How It Happened: Tennessee Volunteers Even Series With Game 2 Win Over LSU Baseball

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee reliever Cam Appenzeller pitched 5.0 scoreless innings Saturday night, leading Tennessee to a 4-1 win over LSU at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Tennessee improved to 20-11 overall, 4-7 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 21-11 overall and 5-6 in conference play.

The teams conclude the series at 12 p.m. CT Sunday in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.

Appenzeller (4-0) blanked the Tigers through 5.0 innings, allowing just one hit with no walks and six strikeouts.

LSU starting pitcher William Schmidt (4-2) was charged with the loss despite an effective outing, as he limited Tennessee to two earned runs on three hits in 5.2 innings with three walks and seven strikeouts.

LSU relievers Cooper Williams and Marcos Paz combined to shut out Tennessee over the final 2.1 innings, allowing no hits will recording three strikeouts.

“Appenzeller did a nice job on the mound,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson, “and I was very pleased with our pitchers tonight. I thought William competed very well; great outing for Cooper tonight and Marcos is on his way to being one of the best pitchers in our program. Our pitchers did their job, we just need a little bit more from our team offensively and defensively tomorrow.”

Tennessee scored a pair of runs against Schmidt in the bottom of the first inning, as the Vols capitalized on an LSU error to take a 2-0 lead.

LSU narrowed the margin to 2-1 in the second when leftfielder Chris Stanfield lined a run-scoring single against Tennessee starting pitcher Tegan Kuhns.

Tennessee extended its lead to 3-1 in the third when second baseman Blake Grimmer launched a solo shot, his fifth homer of the year.

Centerfielder Jay Abernathy’s RBI double in the fourth gave the Vols a 4-1 advantage.

The Buzz: Jake Brown's Hot Start

Brown, a product of Sulphur, La., is hitting a team-high .356 this season with seven doubles, 11 homers, 39 RBI, 36 runs and eight steals in nine attempts.

He tied the LSU single-game record with three homers on March 6 vs. Sacramento State, as he was 4-for-5 at the plate with three homers, a single, six RBI and four runs.

Brown led the Tigers to a March 15 win at Vanderbilt by delivering a three-run homer and a career-best six RBI.

He was named on February 17 to the Baseball America Team of the Week for his performance in the Tigers’ first four games of the 2026 season. Brown hit .529 (9-for-17) in LSU’s first four games versus Milwaukee and Kent State with two doubles, four homers, 10 RBI and seven runs.

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