Jay Johnson evaluates LSU's win over UCLA, one win from CWS title series

Despite a delay that pushed the game to Tuesday morning, LSU took care of business, beating UCLA 9-5, leaving the Tigers just one win away from advancing to their second title series in three seasons.

After the win Jay Johnson took questions on his team, the delay, the key players, and the mindset moving forward. Here’s everything he said.

Opening statement…

“Great win for our team. Really proud of them. The mindset piece, with the disruption of the game last night due to weather, I thought the response in the first inning after giving up three to come back and score four was very much in character for our team. Anthony did a good job settling in and getting us two zeros. Then, a really strong first inning with two-strike hits by Steven and Jake Brown, setting the table for Jared’s homer. That got us rolling. Big two-out hit by Luis in the third inning yesterday. Loved the tempo that Casan set today. He was outstanding as he always is. Good job by our offense—two outs, nobody on, and we get a couple guys on and drive them in with more quality two-strike hitting. Casan continued doing his thing, then we turned it over to Cooper who got us a big out, and Chase was awesome again. Now we get reset and ready for tomorrow night.”

On Steven Milam’s postseason success…

“Steven has a great feel for baseball. He’s quick to adjust and has had an outstanding year. In our league, it’s tough, sometimes you’ll go 2-for-11 in a weekend. But his defense hasn’t wavered — he’s been phenomenal. I think he has four errors all season. He made a big play on the first ball of the game today. Offensively, it’s just about stacking quality at-bats, not trying to do too much, and taking what the pitcher gives you. He’s a skilled player, and when you have that skill, you can bounce back quickly.”

On not getting much out of Eyanson and LSU’s pitching situation…

You try not to look too far down the road in this tournament—you can get yourself in trouble. If you win the first two games and only have three guys unavailable for the next one, you’re in a good spot. I don’t have a pitching plan yet for tomorrow. We don’t know if it’ll be Arkansas or UCLA, but we’ll stay tuned and adjust accordingly. I’m proud of how the team handled the delays and changes.”

On going 2-0 and continuing the momentum…

“That’s a great question. I always tell our players: everything is training for something. We’ve been in similar situations. Whoever we play next is fighting for their season, and we have to match that intensity. I thought we did that well in the Super Regional and we’ve done it well here. It’s not just about winning, it’s how we win and how we keep getting better. My message to the team will be to use their experience.”

On this team’s success with two outs…

“That comes back to skill. We’ve got talent, but these guys are focused on what wins games. They stay within themselves, don’t try to do too much. At this time of year, no one’s thinking about anything but winning. That’s what we want this program to be — putting the team first. Trying to do too much is immaturity. These guys have grown as hitters and players, and now we’re seeing the results.”

On Casan’s progress and reliability at LSU…

“Freshmen don’t usually transition to this level the way Casan has. It’s rare.
But if you know him, it’s not surprising. When we recruited him, I even canceled a trip to one of my best friend’s weddings for his second visit—that’s how important it was. He’s got the ability, the makeup, the maturity. He’s just ready for what we need him to do.”

On the weather issues his team has faced…

“Best weather for college baseball? Tucson, Arizona. I was very underqualified as a weatherman coaching in San Diego, Reno, and Tucson, but it’s part of it. We’ve played multiple games at 10:00 p.m., finished some at 1:30 a.m. I’m lucky our fans stick with us. They just need better alarm clocks. The send-off today was a little late at 7:45 a.m, but if we stay on schedule, we’ll get them back out tomorrow.”

Overall impression of this LSU freshman class…

“It’s awesome. It’s been years in the making. Derek – I thought he’d come to Arizona. When I moved to LSU, that happened quickly. Casan was one of those we were fighting for in the normal recruiting period. There are seven freshmen on this roster, probably more than any other team here. It’s a mix of talent, character, and being ready for the moment.”

On the frustration of the delay and weather stopping Anthony’s start…

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to stop worrying about things I can’t control: weather, NCAA rules, whatever. If I had the power to push back a storm, I probably wouldn’t be coaching baseball. I want to lead by example. If I make it a big deal, the team will too. So I chose not to. Smart people are running this tournament. They thought we had a window. We finished the game 13 hours later. It’s only a big deal if we make it one.”