LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson explains why he changed the lineup vs. Little Rock
LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson explains why he changed the lineup vs. Little Rock
With the 2025 season hanging in the balance heading into Monday's elimination game against Little Rock, LSU baseball head coach Jay Johnson made a change to his lineup for the first time during this NCAA Tournament.
Amid struggles at the plate, slugger Jared Jones moved from second to sixth while Ethan Frey, the team's leading hitter, stepped into the two-hole.
Coupled with continued strong at-bats from the top of the lineup, the Tigers put the pieces together in the nick of time, coming from behind to beat the Trojans 10-6 and win the Baton Rouge Regional.
"You take a risk when you have a lot to gain," Johnson said. "We had a chance to play a Super Regional at home, two wins to go to Omaha, seven more to win a national championship, maybe eight. It was time to take a risk."
Derek Curiel remained in the leadoff spot and worked two walks while Frey followed with four hits, four RBI and two walks. Johnson praised both for their efforts in crunch time along with Steven Milam, who Johnson said put together the best at-bats of his career.
"He's [Curiel's] the engine of this offense and how he plays inspires the team," Johnson said.
"And then, its Ethan Frey, one of the best hitters in the country right now," Johnson said.
Johnson said he wanted to get Frey as many at-bats as possible.
"I wanted them to feel the pressure immediately with [Frey] stepping in the batter's box," Johnson said.
With Milam, Johnson felt good about the quality of his at-bats throughout the regional.
"His at-bats this weekend were him as his best player. He will play baseball for a very long time if he takes the caliber of at-bats that he has," Johnson said.
When discussing moving Jones to the six hole, Johnson said he wanted Jones to have the advantage of hitting lower in the order. At six, Jones has the chance to sneak up on pitchers.
"On the best teams that I've had, that six-hole guy, after you're having to work through the top five and all those guys doing their job, sometimes they can get forgotten about a little bit. Or the pitcher lets up just a little bit. And I wanted to kind of give Jared that advantage," Johnson said.
The change paid off with LSU scoring 10 runs. Now, LSU turns its attention to the Baton Rouge Super Regional vs. West Virginia, beginning on Saturday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Eagles Star Addresses Fallout After Outspoken Player's Exit
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. For the second time in a few years, the Philadelphia Eagles have left their former safety CJ Gardner-Johnson disgruntled. The trend continued at the top of the offseason, when the Eagles traded away Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans. The deal came as a shock, considering the Eagles had just re-signed the veteran secondary player one offseason ago. When Gardner-Johnson inked his second deal with the Eagles, he did it with intentions of sticking around for multiple seasons. The Eagles found success with Gardner-Johnson in their secondary once again. Both seasons he played for Philadelphia, the Eagles made a run to the Super Bowl to face the Kansas City Chiefs. The first time, the Eagles couldn't come out on top, with their defense infamously struggling against Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City's attack. The second time around, Gardner-Johnson and many Eagles players won their first Super Bowl, getting revenge over Mahomes and the Chiefs. While the defensive line's ability to get to Mahomes was the X-Factor to the win, the secondary did its part and helped the Eagles secure their second Super Bowl win in franchise history. Gardner-Johnson had an opportunity to celebrate for the moment, but it wouldn't be long before he was sent packing. Recently, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship addressed the loss of Gardner-Johnson to a scrum of reporters, wishing Gardner-Johnson well while remaining confident in his squad. C.J. Gardner-Johnson #8 and Reed Blankenship #32 of the Philadelphia Eagles look on against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on December 29, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. C.J. Gardner-Johnson #8 and Reed Blankenship #32 of the Philadelphia Eagles look on against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field on December 29, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."Obviously, you don't know as a player. I don't make those decisions, but he was a great player for us, and I wish him the best in Houston, too," Blakenship told reporters this week, via "But it's the next guys up in the room. I feel like we got the guys in the locker room to fill that position in. It's gonna be tough, but it is what it is. It's a business out there." When Eagles' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told reporters that the Gardner-Johnson move was a "salary cap-type thing" that he supported, Gardner-Johnson clearly didn't appreciate the messaging. "I was a test dummy for them," the safety wrote on Instagram. "So, now they can be like my 'scheme' work, or did my skill set make it work?" I had zero issues. [People] had issues with me. So, yeah, let the salary cap be the 'excuse.'" As Gardner-Johnson prepares for a fresh start with the Texans, who've become his fourth team, the Eagles seem more than ready to move on. As the young secondary showed plenty of promise beyond Gardner-Johnson, Blankenship and the Eagles are ready to utilize their next-man-up mentality.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
A huge home run
