GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Sometimes baseball coaches act like nothing happened after a a significant or insignificant loss in a season. Keep everything the same. After all, that’s baseball.
No matter how good a team is, it’s going to lose a third of its games. No matter how bad a team is, it’s going to win a third of its games. It’s how you do in the other third, the late Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda liked to say.
LSU coach Jay Johnson decided to place his elimination game against Arkansas-Little Rock on Monday night in that third category after his Tigers lost miserably, 10-4, to the Trojans the night before. He wasn’t just going to leave it up to chance, or odds, or just baseball, though that could have have worked as well.
AN LSU LOSS TO LITTLE ROCK ON MONDAY WOULD’VE BEEN THE WORST IN ITS POSTSEASON HISTORY
“The approach today was a little bit different,” Johnson said after the Tigers defeated Little Rock, 10-6, on Monday night to reach a best-of-three Super Regional against West Virginia this weekend at Alex Box Stadium. The winner advances to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
LSU (46-15) and West Virginia (44-14) open the series at 1 p.m. Saturday on ESPN and play game two at 5 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. A third game, if needed, will be on Monday at a time to be determined.
“I actually brought something back from my past that I did at Arizona when we would host and play really late games,” said Johnson, who took Arizona to Omaha twice before becoming LSU’s coach after the 2021 season. “I brought the players in early in the day as kind of like a checkpoint-type deal. And they didn’t need any motivation tonight. It was actually pretty cool.”
Johnson put the lineup on the board as usual with two key changes. No. 2 hitter Jared Jones, who has been struggling, moved down to No. 6 in the order. Ethan Frey, who has been LSU’s hottest hitter for weeks and leads the team with a .359 average and has hit 13 home runs and 49 RBIs, moved to No. 2 from No. 5. He moved Chris Stanfield from No. 9 to No. 7. And he told Ashton Larson he was definitely going to pinch-hit at some point.
“I wanted everybody to know the lineup early. I wanted everybody to know the pitching plan and the guys on the bench who’d play,” Johnson said. “Next to each name, I wrote down what their job was going to be. It was pretty cool to actually see the game play out the way it did.”
Larson wasn’t in the starting lineup, but he made the lineup card with the words, “Pinch-hit with runners on base.” He hit for Michael Braswell III with one on and two out in the fourth with LSU down 5-1 and drew a walk. He reached second on a wild pitch and later scored on a three-run double by Frey to cut Little Rock’s lead to 5-4.
“There were two outs, man on first, and he drew a walk, which set the table for the big hit of the night – Ethan’s double with bases loaded,” Johnson said.
LSU coach Jay Johnson could feel the Terror in the Aisles of Alex Box:https://t.co/l7rnGPBSzo
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 3, 2025
Johnson had also told freshman right-hander Casan Evans he would relieve at some point for junior right-hander Zac Cowan, who started his first game as a Tiger. That happened earlier than expected as Cowan struggled (five runs, four earned runs, three hits, two walks) and left with one out in the second inning. Evans got out of the second and held Little Rock to one run on four hits through six innings with a career-high 12 strikeouts – including nine straight – for the win to go to 4-1. He also pitched very fast and motivated the team as he continued to dominate.
“Obviously, Casan’s performance speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “And the thought was they would not be able to adjust to his tempo and aggressiveness following Zac. It was really cool. We felt like we had a good plan, and I’m proud of them for going out and executing it.”
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There were other parts to the blueprint, such as No. 2 starting pitcher Anthony Eyanson (10-2) relieving Evans in the eighth after starting and throwing into the eighth on Friday in a 7-0 win over Little Rock on five hits. He allowed one hit and no runs in an inning and two-thirds on Monday for his second save in just over a week.
“Absolute warrior,” Johnson said. “I told him last Wednesday he was going to pitch on Friday. And the reason we used him on Friday was I felt he’d be able to bounce back for the exact scenario tonight. He was ready for it. That was also why we relieved him at Hoover (in the SEC Tournament). I didn’t want the Regional to be the first time he did it.”
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Look for that possibly to happen again with LSU getting a late start to the Super Regional on Saturday. Eyanson could start Saturday and close on Monday after Evans starts, should there be a Monday.
“And he doesn’t take very long to get ready,” Johnson said. “He was ready for it.”
Johnson’s move of Frey to the No. 2 slot behind Derek Curiel worked wonders. He went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, including a solo home run and the three-run double. Curiel walked twice ahead of him and scored a run.
“So, Derek Curiel is the engine of this offense. That’s what he is,” Johnson said. “And how he plays inspires the team. And then it’s Ethan Frey – one of the best hitters in the country right now. I wanted to get him up as much as we possibly could. I wanted them (the Trojans) to feel pressure immediately in the game with him stepping in the batter’s box.”
Meanwhile, the sixth spot worked for Jones, who went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in the ninth for a 9-6 lead.
“After a pitcher has to work through the top five, sometimes they can let up just a little bit,” Johnson said. “I wanted to give Jared that advantage. That’s probably the most excited I’ve been at least this season (after Jones’ homer). He hasn’t had a good couple of weeks here.”
Next to catcher Luis Hernandez’ name on the lineup card, Johnson wrote, “Best eight-hole hitter in the country.”
Hernandez lived up to that billing, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs via a solo home run in the sixth to tie the game 5-5, another solo homer in the eighth to give him nine for the season and the Tigers a 7-5 lead and an RBI single in the ninth to give him 30 RBIs and the Tigers the 10-6 lead.
“Luis, clutch, I mean absolutely clutch,” Johnson said. “Sometimes you look a player in the eye in the on-deck circle, and you think, ‘This is about to be good.’ Special night tonight. Toughness, catching four games in a row. Proud of him for that and maintaining massive offensive production.”
Just about everything worked, according to plan.
“I just felt like the flow of all of it was a lot better,” Johnson said.
“LSU did what good teams are supposed to do,” Little Rock coach Chris Curry said. “When the inning was set up for them, whether it be a couple of walks or maybe an error, they got the big hit. And I thought they played like a championship team.”
It was also the right time to gamble as it was a do-or-die game with a lot on the line, including Johnson’s reputation. He was looking down the barrel of back-to-back losses to a team that came in at 24-32. It clearly would have been LSU’s worst of 76 elimination losses from the NCAA postseason since its first in 1975.
“When do you take a risk? You take a risk when you have a lot to gain,” Johnson said. “We had a chance to play a Super Regional at home with two wins to go to Omaha. Seven more to win a national championship, maybe eight. It was time to take a risk.”
And after Omaha, maybe Vegas?
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