LSU head coach Jay Johnson gives scouting report on Wake Forest starter Josh Hartle

Wake Forest starting pitcher Josh Hartle earned the start against LSU on Monday for the Men’s College World Series winner’s bracket game between the two squads. Through the first four innings, Hartle had seven strikeouts but had allowed two runs.

Jay Johnson gave a quick scouting report on the sophomore left-hander during his mid-game interview with ESPN in the third inning when asked what adjusts the team was making the second time through the order.

“He’s tough,” Johnson said. “He’s got a lot of deception so it’s hard to separate the balls from the strikes. I think we just did a little better job of getting our pitch and getting them up over the plate.”

Hartle was a 2023 All-ACC first team selection. He has appeared in 17 games this season with 16 starts. The southpaw is 11-2 on the mound with a 2.80 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 96.1 innings entering Monday’s game.

The two runs scored following errors from the Wake Forest outfield. Demon Deacons manager Tom Walter said during his mid-game interview that the needed to clean up its performance in order to pull out the victory.

“Yeah, he’s been struggling with his command. Obviously, four walks with a couple of outfield errors, you know, ball in the dirt gets away from us,” Walter said. “So we’ve gotta clean up the free 90s.”

Walter also discussed what his players needed to do against LSU’s starting pitcher Ty Floyd.

“We need to get on top of his fastball,” Walter said. “He’s throwing the ball really well, and he’s throwing a good change-up to our left-handed hitters. So, we need to be a little more selective and get on top of his fastball.”

LSU star Paul Skenes discusses what it means to be closing in on SEC strikeout record

LSU star pitcher Paul Skenes, who pitched in the team’s first game of the Men’s College World Series, also conducted a mid-game interview with the ESPN crew.

They asked Skenes about closing in on Ben McDonald‘s SEC single-season strikeout record. McDonald had 202 strikeouts during the 1989 season.

Skenes has 200 strikeouts this year in just 114.2 innings and 18 games, all of which were starts. McDonald reached 202 strikeouts in 152.1 innings.

“People have told me a lot about that,” Skenes said. “He’s called a lot of our games. I’ve talked to him a fair amount. It’s cool. It’s really cool.”