Ty Floyd talks about solid performance in College World Series loss

LSU fell short on Monday in its 3-2 loss to Wake Forest in the College World Series. Nonetheless, Tigers pitcher Ty Floyd did his part.

Floyd started the game for LSU and pitched five innings against the No. 1 overall seed Demon Deacons. The 6-foot-2 junior gave up just two runs and two hits in the outing while delivering an impressive 10 strikeouts.

Unfortunately for Floyd, his cannon only had so much gunpowder. The right-handed pitcher began to tire during the backside of his showing, tossing four walks and walking in a runner in the fourth inning. Floyd admitted he was feeling fatigued.

“It’s part of it. Sometimes you get out of rhythm a little bit. But I think I lost a little bit command and I think I got a little tired and stuff. But, Thatcher came in and did his job and allowed us to be able to stay in the game right there toward the end,” Floyd said following the loss.

The Tigers were indeed right there until the end. The game was tied 2-2 until Wake Forest’s Bennett Lee drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to finally secure a lead. The Tigers aren’t letting the loss discourage them.

“Our main focus is winning and stuff. I know — I hate the loss, but I know we’ll come back hotter than ever. And we have all the motivation in the world to win tomorrow,” Floyd said during the postgame press conference.

Floyd won’t be on the mound on Tuesday, but he’s done his part. The Georgia native has 4.45 ERA this season while dealing 103 strikeouts, ranking 40th in the nation. Floyd has constant control. The steady pitcher has just five wild pitches this season, two less than LSU star Paul Skenes.

LSU will have its work cut out for them on Tuesday. The team will face off against Tennessee at 7 p.m. ET with the loser facing elimination. LSU defeated Tennessee 6-3 in its first game at the CWS. Now, the Volunteers will have a chance at revenge.

LSU head coach Jay Johnson still believes his team is capable of winning it all.

“I shared with them two things. Number one, I’ve had a team in this position before. Lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Oklahoma State and then won three consecutive games to play for a national championship. Then, the very next year this program did the same thing. And they beat probably one of the best teams in modern college baseball history twice to get that opportunity.”