Schmidt tosses, Brown blasts LSU to 2-0 win over Dartmouth
Published 8:48 pm Sunday, March 1, 2026
Sunday’s Game
LSU 3, Dartmouth 0
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By Scooter Hobbs
American Press
LSU continues to pitch around anemic hitting.
The Tigers’ own hitting, that is.
Rightfielder Jake Brown hit a solo home run in the first inning and added an RBI-double in the Tigers’ final at-bat.
It was Brown’s team-high fifth home run and the eighth-inning double drove in his team-leading 20th run. His .415 average also leads the Tigers.
But the Tigers’ only other run came when the Dartmouth outfield lost two balls in the sun in the fourth inning, the second allowing Steven Milam to score an unearned run.
So LSU, which won the first two games of the weekend despite only five hits in each, set another season-low Sunday with four hits but still beat Dartmouth 3-0.
Take a bow, William Schmidt.
The sophomore righthander strengthened his hold on the No. 3 starting role in what may or may not have been his best mound performance yet.
“It wasn’t my sharpest outing of so far,” said Schmidt (3-0).
Brown, from his vantage point in right field, disagreed.
“I feel like that’s the best I’ve seen him throw,” Brown said.
“I don’t think there’s a team in the country with a better pitching on Sunday than we have,” he added.
Schmidt clarified his stance.
“As a starter, of course it was (his best),” he said. “It was a good outing, but people on this team are looking to get better.”
“I don’t think any other team in the country can run out that kind of pitcher on a Sunday,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said.
LSU needed it on this Sunday.
Schmidt was perfect for the first four innings and eventually pitched into the eighth while allowing just four hits and striking out nine without walking any. Walks often plagued Schmidt last year.
His season ERA fell to 1.65 after Sunday’s game with only four walks all season compared to 25 strike outs.
“I kind of saw the things that I needed to see last year to know that’s where he was headed,” Johnson said, recalling the struggles Schmidt often had as a highly touted freshman who passed up big money by taking the college route.
“I think the fall was really positive for him, the elite command like today. I mean, nine strikeouts, no walks … He absolutely suffocated the (strike) zone … That many pitches for strikes with that kind of stuff, it’s it’s strike pressure, it’s pitch pressure. And what I mean by that is none of them read it.”
LSU (11-1) needed a near-perfect performance.
The Tigers didn’t have much more success against Dartmouth starter Eddie Albert, who allowed just three hits and two runs (one earned) in seven innings while striking out eight.
LSU will be back in action Monday night against Northeastern, which held the Tigers to just five hits Saturday in LSU’s 3-1 victory.
Johnson said he thought he had idea what LSU’s sudden hitting woes stem from, but didn’t care to elaborate.
“They’re going to be all right,” he said. “There’s a common thread between the last couple games, offensively. I’m not going to get into it because I want to attack it with the team and not through you (media).”
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Monday’s Game
Northeastern at LSU
6:30 p.m. / SECN+ (streaming)
