By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
BATON ROUGE – It seems like a million years in the past, but it was 42 days ago from Monday’s NCAA tourney bid day that LSU’s 2024 baseball team hit rock bottom.
The defending national championship Tigers had just lost their fifth straight SEC series to open league play, being swept at then-No. 1 Tennessee.
LSU’s optimism after a 16-2 start in non-conference play before facing a Murderer’s Row of four top 6 nationally ranked SEC opponents had faded.
“We played good at Tennessee (in losses of 6-3, 3-1 and 8-4), which is something I rarely say in being swept,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said Monday, after the Tigers were named the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional. “I just remember we were 3-12 (in the SEC) and I had to go to the (weekly Monday night live) coaches’ (radio) show with (LSU play-by-play voice) Chris Blair. There was a lot of psychological warfare to get past that.
“We had a (non-conference) game the next day on Tuesday (at home vs. New Orleans) that we had to win because the weekend didn’t go so well.”
LSU battled hard to edge UNO 6-3, but several days later the Tigers won their first SEC series of the season at Missouri. Johnson’s constant positivity and faith that his players would learn from their failures in the first half of SEC play eventually paid off in the nick of time.
Since that series-ending loss at Tennessee, LSU has won 18 of 24 games, including four of five SEC series in the second half. Then, after winning four of five last week in a run to the SEC tourney finals, LSU has won 14 of its last 20 games against league opponents.
Among those victims are five teams invited to the NCAA Tournament, including national top 10 seeds No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Arkansas and No. 7 Georgia.
It’s why the 40-21 Tigers aren’t fazed about playing in the regional hosted by No. 4 national seed North Carolina. LSU opens play Friday vs. Wofford at 11 a.m. before North Carolina faces Long Island at 5 p.m.
“When we were 3-12 (in the SEC), Coach Johnson told us every game after that was like a playoff game,” LSU shortstop Michael Braswell III said. “Every game mattered.
“So, we’re not new to the playoff feeling we’ll have this weekend. If we just keep doing what we’ve been doing, we’ll be fine.”
Here are the Chapel Hill Regional teams besides LSU:
NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS, No. 4 national and No. 1 regional seed
(42-13 overall, 22-8 as Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions)
Head coach, record: Scott Forbes 148-86 (.632) in four seasons overall and at North Carolina.
North Carolina’s all-time NCAA tournament record: 115-78 (.595) in 35 appearances, 11 College World Series appearances (last in 2018).
Longest winning streak this season: 11
Longest losing streak: 3
Batting average: 311 Home runs: 105 RBI: 461 Runs scored per game: 9.0
Earned run average: 4.19 Opposing batting average: .255 Strikeouts: 475 Walks: 448 Opposing runs allowed per game: 4.8
PLAYERS TO WATCH
1B Parks Harber (.351, 20 HR, 60 RBI), LF Casey Cook (.345, 18 HR, 76 RBI), CF Vance Honeycutt (.319, 22 HR, 58 RBI), P Jason Decaro (5-1, 3.80 ERA in 73.1 innings, 64 strikeouts, 34 walks),
WOFFORD TERRIERS, No. 3 seed
(41-18, 12-8 in Southern Conference, won Southern Conference tournament)
Head coach, record: J.J. Edwards 41-18 (.694) in 1 season overall and at Wofford.
Wofford’s all-time NCAA tournament record: 0-2 (.000) in one appearance.
Longest winning streak this season: 5
Longest losing streak: 2 (3 times)
Batting average: 340 Home runs: 74 RBI: 546 Runs scored per game: 10.2
Earned run average: 5.75 Opposing batting average: .274 Strikeouts: 474 Walks: 193 Opposing runs allowed per game: 5.9
PLAYERS TO WATCH
3B Dixon Black (.368, 13 HR, 75 RBI), 1B Tyler Hare (.327, 12 homers, 62 RBI), C Daniel Jackson (.362, 12 HR, 67 RBI), CF Marshall Toole (.383, 9 HR, 64 RBI), P Zac Cowan (9-2, 3.55 ERA in 104 innings, 118 strikeouts, 18 walks).
LONG ISLAND SHARKS, No. 4 seed
(33-23, 24-9 in Northeast Conference, won NEC tournament)
Head coach, record: Dan Pirillo 187-185 (.502) in 8 seasons overall and at Long Island
NCAA tournament record: 0-4 in 2 appearances
Longest winning streak this season: 7
Longest losing streak: 4 (2 times)
Batting average: 72 Home runs: 68 RBI: 358 Runs per game scored: 7.3
Earned run average: 6.31 Opposing batting average: .293 Strikeouts: 428 Walks: 244 Opposing runs allowed per game: 6.8
PLAYERS TO WATCH
RF Seth Surrett (.332, 5 HR, 38 RBI), LF Jake Mastillo (.305, 16 HR, 67 RBI), 1B JC Navarro (.277, 15 homers, 44 RBI), SS Benjamin Fierenzi (.322, 4 HR, 41 RBI), P Garrett Yawn (6-3, 4.08 ERA in 90.1 innings, 104 strikeouts, 42 walks).
Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com