Paz joins freshmen in promising late-season surge

May 2, 2026: LSU pitcher Marcos Paz (97) delivers a pitch in game #2 during NCAA Baseball action between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers at the Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA. Michael Bacigalupi

By Hunt Palmer

LSU needed innings on Saturday.

Hours after William Schmidt tallied a conference career high, Marcos Paz did the same. The two right-handers were the pitching jewels of their respective signing classes, and they torched the South Carolina lineup in Saturday’s doubleheader sweep.

Schmidt fired six innings of one run baseball. Paz started the nightcap and produced five one-run innings with eight strikeouts. Asked what he liked most about Paz’s outing, head coach Jay Johnson couldn’t pinpoint one thing.

“Everything,” Johnson said. “He’s a stud. It’s just trying to bring him along the right way. And I’ve said this a few times, he hadn’t pitched in a real game, forget a college game, in like 18 months. We’re still rebooting him, you know, in the fall and even early in the season. And then there’s an adjustment to this. It’s not high school baseball in Texas. It’s just not. It’s all there, and I think the last two weeks you can clearly see that and we’re not going to give it back.”

Yeah, That Was Nasty @Marcos_Paz5 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/DQOIV0GLPf

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 3, 2026

Part of that reboot was 10 consecutive one-inning outings for Paz as he continued the post-Tommy John road. The last three times he’s taken the ball, the innings and pitch count have increased.

Saturday, Paz completed five innings to set a career high. He struck out eight, another career high, and only allowed one run on a solo homer in the first.

“I just think the tempo tonight was outstanding,” Johnson said. “It was like, get the ball go. Delivery in sync. Miss a spot, right back in the zone on the next pitch. I was proud of how he handled, like, he got behind a couple guys, and then got right back in the count. And he’s a strike thrower. That’s one of his elite qualities.”

Johnson has been outspoken about his usage of freshmen down the stretch in this season. First, he believes they give LSU the best chance to win this year. Second, they are gaining vital experience for the future of the program.

Paz figures significantly into that equation.

“The stuff is terrific,” Johnson said. “It was tonight. Three pitches for strikes, and we’re just scratching the surface.”