LSU shuts out UCF 11-0 at VyStar Ballpark to win Jacksonville’s Live Like Lou Classic

LSU completes three-game sweep in Jacksonville with seven-inning shutout

LSU closed the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic in Jacksonville on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, with an 11-0 victory over UCF at VyStar Ballpark, ending the game after seven innings under the 10-run rule. The result finished a 3-0 weekend for LSU in the round-robin event and secured the tournament title.

LSU improved to 8-0 overall. UCF left the weekend with an early-season record that had included wins earlier in the event, but was held scoreless in the finale as LSU’s pitching and defense limited the Knights to three hits.

Schmidt sets the tone, bullpen completes the shutout

Right-hander William Schmidt earned the win for LSU, working five scoreless innings. He struck out seven, walked one, and allowed three hits. After Schmidt exited, LSU’s relief work preserved the shutout over the final two innings.

The shutout capped a weekend in which LSU’s staff paired swing-and-miss stuff with damage control. In the tournament’s earlier game against Notre Dame, LSU’s pitchers combined for a high strikeout total while limiting free passes, a pattern that carried into Sunday’s finale.

Key swings break the game open

LSU’s offense produced 11 runs on 10 hits and steadily widened separation as the game progressed. After building an early lead, LSU delivered its largest surge late, adding a multi-run inning in the seventh to push the margin to 10 runs and trigger the run-rule finish.

• Cade Arrambide hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
• Derek Curiel drove in runs during LSU’s late-inning push, including a two-run double in the seventh.
• Jake Brown delivered run-producing hits that helped LSU turn a modest lead into a decisive one, including a two-run single in the seventh.

For UCF, the finale contrasted sharply with earlier weekend results. The Knights opened tournament play with a 4-2 extra-inning win over Notre Dame, showing late-game resilience, but could not replicate that pressure against LSU’s pitching depth.

What the tournament’s structure and setting added

The Live Like Lou Jax Classic is staged in partnership with the Live Like Lou Foundation and is designed as a showcase event while also supporting ALS-related awareness and fundraising. The 2026 field featured LSU, UCF, Notre Dame, and Indiana in a three-day, round-robin format at the home of Jacksonville’s minor league club.

The weekend schedule placed each team in one game per day, creating quick turnarounds that can test pitching plans early in the season.

LSU exits Jacksonville with a sweep and returns to Baton Rouge for a midweek home game against McNeese on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.