Johnson's belief in Ty Floyd gives LSU confidence heading to Omaha

Jay Johnson repeated the same three words throughout April when talking about starting pitcher Ty Floyd.

“He is undefeated.” LSU’s head coach said when asked about Floyd’s struggles.

It began to get repetitive, but that never made the statement not true. Floyd was getting the job done, even if it came with some tight games or some worrisome home runs allowed. They weren’t the pristine outings that star pitcher Paul Skenes was putting together, but Floyd competed through the ups and the downs and kept his team in every game.

Early in the season, the hope was that Chase Shores or Christian Little could step in and fill the Saturday starting spot, then it turned to Thatcher Hurd, but eventually, Floyd became the clear choice.

“I’m so proud of him,” Johnson said. “There was a point last year where he was struggling a little bit. This guy was talented and we needed him to believe in himself, so I brought him in and said ‘you’re going to pitch and you’re going to pitch a lot and I want you to just go for it.’ and he did.  It just took the reins off. He finished the year strong for us and beat Hurston Waldrep for us in a regional last year. I asked him to come out of the pen for us early in the year and he closed against Kansas State, and did well against some really good teams, then it became evident we need to put you as our Saturday guy and just go for it.”

Once Floyd locked down a starting job, Johnson’s belief in him never waivered. Even as fans and media questioned the consistency or ability, Johnson was quick to point out everything he did well – including winning games.

Consistent belief

Floyd has now started 15 games and has seven wins to zero losses. He didn’t get a win for his start on Sunday, as Kentucky teed up three home runs in 3.1 innings, but you still never felt like the wheels were going to come off with Floyd on the mound.

Every time Johnson talks about Floyd, the word ‘trust’ is thrown around fervently, and he means it. There’s a trust that even when things get bad, he can do enough to allow the best offense in the country to step in and win. There’s a trust that when he’s pulled, the middle reliever that steps in won’t be staring at a huge deficit or a bases loaded situation. 

No one is going to be Paul Skenes. ERA’s across college baseball are up. Home runs are up. Strike zones in the SEC were routinely tight. Still, Floyd was in the top 15 in the SEC in ERA for a lot of the year and has 93 strikeouts to 32 walks on the season. 

There’s obvious excitement about getting to watch Skenes in Omaha, but it’s going to take a few stellar pitching performances from guys like Floyd, Riley Cooper, Javen Coleman, Nate Ackenhausen, and others in order for the Tigers to win this tournament. The bats are always elite, but the shift in confidence on the mound is what has this team undefeated heading to the College World Series.

“Because Paul has been so out of this world, I think people have missed how good of a season Ty Floyd has had,” Johnson said. “I could’ve left him out there tonight, I just had a good feeling about Riley and where we were at in the lineup seeing them a third time through. I’m so proud of him. I thought today was a good outing and he just keeps stacking them up and that’s flipped us to be in the position we’re in right now.”