Jay Johnson addresses how he will manage pitching after giving up grand slam

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson finds his team in a bind midway through Game 2 of the College World Series Final against Florida. The Tigers trail 8-3 in the top of the fourth after allowing six runs in the third.

That included a grand slam from Gators outfielder Ty Evans in what was his second home run of the day. That play happened after Florida had already scored two runs earlier in the inning, forcing LSU to pull starting pitcher Nate Ackenhausen after 2.1 innings.

Johnson joined the ESPN broadcast before the start of the fourth inning, where he addressed his plan for managing the team’s pitchers going forward. He noted that the Gators also pulled starter Hurston Waldrep, and that is something the Tigers will try to take advantage of as they attempt to get back in the game.

“Just one pitch at a time,” Johnson said. “They’re in a bind, too, with us getting Waldrep out of the game. We just need to cash in on a couple more of those opportunities. We’re gonna try to keep it close so they have to keep going to guys.”

Prior to the third inning, LSU held a 3-1 lead on Florida after scoring a pair of runs in the second. The Gators then sent in Blake Purnell to relieve Waldrep in the bottom of the third inning after the latter walked a batter then hit another with a pitch.

As for the Tigers, Gavin Guidry entered in relief of Ackenhausen, who loaded the bases to allowed the grand slam and gave up five hits while striking out four. Guidry ultimately lasted only 1.2 innings before LSU turned to Bryce Collins to start the fifth.

If the Tigers are able to come back and win, they would claim the national championship after winning 4-3 in extra innings Saturday night. However, Jay Johnson doesn’t want LSU to dwell too much on the big picture as it tries to get out of this hole it created.

“Task at hand,” he said. “You can’t go there. If you go there, it takes you out of your plan. When we stay in plan, we’re a pretty good baseball team. So we’re trying to do that the best we can.”

If Florida hangs on to win, the two teams will play again at 7 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN, with the winner taking home the trophy.