TIGERS WIN! No. 7 LSU Takes the Series Against No. 6 Tennessee in Statement Weekend Victory

BATON ROUGE, La. — April 30, 2025 — The crowd roared, the dugout emptied, and the “Geaux Tigers!” chants echoed from Alex Box Stadium all the way down Nicholson Drive. With a dominant performance over the weekend, the No. 7 LSU Tigers secured a crucial SEC series victory over No. 6 Tennessee, sending a clear message to the rest of college baseball: LSU is peaking at the right time.

After an early-season stretch filled with inconsistency and injuries, Jay Johnson’s squad found its identity when it mattered most. Powered by electric pitching, timely hitting, and a home-field advantage that felt more like a postseason cauldron, the Tigers won two of three games against a Volunteer team that had been among the hottest in the nation.

Friday’s opener set the tone for the weekend. In a game that featured three lead changes and eight home runs, LSU outlasted Tennessee 9-7 behind big nights from junior slugger Jared Jones and freshman sensation Bryce Underwood.

Jones crushed a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning after Tennessee had taken a brief 6-5 lead. The blast sent the LSU faithful into a frenzy and gave the bullpen enough cushion to close it out.

“Every win counts in the SEC, but beating Tennessee at home like this? That’s big,” Jones said after the game. “We’ve been building to this moment.”

The Tigers’ bullpen, a sore spot earlier in the year, showed resolve. Nate Ackenhausen and Griffin Herring combined for 2.2 scoreless innings, sealing the victory with back-to-back strikeouts in the ninth.

Saturday was Tennessee’s turn. The Volunteers displayed why they came into Baton Rouge with one of the nation’s best records and most dangerous lineups. Ace pitcher Drew Beam was in full control, allowing just two earned runs over seven innings while striking out nine.

On offense, Christian Moore homered twice and drove in four runs as Tennessee took Game 2 with a decisive 8-3 win.

“It’s hard to sweep anyone in this league,” Jay Johnson said afterward. “They responded like a top team, and we didn’t match their intensity. But I loved how our guys came out of that game — they were already hungry to finish strong on Sunday.”

Sunday’s rubber match was more than just a regular-season game. With national seeding implications and momentum on the line, LSU played like a team with Omaha dreams in mind.

Sophomore lefty Gage Jump delivered his best outing of the year, striking out 10 batters over six scoreless innings while allowing only three hits. His fastball had late life, his changeup baffled Tennessee hitters, and his mound presence was calm and commanding.

“I’ve been working all year for a start like this,” Jump said. “Everything clicked today. I knew if I gave our offense a chance, they’d do their thing.”

They did. LSU’s bats came alive early, jumping on Tennessee starter AJ Russell for four runs in the first two innings. Gavin Guidry opened the scoring with an RBI double off the wall in left-center, and two batters later, Paxton Kling launched a two-run homer into the left field bleachers.

The Tigers added insurance runs in the sixth and eighth, eventually winning 6-2 and clinching the series in front of a sold-out Sunday crowd.

Jay Johnson, now in his fourth season at LSU, has faced immense pressure since taking over the program in 2021. After leading the Tigers to a national championship in 2023, expectations soared. But this year’s team entered the series against Tennessee with something to prove.

“This weekend, we played LSU baseball,” Johnson said in the postgame press conference. “Pitching. Defense. Tough at-bats. We weren’t perfect, but we were relentless.”

He also pointed out the growth of his younger players — Underwood, Kling, and shortstop Michael Braswell — all of whom made key contributions throughout the series. “These guys aren’t just the future,” Johnson said. “They’re the present.”

Perhaps the biggest story of the series was the play of Bryce Underwood. The true freshman, who spurned a professional contract to play in Baton Rouge, looked like a seasoned veteran. Over the three-game set, he went 6-for-11 with two doubles, a home run, and five RBIs.

Scouts are already buzzing about his combination of plate discipline, raw power, and poise in high-pressure moments.

“You don’t see many 18-year-olds control at-bats the way Bryce does,” said SEC Network analyst Ben McDonald, himself a former LSU star. “This kid’s going to be a superstar.”

Despite the series loss, Tennessee’s season is far from derailed. The Vols remain firmly in the mix for a top-eight national seed and will be dangerous come tournament time. Head coach Tony Vitello praised LSU’s execution but remained upbeat about his team.

“We didn’t play our cleanest baseball today, but credit to LSU — they earned it,” Vitello said. “We’ll learn from this. This group’s resilient.”

Moore and Blake Burke continued to rake for the Volunteers, and Beam’s performance on Saturday was a reminder of the team’s elite starting pitching depth.

This series win does more than bump LSU up the rankings. It reshapes the national perception of the Tigers — from an underachieving squad struggling for consistency to a team that may have rediscovered its championship pedigree.

Beating a top-10 opponent like Tennessee positions LSU well for SEC Tournament seeding and boosts its chances of hosting a regional — possibly even a super regional — depending on how the final weeks of the season unfold.

More importantly, the Tigers are gelling. The bullpen is stabilizing. The lineup is deep. And Jay Johnson seems to have struck the right tone in the clubhouse.

“I feel like we’re finally playing for each other,” said Braswell. “We’re trusting our training, trusting our coaches, and believing in the guy next to us.”

Much of that energy came from the crowd. Alex Box Stadium was a fortress all weekend. Attendance topped 11,000 each day, and the Sunday decider had an almost postseason vibe.

“I’ve played in some crazy environments,” Jump said, “but this one today? Unbelievable. It felt like Omaha.”

Fans brought signs, face paint, and endless chants. LSU’s famous “neck” chant made an appearance more than once, and every home run was followed by waves of purple-and-gold delirium.

“There’s just nothing like baseball at the Box,” Jay Johnson said. “It’s a weapon. It really is.”

With just three SEC series left in the regular season, LSU’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Tigers face road matchups at Arkansas and Texas A&M and host Florida in what could be a top-10 showdown to end the season.

Tennessee, meanwhile, returns to Knoxville for matchups against Vanderbilt and South Carolina before finishing at Georgia. The race for SEC supremacy — and top national seeds — remains wide open.

But if this weekend proved anything, it’s that LSU isn’t just in the race. The Tigers are sprinting.

This was more than a series win. It was a statement.

For LSU fans, it was a reminder of why they show up early and stay late. For Jay Johnson, it was confirmation that his team is coming together at the right time. And for the rest of college baseball, it was a warning.

The Tigers are back — and they’re hungry.