Box of fun awaits: This is why they go to LSU

American Press

a day ago

LSU will host the Baton Rouge Regional this weekend. The top-seeded Tigers open the schedule today against Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion Arkansas-Little Rock, the No. 4 seed. LSU is making its 37th NCAA Tournament appearance since 1975. (Special to the American Press)
Jay Johnson's strategy for dealing with the pressure his LSU players feel is to try and treat the entire regular season like it was the postseason.
Nice try. And, it's true, Alex Box Stadium is known as one college baseball's best environments at any time, filled with fans who expect to win every game.
But it will be s different place today, ramped up even another notch, when the Tigers open the NCAA Tournament's Baton Rouge Regional at 2 p.m. today against Arkansas-Little Rock.
'It's crazy,' said LSU first baseman Jared Jones, remembering the last time the Tigers hosted a regional when he was a freshman in 2023. The Tigers used it as a launch pad for the school's seventh national championship in Omaha, Nebraska.
'There's just a ton of energy in the place, you can really feel it,' he said. 'The crowd's always on their feet; they can kind of anticipate how baseball works, the situation of the game.
'They kind of know when we need a big strikeout right here (or) if we're up to the plate and it's a big spot, they just know when to get into it. Super energetic.'
That was also Johnson's first and only experience with postseason in The Box.
He remembered the super regional against Kentucky that year, a game that was delayed eight hours by rain, but still didn't send many fans home.
Tré Morgan hit a home run in the first inning, Johnson recalled.
It was different.
'I was like, that's what everybody's been telling me about,' Johnson said. 'That sound, you know? It was right there … everywhere.'
Now the Tigers are back at home, primed for another run.
Today's winner will play Saturday against the winner of tonight's late game between No. 2 seed Dallas Baptist (40-16) and No. 3 seed Rhode Island (38-20).
The regional winner will be matched against the winner of the Clemson Regional. LSU would host that, too.
But first things first.
Asked what he knew about Arkansas-Little Rock, Jones said, 'I think it's in Arkansas.'
That was early Thursday before the Tigers (43-13) got a detailed version of the brief scouting report all of them got by text earlier in the week.
Further investigation would reveal the Trojans (24-32) are the lone team in the 64-team NCAA Tournament with a losing record and finished the regular season in eighth place in the Ohio Valley Conference.
But Johnson noted there's something to be said for a team that had to win five games in four days to win the OVC Tournament and earn the automatic bid.
That came out of nowhere — the Trojans lost 13 of their last 14 regular-season games before catching fire.
Johnson hasn't said who he will pitch in the opener and UALR has also been mum.
But the Trojans have an intriguing option in senior right-hander Jackson Wells.
Two years ago Wells led the nation with a 1.65 ERA.
'That's a fact,' Johnson said.
Also true: Wells has been far more pedestrian this season with 5-3 record and a 5.91 ERA.
But Johnson has always said LSU concerns itself more with LSU than the opponent.
'I didn't really care who we played,' Jones said. 'I was just ready to get back out there and play.'
It would be convenient, regardless of who pitches for either team, if the Tigers bring their bats.
They went 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and were probably fortunate to win one with its most anemic offensive weekend of the season.
The Tigers hit .111 in Hoover, Alabama, and didn't score a run over their final 15 innings.
Johnson didn't seem too concerned. The Tigers, he said, have bounced back strong from other offensive struggles.
A packed Box will be counting on it.