Both LSU baseball and first-year head coach Jay Johnson know a thing or two about booking trips to Omaha, but it'll take a new footnote in Tigers' history to get that done this season.
LSU baseball has won its way to the College World Series 18 times, all of which have followed a regional held in Baton Rouge. This year, they'll attempt to get their by way of the Hattiesburg Regional, hosted by Southern Miss.
“I love doing things that have never been done before," Johnson said after the Tigers learned their fate in the tournament. "The selection committee decided we’re playing on the road, we’re not changing their mind now, and I think we’re excited and ready to roll."
The Tigers haven't made it to Omaha since 2017, but Johnson was there as recently as last season. His Arizona squad hosted a regional, then beat Ole Miss in the Supers to advance. LSU won its regional out in Eugene before being swept by Tennessee, the first time it had ever advanced to the Supers without hosting a regional.
But it will be Johnson's prior run this year's squad will attempt to emulate. That was in 2016 and in the coach's first season with Arizona. That year's team actually found itself in Louisiana at the Lafayette regional, and upset UL out of the loser's bracket to fight its way into the Supers. They went on to defeat Miss. State in the Supers that year, and ultimately landed as the runner-up to champion Coastal Carolina, the same team that upset LSU in a Baton Rouge Super Regional.
Related
"I know it can be done both ways. I’m just really excited for this team to be going to the NCAA Tournament, to have a 38-win regular season while going through a lot of adversity," Johnson said. "To do all of that and to play the road schedule that we did, I think it’s a great accomplishment, and it should give our team a lot of confidence going forward. Right now, all that matters is going forward.”
LSU kicks off regional play at 6 p.m. Friday with a matchup against Kennesaw State. They'll then face either Army or Southern Miss on Saturday, depending on the results in the opening matchups.
MORE FROM JAY JOHNSON
STAR RETURNS
LSU's head coach was still hopeful that his team had done enough to host a regional despite falling early in the SEC Tournament to Kentucky, which missed the field entirely.
Four SEC schools landed host privileges (Tennessee, Florida, Auburn and Texas A&M). A major piece of Johnson's sales pitch: The LSU team that took the field in Hoover, Alabama was without a pair of stars that are fully expected to play in the NCAAs. That would be Jacob Berry, who hit .400 in SEC play and is nursing a broken finger suffered during basketball practice earlier this season, as well as infielder Cade Doughty, who suffered a shoulder injury diving for a ball late in the season.
Related
Johnson said after the SEC Tournament loss that he expects both to be at "100%."
“They’re two Top 50 draft picks. ... I feel that we’re a better team when we have those two guys back in the lineup,” Johnson said.
...
"For the last month-and-a-half, we just haven’t had everybody in the lineup at the same time due to injuries. I think that speaks to the strength of our team; we’re still standing here, and we were on the cusp of playing a regional at home when we haven’t been fully healthy. I feel good about our team and how they’ll respond to the challenges we’ll face this weekend.”