After being manhandled in Game 1 one against Florida, the Tigers fought back and outscored the Gators 27-6 the rest of the weekend to take the series.
LSU seemed outmanned and outgunned at every turn. Florida’s offense is one of the best in the country. Tiger pitching held the Gators to 10 hits in the final two games of the series. Jay Johnson’s ball club averaged nearly 10 runs a game. That is mind blowing!
So what to make of this impressive upset by the Bayou Bengals? There is a lot to unpack. First, you cannot draw any conclusions after the first SEC series (Texas A&M), which LSU lost to the Aggies. The series win over Florida feels like a springboard into the rest of conference play.
I would say LSU came to life this weekend. Secondly, I would offer, this is the best conference in college baseball, and when even a team as good as Florida plunks eight LSU batters and commits errors, that's going to spell a series loss to just about anyone. Thirdly, Omaha was not on the line this weekend. So enjoy the upset and think about how much about this particular team is still in question.
LSU looked like the offensive juggernaut promised in the preseason. More importantly, baseball is a sport built on confidence and it is fleeting. Wins like this set a tone for a season with some teams. Wins like this elevate a team’s confidence for weeks.
Beating Florida signals the players a “we belong” attitude. A confident team even though they might be less talented is a dangerous team. Now the question becomes, how do the Tigers handle success? Managing that is up to Coach Jay Johnson. For the first time in over a year, LSU baseball completely dominated a very, good opponent.