It had been 631 days since the LSU Shreveport baseball team looked at the scoreboard after the final out and the opponent boasted a number larger than the Pilots in the runs column.
The greatest win streak in college baseball history is over.
The final number: 65.
Although they were armed with 30 new players and no returning starters, the Pilots added six more victories — most of them via a thrilling variety — to the magical streak following 2025’s mind-boggling 59-0 campaign.
Friday, Central Methodist (Mo.), the 25th-ranked team in the country, No. 4 knocked off top-ranked LSUS, 4-3, in seven innings at the Cajun Collision in Sterlington.
LSU Shreveport, the defending NAIA World Series champion, hadn’t lost since a 2-1 decision to Kansas Wesleyan on May 16, 2024 in the Opening Round of the 2024 NAIA tournament.
“They’ve shown to have poise, resiliency and they are extremely tough. With so many new guys, I’m so dang proud of this team,” Pilots head coach Brad Neffendorf said. “It’s not that I forgot we’re not last year’s team, but sometimes you get wrapped up in what you expect and what you want to happen. You have to take a deep breath and say, ‘slow down and let it work out.’”
The Pilots have flirted with this outcome since the 2026 season began — they’ve trailed in five of the seven games this season.
Even in Friday’s loss, LSUS’ resilience was on display. The Pilots trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning, but rallied to tie the game in the sixth when catcher Makana Olaso hit a two-out, two-run home run.
Central Methodist took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on a two-out wild pitch and escaped a jam in the bottom half to become a part of history.
If you didn’t think the Pilots — and their streak — weren’t a target? Central Methodist senior pitcher Weston Walls threw a 125-pitch seven-inning complete game in his 2026 debut.
After two quick outs in the seventh, the Pilots had runners on second and third before Spencer Sullivan struck out to end the game.
The magic quickly returned in the night cap as LSUS rallied from a three-run deficit with one out remaining and scored a 6-5 victory against No. 19 Mid-America Christian in seven innings.
Sullivan, who made the final out in Game 1, was the hero with a walk-off two-RBI double.
During their run to the NAIA crown last year, the Pilots surpassed every college all-time win streak, including the best at any level – 54 games by Mount Union.
In addition to collecting the school’s first national championship, LSUS was honored with a celebration in downtown Shreveport, at the Louisiana Capitol, the U.S. Capitol and the White House.