LSU Baseball players talk win over Oregon State

LSU players Brayden Jobert and Thatcher Hurd recap the Tigers’ 6-5 win over Oregon State on Sunday to advance to the NCAA Regional Final.

Q. Brayden, Coach said it felt like a matter of time before you guys would push some runs in. I guess the three-hour layover there, what did you guys talk about in terms of generating offense and getting going there with the long ball?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Before anything, I just want to say shout-out to our pitching staff. They were unbelievable tonight. During the rain delay, we were just focused on staying into the game, not getting too far away from it. And we came out and we did our job.

Q. Brayden, I felt like everything got started when Dylan Crews hit two-run homer in the fourth inning. I saw a lot more emotion out of him. Do you feel that was something that ignited the team and have you ever seen him get that excited?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Yeah, absolutely. That set us on fire. It’s playoff baseball. Emotions are running high and we’re just having a blast out there.

Q. Thatcher, seems like particularly in two-strike counts you were relying on your curveball. Was there something you saw early on in film or you just felt was really working with that pitch?

THATCHER HURD: Yes, really good feel for that pitch tonight. And the depth and the differential off the fastball and the slider was good in put-away counts. Executed it down.

Q. Thatcher, the first home run, hit kind of high, it kind of drifted. Can you talk about how you bounced back from that and moved forward from that?

THATCHER HURD: It was so what, we’re going to come back, keep making pitches. I’m going to live and die in the strike zone.

Q. Brayden, what were you looking for in that home run?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: I was the lead-off for the inning. I was just trying to put up a good at-bat and get on base. It was a 2-0 count. He grooved me a fastball and I put a good swing on it.

Q. Thatcher, when did you know that you were going to come in after the rain delay? Any kind of mental preparation that goes into that, if you could talk about that?

THATCHER HURD: I know with the delay, there was a chance, as soon as I heard that before any coaches told me I was getting mentally prepared to go in. When they told me, I was pretty excited. I was very excited to get the ball.

I was just going to be ready to start it back up until they told me I wasn’t or I was, you know.

Q. Thatcher, obviously three innings had already passed, so technically you’re a relief outing. But there had been so time, it seemed like you were warming up normally like you were a starter. What goes into your routine, in particular, and is that how you wanted to approach it?

THATCHER HURD: When Ty took the mound, I was ready — I was going to keep my body ready to come in out of relief. But with the delay, I had plenty of time. It was just about staying on top of the routine. I do the same routine basically every day. So regardless of my role, I’ll be ready to go.

Q. Brayden, before the rain delay, you all had one hit. The next five or six hits were extra-base hit and four or five straight home runs. How do you explain that? Did Jobu have anything to do with that?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Of course he did. We were just — like Coach said, we were having good at-bats. It wasn’t coming together. And we put it all together after the rain delay. We were putting good swings on balls. We have a very strong team. We have a very strong team. And once we hit the ball hard, they’re going to go.

Q. Brayden, was there any sort of adjustment period for the offense just because you haven’t seen these guys and they might have a slightly different style just being in the Pac-12, like how much of an adjustment was that for you guys offensively?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: We didn’t really think about that at all. Our opponent is nameless and faceless, as Coach tells us all the time. No matter who is on the mound, we have a plan. As long as we stick to that plan, we believe they’re going to go our way.

Q. Brayden, as someone from Louisiana, what did it mean to you to hit that game-winning home run in this magnitude of a game at the Box?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Awesome. I’m just so proud of my team. I’m happy I could come through for my team. I’m just very blessed and very happy that we came out with a win.

Q. Thatcher, he’s come through in some late-game situations for you all year, but Gavin Guidry getting those final three outs and the poise and confidence it shows in a freshman to go out there and do that.

THATCHER HURD: Poise and confidence, just like you said, that’s so nails — believes in himself, believes in his stuff. He’s cut out for that. He picked us all up. That was pretty electric. I’m super happy for him. And he’s going to do that for a long time for us. Really cool.

Q. Thatcher, I think you matched a career high and 12 strikeouts form your time at UCLA. What’s the difference between you at the beginning of the year playing for LSU and now? What’s the difference?

THATCHER HURD: I’ve said it — I’ve touched on it, but it all starts over the plate. It all starts with strike one and getting the lead-off guy out. If we don’t, we move on and to the next pitch. It’s one pitch at a time. And I think I’ve grown from my outings, good or bad, and flush them the next day and just get back to work.

Q. Brayden, just the confidence that a game like this can kind of instill in you guys, have to figure some things out as you go along. I know it was a long day, but what can this do for the team as you kind of push forward?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Baseball is a long game. It has its ups and downs. As long as we stick to our plan and focus on what we need to do, we feel like we’re going to come out on top.

Q. Brayden, yourself and the other leaders on the team, I guess the mentality going to bed tonight to finish the job tomorrow, how do you think you guys will handle that collectively?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: Tomorrow’s the most important game of the year. So we’re going to come in entirely focused and planning to do our job.

Q. Just the job Josh did and Dylan to kind of get the thing going. You had one hit up to that point, could you speak about those kind of guys coming through?

BRAYDEN JOBERT: They started it for us. They’re both amazing players. And hitting is contagious. Once they’ve started it, it set it off for us.