LSU needs comeback, but gets season-opening, mercy-rule win
Published 10:48 am Saturday, February 14, 2026
By Scooter Hobbs
American Press
LSU’s Jay Johnson seemed more concerned with how his Tigers fell behind by three runs in their season opener than he was impressed with the comeback that turned it into a mercy-rule season opening victory over Milwaukee.
It all worked out as the Tigers scored six runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth to invoke the 10-run rule and end the game early in a 15-5 victory.
It didn’t look so good when the TIgers trailed 5-2 heading into bottom of the seventh.
And Johnson wasn’t in a mood to gush about it.
“I don’t want to discredit coming back because I do think it builds confidence,” Johnson said. “But I don’t want to sit here and say we have that part figured out.
“I thought some good, very talented players did what they’re supposed to, what they’re trained to do. Because the talent was in our favor, we won the game.”
Two LSU transfers hit home runs in their first at-bats as Tigers and sophomore catcher Cade Arrambide finally put the Tigers ahead with a 3-run home run in the 6-run seventh inning.
Former Barbe righthander Gavin Guidry (1-0) got the win in relief with a dominant performance in his first outing since 2024. He sat out all of last year with a nagging back ailment, but Friday he came in for the final two innings and allowed just one hit while striking out five of the seven batters he faced.
Sulphur’s Jake Brown tied the game in the bottom of the seventh when his second double of the game drove in Steven Milam and the Tigers took an 8-5 lead later in the inning on Cade Arrambide’s three-run homer.
LSU finished with 15 hits, but until then, runs were hard to come by.
Chunky first baseman Zach Yorke, a transfer from Grand Canyon College, gave LSU an early 1-0 lead with a line-shot home run to lead off the second inning. The Tigers took 2-0 lead the following inning on Milam’s RBI ground out.
But the Tigers didn’t score again until the sixth on transfer Seth Dardar’s 2-run homer. Dardar, a Mandevillle native who transferred from Kansas State, was pinch-hitting in his first LSU at-bat.
LSU pitching struck out 17 and had only one rough inning. But it was enough to force the Tigers into catch-up mode for most of the game.
Starter Casan Evans got six of his seven strike outs in the first three innings, but in the fourth the first five Milwaukee batters reached base and four of them eventually scored to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead.
They upped it to 5-2 in the fifth on Charlie Marion’s solo home run against reliever Cooper Williams, the only hit he allowed in 2 2/3 innings.
The two teams will be back at it Saturday at 1 p.m.
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