April 14, 2026: during NCAA Baseball action between the Northwestern State Demons and the LSU Tigers at the Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Michael Bacigalupi
By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
It’s never easy for these Tigers.
Tuesday night’s, 4-2, dispatching of Northwestern State certainly wasn’t. LSU’s pitching finally showed up for a midweek game, but the bats, defense and baserunning all had significant issues that left the Demons hanging around for all nine innings.
Jake Brown’s three-run shot in the fifth was the difference. It turned a 2-1 Northwestern State lead into the final score of 4-2. It also bailed Brayden Simpson out for a brutal baserunning decision in the previous at bat.
The Tigers had runners at second and third with one out while trailing by a run. Cade Arrambide’s one-hopper to shortstop either called for Simpson to break home to try to score or freeze and head back to the base. Instead, he drifted aimlessly down the baseline and was tagged out easily at the plate.
Brown’s blast made it moot.
The Tigers failed to add insurance in the sixth with the bases loaded for Derek Curiel. He flied to center.
LSU pitching buckled a bit in the eighth, and the defense followed suit to create real problems. Zion Theophilus walked the leadoff man. Santiago Garcia got a strikeout but followed that with a wild pitch. Pearson’s throwing error, another wild pitch and a walk loaded the bases with one out in a 4-2 game.
Jay Johnson called on flamethrower Deven Sheerin who blew cleanup hitter Ethan Menard away with a fastball and got the third out via foul popup that Pearson basket caught at his belt. Hey, this team isn’t playing for style points. The out’s the out.
Sheerin made things a little easier in the ninth when he struck out the side in order.
Johnson went to his best arm early. Zac Cowan started the game and answered the bell for the most part. He allowed a solo homer in the second to slap hitter Mason Wray, but that was it over two innings.
Simpson matched Wray’s first homer of the season with his own to knot the score at one in the third.
Northwestern State regained the lead in the fifth with some help from an errant Tiger pickoff throw, a catcher’s interference, a sac bunt and a ground ball to shortstop to score the run.
Sometimes the bats dig you out of a 6-1 hole against Southern. Sometimes the pitching has to strike out 16 Northwestern hitters to win the game. At this point, LSU will sure take any win it can. This one snaps a four-game skid.
THE SCORECARD
LSU used nine pitchers: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 16 K, 0 HBP
Derek Curiel: 2-for-4, R
Jake Brown: 1-for-4, 3R HR
With Runners On: LSU 3-for-17 (.176); NSU 0-for-11 (.000)
With RISP: LSU 2-for-10 (.200); NSU 0-for-7 (.000)
LSU has at least one baserunner in every inning.
LSU made three errors.
Deven Sheerin: 1.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K.
Grant Fontenot: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K.
WHAT’S NEXT
Texas A&M is next up for the Tigers. Those two renew their rivalry with a three-game series in Baton Rouge. It begins Friday at 6:00. The Aggies won a pair of games from Texas over the weekend and are ranked in the top 10.
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