Tigers explode late to run rule Milwaukee in opener

February 13, 2026: during NCAA Baseball action between the Milwaukee Panthers and the LSU Tigers at the Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Michael Bacigalupi

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

Milwaukee provided a bit of a gut check for LSU on Opening Day.

Stellar Tiger relief work and the longball spearheaded a comeback that provided the 15-5 margin to start LSU’s season with a win for the 25th consecutive year.

Milwaukee led 5-2 in the fifth after Panther four-hole hitter Charlie Marion took Cooper Willaim deep to right field. To that point, LSU had not retired Milwaukee in order, and the Alex Box faithful were stunned in their seats.

Williams was able to sit the visitors from Wisconsin down in order in the sixth, and that was the point where the game flipped. Williams and junior Gavin Guidry combined to retire 10 of the last 12 Milwaukee hitters to hang three straight zeros.

The offense finally broke through.

Seth Dardar launched a towering two-run blast in the sixth to trim the deficit to one. Then the dam broke on the Panthers in the six-run seventh.

Steven Milam led off with a double down the line in left. Jake Brown’s double off left-hander Tyler Andrews tied the game. Remember, Brown didn’t face lefties much a season ago.

Zach Yorke was hit by a pitch, and Cade Arrambide followed with a blast into the left field seats to give LSU a three-run lead the Tigers never relinquished.

Arrambide reached base four times in five plate appearances including a single, double and the homer. After leading LSU in hitting during the fall, it was a monster debut for the sophomore catcher.

A Milwaukee throwing error added the final two runs of the frame, and LSU tacked on five more in the eighth off the end of the Milwaukee staff.

The sour spot of a positive day was the outing of starter Casan Evans who was tagged for four runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batsman in just 3.1 innings. Evans missed bats to the tune of seven punchouts, but he wasn’t sharp. Credit to Milwaukee. They took pitches and really did a great job of hitting the ball the other way.

After Evans hit the leadoff man in the fourth, the Panthers tagged him for four straight hits including three to the opposite field. Williams had to put out the fire.

Ultimately, this one will just go down as a ho-hum run-rule victory, but it really wasn’t. Next week will be a big outing for Evans. The Tiger offense really stepped up with some big late swings.