Sunday’s disappointing 10-4 loss to Little Rock sparked conversation among the fanbase about changing the batting order. The Tigers left ten men on base, and it was obvious LSU’s number two hitter, slugging first baseman Jared Jones, was struggling at the plate.
Jones entered Monday’s win or go home matchup against Little Rock, mired in a 2-for-25 slump.
But LSU has won a bunch of games this season with Jones batting second and the Tigers just scored a total of 19 runs in blowout victories over Dallas Baptist and Little Rock in their first two games of the Baton Rouge regional.
Coach Jay Johnson is known for looking at all the data and making the best decision based on that information. But after Sunday night’s defeat, he took a calculated risk and made major changes to the lineup.
“You take a risk when you have a lot to gain,” Johnson said following Monday night’s come from behind win. "We had a chance to play in 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.”
Johnson moved designated hitter Ethan Frey from the clean-up spot to the two hole and he dropped Jones down to sixth in the line-up.
The risk paid off as Frey hit a home run in the first inning, had a bases-clearing double in the fourth inning and finished 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs.
“Ethan Frey is one of the best hitters in the country right now, and I wanted to get him up as much as we possible could, I wanted Little Rock to feel pressure immediately with him standing in the batter’s box.”
Jones also delivered for the Tigers. He blasted his 20th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the 9th inning to give LSU a 9-6 lead.
Johnson was fired up by the “Bear’s” home run.
“The moment, the work, the behind scenes, the blood sweat and tears in the bucket that he’s put in, that nobody sees, they just see the struggle, it was a really cool moment, it was the winning play of the game,” Johnson said.
LSU’s next contest is game one of the Super Regional series against West Virginia, which will begin at 1 PM on Saturday afternoon.
Expect Johnson to roll out the same lineup he used to win the Baton Rouge Regional. But he won’t be afraid to change it up again, if the Mountaineers take game one.