HOOVER, Ala. (Interstat) — LSU’s Deven Sheerin and Gavin Guidry combined for six hitless innings of relief as the Tigers defeated Oklahoma 6-2 on Tuesday in the Southeastern Conference tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Sheerin entered with two outs in the sixth inning and struck out six over 3 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and no earned runs. Guidry worked the previous 3 1/3 innings, also striking out six without yielding a hit. The pair silenced a Sooners lineup that had pulled within 3-2 in the fourth inning.

LSU took a 3-0 lead in the first when the Tigers loaded the bases on a walk, a hit batter and another walk before a run scored on a wild pitch. Oklahoma chipped away in the third, scoring once on a single by John C. and cutting the margin to 3-1. The Sooners added an unearned run in the fourth after a fielding error by LSU shortstop Steven Milam and a wild pitch that led to a run.

The Tigers answered in the fifth. Derek Curiel doubled down the left-field line to drive in a run, and Milam reached on a fielder’s choice that brought home two more, giving LSU a 6-2 lead. Milam later homered to right field in the eighth for his second RBI of the game, capping a 1-for-3 day that also included a walk and a hit by pitch.

Curiel finished 3-for-6 with an RBI and two doubles. LSU collected 11 hits, while Oklahoma managed six.

LSU improved to 30-27 overall; Oklahoma dropped to 32-21. The Tigers entered the tournament having lost four straight SEC series and seven of their last nine games, including a 15-11 defeat to Florida on May 16. The Sooners had won two of three against Tennessee in their previous series but lost two of three at Arkansas the weekend before.

The turning point came in the fifth inning after Oklahoma had pulled within one run. LSU loaded the bases on a hit batter and a single, then Curiel’s double pushed the lead to two. Milam’s fielder’s choice with the bases still loaded scored two more, and the Tigers never looked back. Milam’s eighth-inning home run added insurance.

LSU’s pitching staff combined to strike out 14 batters. Sheerin and Guidry dominated after replacing starter Grant Fontenot, who allowed one earned run in 2 1/3 innings. Fontenot gave up three hits and struck out one. Sheerin’s performance was a sharp turnaround from his previous outings: he had allowed five earned runs in two-thirds of an inning against Florida on May 16 and four earned runs in 2 1/3 innings at Georgia on May 8.

For Oklahoma, Gavyn Jones started and threw two hitless innings with two strikeouts. Nick Wesloski tossed two innings, allowing three hits but no earned runs. LJ Mercurius took the loss, giving up two earned runs on four hits in two innings. The Sooners’ offense was led by John C., who had two hits and an RBI, and Walk J., who walked twice and scored a run.

The game featured multiple challenges. LSU successfully overturned a hit-by-pitch call in the first inning, and Oklahoma had a strike call overturned on an automated ball-strike review in the third. LSU also challenged a stolen-base call in the fourth that was upheld.

LSU next faces the winner of the tournament’s later games. Oklahoma’s season is not over but faces an uphill climb for an at-large NCAA tournament bid.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of LSU 4, Oklahoma 3, and Interstat’s ELO system gave LSU a 56.90 percent probability to win.