Jay Johnson opens up on LSU's pitching staff flipping the switch

Going into a showdown with Wake Forest on Wednesday night and needing two wins to advance to the championship series, LSU was looked at as a team that might struggle thanks to its pitching depth. Most analysts liked the Wake Forest’s depth a lot more than that of the LSU pitching staff.

Yet it was the Tigers who went five pitchers deep in the game and seemed to call all the right numbers at the right time.

“I think it’s just been a good team effort and I think we’ve got guys that are good,” coach Jay Johnson said. “I think we’ve evaluated really good with this roster. We feel like we’ve learned it better as the season’s gone along.”

The LSU pitching staff doesn’t have the best numbers on paper. The team’s ERA is 4.39. And while Paul Skenes is a legitimate superstar and maybe the best pitcher in the country, there aren’t a whole lot of other names that jump out as stalwarts.

Reliever Riley Cooper has been excellent in Omaha, racking up three saves already. He was nails again in icing a 5-2 LSU win over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.

Still, the prevailing narrative is that LSU’s pitching staff is just so-so for a title-contending team.

“I have two thoughts on that. I think, No. 1, I don’t think the season was as bad as people made it out to be,” Johnson said. “Like, look at our schedule. Like just look back at who we’ve played.

“And then the Southeastern Conference is not friendly as far as the environments that these guys pitch in. Not from a fan standpoint but from the ball(parks) — they’re small. I don’t have any other way to say it. And you’re going to give up some runs in league. And that’s every staff in this SEC. So I think part of it was some of that.”

If LSU’s pitching staff was a bit shaky or questionable going into Omaha, that sure doesn’t seem to be the case any more.

They’ve been nails in getting the Tigers into position to win just one more to advance to the championship series. Johnson thinks the experience in itself, not just in Omaha but all season, has served to season his squad.

“I think the best coach that any player’s ever going to have in their life is playing time and being through some of that,” Johnson said. “So when you look back at a couple of speed bumps — I think about Auburn and Mississippi State — we didn’t want to waste those losses or failure.

“And I think we learned a lot of things, both as coaches (and players). We’ve adjusted some of the preparation things. We’ve adjusted some of the usage, not just in how what pitches they throw but how we’re using guys.”

That’s been the goal all year long. Figure out how best to use everyone along the way.

“Another thought that we talk about early is let’s play well enough to win games early in the season so you can be in the NCAA Tournament, but let’s figure out our best team as we go,” Johnson said.

The Tigers seem to have found it. Now it’s just a question of whether they can knock off the Demon Deacons one more time.