Jay Johnson talks about 'goofy' LSU dugout

There is a side of LSU baseball that is often missed by the cameras during game-time action. This year, The Tigers dugout has been lively and full of energy, which has transitioned into goofiness within the clubhouse. Some of the players, like Hayden Travinski, believe that the level of goofiness going on within LSU’s clubhouse has contributed to the team’s success. And LSU head baseball coach Jay Johnson seems to agree with his catcher.

“Yeah, I won’t take any credit for the goofiness. That’s for sure,” said Johnson.

“No, I really want players to be themselves, but to become a team. I think that’s been a big part of why I think this has worked, is there was talented players here that were going to be coming into their own; that we tried to give them a development template, but for them to develop, they have to be at the field. For them to develop as a team, they have to be together.”

So part of that they have to take ownership in. So if you let them be themselves, obviously within reason, with class and character and all those types of things, I’ve always just found the buy-in goes up tremendously. As far as Travinski T-shirt and all that, we’re good. They can — as long as it’s appropriate, I’m good with it.

When it came to Saturday’s Men’s College World Series action, LSU was all business once again on the field as they took down their SEC rival Tennessee. The Tigers’ star pitcher, Paul Skenes, was the starter for Game 1 and did not disappoint. Skenes pitched 7.2 innings allowing five hits, one walk, and 12 strikeouts. However, he was credited with two earned runs.

After defeating Tennessee, LSU has earned a colossal showdown with the number one overall seed in this year’s tournament Wake Forest in what could be a preview of the College World Series championship series to end the tournament. Wake Forest had the early game on Saturday against Stanford. The Demon Deacons got off to a slow start but were able to recover late to take the game 3-2.

Although the upcoming LSU versus Wake Forest game on Monday isn’t for all the marbles, it will give the winner a huge advantage going forward. Of the last 32 winners of the College World Series, 27 of them started off the double-elimination portion of the tournament 2-0