Which eight teams will advance to the College World Series? Follow all our coverage of the Super Regionals Imagn Images There are eight games today in the NCAA baseball tournament Super Regionals (all times are ET): Game 1s: Murray State at Duke, 1 p.m. (ESPNU) West Virginia at LSU, 2 p.m. (ESPN) Tennessee at Arkansas, 5 p.m. (ESPN) UTSA at UCLA, 7 p.m. (ESPNU) Game 2s: More ways to follow the action and be part of the discussion: GO FURTHER 2025 NCAA baseball Super Regionals set: What are the most intriguing matchups? Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms T4 - Coastal Carolina 5, Auburn 1 Coastal Carolina adds to its lead. T3 - Coastal Carolina 2, Auburn 1 Caden Bodine goes deep into the night in right field to give the Chanticleers the lead for the first time tonight. Never doubt this program! It is absolutely wild that Oregon State won this game after trailing 4-1 … home-field advantage really does matter. B10 - Oregon State 5, Florida State 4 AJ Singer's bases-loaded single to center field ends it for the Beavers. They trailed 4-1 entering the ninth inning, but they came all the way back to tie it in the ninth, and they win it in the 10th. Gut punch for the Seminoles. Game 2 is at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday (ESPN2). And the Beavers almost win it. But Easton Talt's towering shot to right field is caught at the warning track, and we're going to extra innings. My goodness. B9 - Florida State 4, Oregon State 4 The Beavers have scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to pull even with the Seminoles. What a comeback for the hosts. Jacob Krieg's two-out single scores two runs, including the tying run. Coastal Carolina and Auburn face off to wrap up today's schedule. The game is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast by ESPN2. B7 - Florida State 3, Oregon State 1 Max Williams has padded the Seminoles' lead with a single to left field, scoring Hunter Carns. Carns just beat the throw to the plate, and the Seminoles have some insurance going to the bottom of the seventh. T6 - Florida State 2, Oregon State 1 Myles Bailey has seven home runs in his past eight games, and he gives the Seminoles the lead again with a solo shot to right-center field. Bailey is on fire. T5 - Florida State 1, Oregon State 1 Dax Whitney struck out 10 Seminoles in just 4-2/3 innings, but he's leaving the game and will be replaced by Nelson Keljo. Whitney allowed four hits and walked three. B4 - Florida State 1, Oregon State 1 Wilson Weber rips a double off the left-field wall, and the Beavers have pulled even with the Seminoles. This game has had so much action through just four innings. Imagn Images After a lightning delay, Louisville and Miami returned to the field, and the Cardinals just finished off the Game 1 win with an 8-1 decision. The two teams will return to the field at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday in a game that will be broadcast by ESPN. The Cardinals finished with 10 hits and got a strong start from pitcher Patrick Forbes, who had nine strikeouts in 5-2/3 innings. Louisville is one win away from the College World Series. T9 - Louisville 8, Miami 1 We're back in action in Louisville, and the Cardinals and Hurricanes are heading to the ninth inning. Louisville needs three outs to get an important Game 1 win. Two perfect throws from FSU to get Oregon State out at the plate … so impressive. Goodness, each runner now has had a runner thrown out at the plate. What an exciting start in Corvallis. Florida State still leads 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning. The play is under review. B3 - Florida State 1, Oregon State 0 The Seminoles have four hits and have had a lot of activity on the bases, but they lead by only one run as one runner was thrown out at the plate. Oregon State doesn't have a hit through two innings. Imagn Images B7 - Louisville 8, Miami 1 The Hurricanes leave two more runners on base, and that has been the theme of this game. The Cardinals have made the most of their chances. The Hurricanes have not. Our third straight game today featuring an ACC team. It's Florida State at Oregon State. The game is set for a 6 p.m. ET start and will be broadcast by ESPN2.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Auburn baskeball: Tigers to host A-Sun squad to close 2025 portion of schedule
Auburn baskeball: Tigers to host A-Sun squad to close 2025 portion of schedule The Dec. 29 contest will signal the second season in a row Auburn has hosted a team from the Atlantic Sun The Auburn Tigers played one of, it not the hardest non-conference schedule in program history a season ago. It paid off, with Bruce Pearl's squad racking up nation-best 19 Quadrant 1 victories on its way to the second Final Four appearance in Auburn history. While Pearl and his staff are unlikely to scheme up a schedule as difficult as last year's version, the Tigers will certainly hope to once again build up themselves before the grinding nature of the SEC season. That process, which has already included an appearance in a loaded 'Players Era' tournament field and home-and-home series contests against Houston, Purdue, and Arizona, continued this week, as CBS Sports Insider Jon Rothstein reported the Tigers are set to A-Sun program Queens to close out the 2025 portion of the schedule. The game, which is reportedly set for Dec. 29 at Neville Arena, will signal the second season in a row Auburn has hosted a team from the Atlantic Sun. Last season the Tigers beat the brakes off of in-state opponent, North Alabama, last November. The 102-69 victory was impressive at the time, but turned into an even more significant win after the Lions finished just a game shy of the NCAA Tournament last season. Queens on the other hand was not nearly as successful, although the 20-15 Royals did drive eventual A-Sun Champion Lipscomb to the brink with an 81-75 loss in the A-Sun Tournament semi-finals. Bruce Pearl's Auburn Tigers will likely be heavily favored in their final game before they ring in the new year, but the Royals, like North Alabama last year, play in a conference loaded with talent across the board. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
