Jay Johnson says Tre' Morgan has been 'phenomenal' for LSU baseball

The LSU baseball team is alive and kicking in Omaha still, despite losing a contest to Wake Forest on Monday night. The Tigers are fighting their way up from the loser’s bracket, and the play of versatile star Tre’ Morgan has been instrumental in helping them do so.

Morgan has been able to play both first base and left field for the Tigers depending on the situation. And he’s in top form at the moment.

“Phenomenal, playing his best ball,” coach Jay Johnson said. “I know he’s had a great career, so I don’t want to minimize the impact. But he’s playing his best baseball right now.”

In an elimination game at the College World Series on Tuesday night, Morgan went 2-of-4 at the plate and scored twice. He also made a handful of impressive plays at first base to keep Tennessee from mounting much of a threat.

The Tigers went on to win 5-0, extending their stay in Omaha by another day and setting up a rematch with the Demon Deacons.

What LSU baseball has gotten out of Morgan is a consistent multi-position player who gives Johnson a ton of lineup flexibility. That can often be incredibly important at the College World Series.

“He’s just one of those guys when you need him the most you get the most,” Johnson said. “He’s one of those guys you could throw on a big league diamond right now, full stadium, and he’ll go out there and give you three or four quality at-bats.”

If LSU baseball is going to advance to the championship series at the College World Series, it will need to beat Wake Forest twice, starting tonight at 7 p.m. ET.

And with the team’s pitching fairly depleted already, LSU could seriously use some run support to get out to a big lead and allow its pitchers to make a few mistakes without needing to be lifted. That could, in theory, propel the Tigers to a winner-take-all game on Thursday with a chance to advance.

But it’ll take steady presences like Morgan emerging in a big way.

“That’s what he’s doing for us, obviously playing exceptional first base,” Johnson said. “But the NCAA Tournament he’s been spectacular.”

The LSU baseball team dropped the first meeting with Wake Forest 3-2 in an instant classic, with the Demon Deacons pushing across the winning run in the eighth inning.