contact outs, the Tigers made the Panthers make mistakes. LSU took advantage of it big time in the multiple-inning rallies.
Milwaukee committed three errors in the seven-inning ballgame.
Hitting is a game of momentum, so once the LSU offense was given an inch, it took a mile.
Caraway, Derek Curiel, Seth Dardar and Jake Brown contributed with multiple RBI. Caraway put up five. Curiel batted in three, and Dardar matched. Brown led the team with six. Almost every starter in the lineup had an RBI of their own.
Brown led the offense with two home runs, one of which was a grand slam to push the game completely out of reach. He said postgame that his work ethic helped him get there. He worked hard all offseason and is excited to reap the benefits.
“A lot of work in the weight room: getting bigger, faster, stronger,” Brown said. “Our strength coach, Chris Martin, he’s the best in the world, and he’s really helped not just myself, but a lot of guys take big steps forward.”
Since the Tigers were up significantly in the fifth inning, Johnson utilized the opportunity to showcase the depth in the infield.
In the fifth inning, an influx of pinch runners was put in as the starters got on base, and in the top of the sixth, there was a whole new defense on the field. The only starter that remained in the lineup was Caraway, and he played three positions during the seven-inning contest.
He started at second, played third when Dardar came in and then played shortstop in the sixth. He was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the sixth and stayed out of the game in the seventh.
“We have a lot of versatility with this team, a lot of keyhole matchups,” Johnson said postgame. “I think today was a good indication of what and how we can do what we want to do with the personnel that we have.“
William Schmidt started on the mound for the Bayou Bengals, and he kept the game close after he gave up a solo shot in the first inning to the Panthers. He pitched four innings for the Tigers and struck out nine batters. He also walked three and hit one batter.
The one spot LSU struggled with again on Sunday was relief pitching. In just three innings, three relievers were used. Santiago Garcia, Deven Sheerin and Marcos Paz toed the rubber in relief for the Tigers.
The bats got it done today, but when the purple and gold face the tough pitching in the SEC, the bullpen will be expected to clutch up.
LSU will try to continue its opening weekend win streak as it takes on Kent State Monday, Feb. 16. First pitch will be at 6 p.m. in Alex Box Stadium.
