Series Snapshot: Oklahoma visits LSU

By Hunt Palmer

LSU opens its home conference slate Thursday night with Game 1 of the three-game set versus the Oklahoma Sooners.

It’s OU’s first trip to the Alex Box Stadium since the 2013 Super Regional which produced one of the greatest pitchers’ duels in the history of the venue. Aaron Nola out-pitched Jon Gray on that Friday night in a matchup of future top 10 picks in the MLB Draft.

Oklahoma enters the weekend as a top 10 team. Skip Johnson’s Sooners are 17-4 with a 2-1 conference record having won a rubber game with Texas A&M last weekend in Norman.

The most impressive weekend for OU thus far was the opener when they swept through the Big XII at Globe Life Field in Arlington, 10-3 over Texas Tech, 10-1 over Oklahoma State and 12-2 over TCU.

The rest of the non-conference was rather unremarkable other than a midweek split with Arizona State in Norman. Southeastern blanked the Sooners 3-0 on Tuesday in Hammond.

LSU is searching for positives. The Tigers did salvage Sunday at Vanderbilt and won Tuesday night against Grambling State. Thursday night begins a six-game SEC home stand with Oklahoma and Kentucky headed to The Box. It’s a crucial stretch for Jay Johnson’s club.

BOUNCING BACK?

Both of these starting staffs were poor last weekend.

Beginning with Oklahoma, Cam Johnson and LJ Mercurius were fantastic in the pre-conference. They were awful against Texas A&M. What’s closer to reality?

Johnson began his career at LSU. He walked 34 in his first 44.1 college innings between LSU and OU. That kept him from taking on any type of significant role. This season, he earned the Friday night role, and he pitched to it for a month, walking just five in his first 21.1 innings. Last week, he walked four in the first inning and seven total in 2.1 innings.

He’s a big, strong southpaw with a mid 90s fastball and a good fading changeup. He’ll also spin a slider. Does Johnson use his time in Baton Rouge as motivation, or is the emotion a negative reverting back to last week’s erratic stuff?

Mercurius had some of the best numbers in the SEC after four starts against Oklahoma State, Coppin State, Gonzaga and Santa Clara — 23 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 2B, 0 HR 6 BB, 34 K. Texas A&M lit him up last week — 5 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 1 2B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 7 K.

The Aggies hit all three pitches — fastball, changeup and slider– out of the ballpark.

LJ Mercurius (@LjMercurius) has been basically untouchable for @OU_Baseball 🔥

23.1 IP
0.39 ERA
34 K (40 K%)
6 BB (7.1 BB%)
.118 BAA

🔗 https://t.co/1bA4YZog3H pic.twitter.com/vkM4JbU2Kj

— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) March 12, 2026

Mercurius is a strike thrower with good stuff. I wouldn’t call it elite. But he will force you to swing the bat and can induce weak contact.

These two were big time surprises in the first month. They faltered when the SEC lights came on. How they respond this weekend will be a big story.

SPEED TO BURN

This Oklahoma team can fly.

The Sooners already have three players with double-digit steals in Camden Johnson (18-for-19), Trey Gambill (11-for-11) and Brendan Brock (11-for-12), Jason Walk has nine, and the team is 65-for-70 which is the best in the SEC.

That’s obviously a huge story this weekend as LSU has struggled mightily behind the plate at times. Plus, all three starters and both “closers” are right-handed. That’s a big ol’ green light for Oklahoma. Even a two-out single can be a big deal, because that base runner can be in scoring position in a pitch or two.

Cade Arrambide and Omar Serna both have huge arms. That’s not the issue. And teams are only 14-for-19 against LSU this season. Both catcher can struggle with throwing accuracy and footwork. That needs to be dialed in. Cutting down a couple of early base stealers can send a message. By contrast, a couple of early erratic throws could start a track meet.

The other piece is, the Sooners make you field the ball cleanly on the infield. A bobble can be the difference over at first base. LSU’s infield hands have been shaky at times. Jay Johnson has a decision to make over at third where John Pearson has swung the bat better over the last week, but Trent Caraway’s defense has been better.

BASES ON BALLS

Neither of these teams are toward the top of the SEC in batting average or home runs. They haven’t slugged a ton. Where both have excelled is drawing free passes. Oklahoma leads the SEC in walks. LSU is second, and when you add in hit by pitches, the Tigers lead the league in getting aboard for free.

Some of that is inept pre-conference pitching. Some of it is approach. Considering Cam Johnson’s issues with the strike zone, Casan Evans misfiring occasionally and some of the bullpen struggles, free bases will be huge in this series like they were in Nashville.

The wind will be out of the south all weekend as the weather warms, too. That could mean walks turning into crooked numbers with a big fly. OU’s Brendan Brock leads their team with six including two against the Aggies last week.