What LSU coach Jay Johnson said about facing Tennessee in the College World Series

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson had a feeling it was going to be Tennessee. Even before the Vols beat Southern Miss 5-0 late Monday night to win the Hattiesburg Super Regional and punch their ticket to the College World Series in Omaha. 

On Saturday night, in a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN, live from Charles Schwab Stadium, it will be Johnson’s Tigers against Tennessee in the final game of the opening round of the College World Series. 

“Not a surprise at all,” Johnson said according to The Bengal Tiger. “When you look at the bracket when it comes out, you look at the team in front of you, and then you kind of look at what that first game (in Omaha) might be and that’s basically who I anticipated we would play. Great team. Great talent. It should be a great night for college baseball.”

Up Next: Tennessee vs. No. 5 LSU, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

Tennessee (43-20) and LSU (48-15), the NCAA Tournament’s No. 5 overall seed, play the second game on Saturday, following the 2 p.m. ET game between Wake Forest (52-10) and Stanford (44-18). The losers from the two Saturday games will play Monday at 2 p.m. ET while the winners will match up Monday at 7 p.m. ET.

College World Series play starts Friday in Omaha with a 2 p.m. ET start between Oral Roberts (51-12) and TCU (42-22). Virginia (50-13) and Florida (50-15) play the second game Friday, a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN.

LSU beat opened the NCAA postseason with a win over Tulane then two wins over Oregon State to win the Baton Rouge Regional. The Tigers swept Kentucky at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge in the Super Regional round. 

Tennessee swept through the Clemson Regional, beating Charlotte twice as well as No. 4-seed Clemson, then won the Hattiesburg Super Regional over Southern Miss in three games. The Vols lost 5-3 in Game 1, then answered with an 8-4 win in Game 2 and the Omaha-clinching 5-0 win late Monday night. 

It’s the sixth time in program history that Tennessee has advanced to the College World Series. These Vols did so after losing four of their first five SEC series of the regular season. They rebounded on the back half of the schedule, closing with four wins in their final five conference series.

“They’ve made some switches to how they lined up their pitching, obviously, and they have a great staff,” Johnson said. “They’re going to be able to save runs because they have a good staff. Offensively, a lot of their main guys are still playing and are playing better and playing more confidently. 

“Much like us, they had a very tough stretch to begin SEC play. They realigned some things with how they were pitching and now they’re playing well but that’s not a surprise.”

Tennessee back in College World Series for second time in three years

LSU was ranked No. 1 in the country when Tennessee visited Baton Rouge earlier this season. The Tigers won 5-2 in the series opener and 6-4 in the second game. The Vols answered with a 14-7 win in the series finale.

Tennessee swept LSU in Super Regional play to reach the College World Series in 2021, but lost to Virginia and Texas in the first two games in Omaha, ending the season in the double-elimination format. 

Johnson took Arizona to the College World Series in 2016 and 2021, finishing runner-up in 2016, before being hired at LSU to replace the retiring Paul Mainieri. 

The Tennessee-LSU side of the eight-team bracket includes the No. 1 overall seed, Wake Forest, as well as Stanford making its third straight appearance in Omaha. 

“Honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way,” Johnson said of the draw. “Making it even more validating is playing the best teams. We had to beat a team again in the super regionals, then we got another SEC team in game one of the college world series. It’s really exciting and a great night for our program and a great night for college baseball.”