GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
As LSU trailed 5-1 to Arkansas-Little Rock Monday night in the second inning and still after three frames, you could see the angst in coach Jay Johnson’s face and mannerisms. At one point, he just kept tapping his fingers on the top of his head, as if to say, “I’m waiting.”
He could feel that trepidation and terror in the aisles of a full Alex Box Stadium, which saw its team lose 10-4 on Sunday night little Little Rock, which came in with a losing record.
And then it happened, LSU broke through what former coach Skip Bertman called “the pressure barrier” for three runs in the top of the fourth to get within 5-4, another one in the sixth for a 5-5 tie, one in the seventh for a 6-5 lead, another in the eighth to make it 7-5, and finally three in the ninth for the 10-6 win.
LSU BASEBALL FINALLY OVERCOMES LITTLE ROCK
The No. 6 national seed Tigers (46-15) advance to host a best-of-three Super Regional this weekend – beginning on Friday or Saturday – against West Virginia (44-14), which won Clemson’s NCAA Regional over the weekend. The winner advances to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
“Maybe I felt the sense of the nerves in the ballpark,” Johnson said of a moment in Little Rock’s five-run second inning when a ball landed between center fielder Chris Stanfield and second baseman Daniel Dickinson to prolong the inning. The Tigers looked like it was happening again. LSU looked average again.
“I was like, ‘Okay, let’s get out of this at 5-1,'” Johnson said. “And the thing I’m the most grateful for is maybe in those nervous moments for them (the LSU fans), I felt like they really lifted the team.”
Johnson could feel the fans feeling, “Oh no, not again,” when the Tigers left the bases loaded in the third to stay down, 5-1, as Jake Brown flew out to end the inning.
“A little bit of carry-over feeling for them with last night’s game, not capitalizing on some opportunities,” Johnson said. “But they kept going. They kept supporting the players. The fans were outstanding tonight. That environment tonight was special. Like, maybe the Super Regional a couple years ago (in the 2023 national championship season). I don’t ever remember it like that. That was like another bar.”
The players felt the trepidation, but thankfully it was still very early when the Trojans went up 5-1 in the second.
“Knowing there’s plenty of game left,” said Ethan Frey, whose home run in the top of the first put the Tigers up 1-0. Replacing a slumping Jared Jones at No. 2 in the order, he finished 4-or-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. It was Frey’s three-run double in the fourth that got the Tigers within 5-4.
After Luis Hernandez homered in the sixth for the 5-5 tie, Frey doubled to open the seventh inning, reached third on a wild pitch and scored for the 6-5 lead on a Steven Milam ground-out RBI.
“You can’t not compete,” Frey said. “You can’t throw in the flag and start taking off any at-bats. You have to start competing with the team, passing the baton like we said many times. But being a part of it and seeing us do it is very special.”
Hernandez homered again in the eighth for a 7-5 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.”
Hernandez tried not to look at the 5-1 on the scoreboard.
“We always are competing in The Box pitch by pitch,” he said after finishing 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. “We have the talent, and we have to compete and play.”
Arkansas-Little Rock, which finished 27-34 after reaching the Regional by winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, did not have the talent, but it wouldn’t go away.
“Heck of a run. It was a heck of a run, but I thought LSU played like a championship team tonight,” said UALR coach Chris Curry, whose team did that as well in winning three elimination games in two days to reach Monday.
“Massive hat tip, massive respect,” Johnson said of the Trojans.”Absolutely took us to the mat. I don’t know if I’ve seen a better prepared or competitive or well-coached team at any point. One of the best wins of my entire career because of what they had to do to earn it.”
And Johnson has three times won games to get to the College World Series – twice at Arizona and once at LSU – and won the 2023 national title with the Tigers.
“One of the best wins I’ve ever had,” Johnson repeated. “To a man, they were not going to let each other lose tonight. I’m even more proud because we had a couple of opportunities that didn’t come through early. Like, it didn’t come easily. It’s a great win, and I just felt good about where they were at mentally. There was no panic.”
Maybe not in the dugout, but surely in the stands.
“And then number 20 took care of the rest from there,” Johnson said of pitch Casan Evans, who relieved starter Zac Cowan in the second and took over the game, eventually calming the nerves of LSU’s fans. He allowed four hits and one run over six innings with 12 strikeouts for the win to go to 4-1.
When Anthony Eyanson came in to finish the eighth and ninth for the save, Evans drew a huge ovation from the fans.
“There’s no better fan base in the country,” Evans said.
“It’s an advantage, whether people want to admit it or not,” Frey said. “But it’s unbelievable.”
And LSU gets to do it all over again this weekend.
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