Following a 12-11 win over South Carolina, LSU head coach Jay Johnson spoke to the media about the game. Here’s what he had to say.
Opening statement
“What a game. I think there’s a lot of stories in this game, but it’s about toughness. The toughness that this team has displayed since the middle of the season is special. We were in a tough spot, and now we’re one of the best teams in the country. It’s our 40th win of the season, four obviously here. I don’t know how many in a row. That happens when you have tough-minded people that deliver great individual performances. Steven with the walk-off homer, he’s been exceptional in this tournament. I don’t know that there’s been a better player on the field this entire tournament. We won the game because of Will Helmers tonight, coming in and getting two 0s right there. Hadn’t pitched in a while, but so engaged in what’s happening. Some really good hitters in that lineup, obviously. I tip my hat to South Carolina. Tremendous team, tremendous program. They earned their way into the NCAA Tournament this week. I’m happy we’re moving on because these guys are so deserving to play for a championship tomorrow, and we’re really excited about that.”
On the emotions of a game like today
“It was awesome. My heart was sunk, like broken, not because of the score or any of that. It’s like, wait a minute — we were down 8-0. Does anybody remember that? We were losing the game 8-0. Then we tie it, get a beautiful bunt by Alex, get a guy to second with no outs and we don’t score, and you want to find a way to push my buttons, let’s find a way to get a guy to second with no outs and not score. That’s like top 10 of the worst for me, especially when it could have been a game-winning run and we could have avoided all the drama. But you know, I liked what Steven said there. Being with them — we didn’t even need to talk. You could just see in their faces the emotion, the excitement. It matters to them. Their 40th win on the season mattered to them.”
On the depth of the SEC
“Yeah, and I have a great perspective on this from where I came from. And being here now for three years, there’s one that’s just not like the others. It can’t be looked at the same. It can’t be evaluated the same. The players aren’t the same. The fans aren’t the same. The environments aren’t the same. The athletes aren’t the same. I always really believed we had a good team. We did win the national championship last year. We have 20 players from that roster that were here. We added Luke Holman and Gage Jump. We had a really tough schedule. We opened up at Mississippi State. That’s who I picked in those preseason polls, is like who’s your Omaha sleeper. The only reason they’re a sleeper is because they hadn’t been in the postseason. That is who I picked. Then we’re playing the team we beat to win the national championship in week two. Then we’re going to Arkansas week 3, who’s been the most consistent program in college baseball for the last 10 years in terms of just pure winning. Then we had Vanderbilt at home. I think they’re the only two-time national champion since South Carolina did it ’10 and ’11. Then we have Tennessee, who’s the No. 1 team in the country. Nobody else did that. So we were in a tough spot, you know, when we left that. But I knew if we could just kind of hang in there enough, we would be okay. The players deserve all the credit for staying positive, continuing to work hard. It’s a great life lesson for everybody to put your head down, work, stay positive, and good things can happen, and that was our only choice because of this league. It’s just not like anything else. I say that with great respect for teams all over the country. There’s great teams. It’s going to be an unbelievable NCAA Tournament with the North Carolinas, the Florida States, the Clemsons, the Arizonas, all the — the Oklahomas, the Oklahoma States, Dallas Baptist, Southern Miss. There’s great college baseball everywhere. There’s 14 teams out of 14 that could play in the NCAA Tournament and find their way to Omaha.”
On why LSU is so resilient right now
“I think because they got cut, they got bloodied, they got punched in the gut, and they found a way to get back up. So they know they can overcome anything. That’s another great deal right there. It’s 8-0. I can’t wait to go back and watch the game and see how it all kind of matriculated. I know there was two outs and we didn’t have a run in when it was 8-0, and then we ended up with 6. That’s clutch hitting. That’s passing the stick as Steven talked about, competitiveness in the at-bats. I think they just learned they could take the bullet. We actually played good at Tennessee. We played good at Tennessee and we got swept. I’ve never said that in my entire coaching career. We had the lead at Arkansas. We were down to the last strike to win the series against Florida and lost. If you can overcome all of that and be where we were going into this game today, being down in a baseball game, that’s not going to faze them. I’m super proud of them for that.”
On how wild this ride has been this year
“Yeah, I can’t run as fast anymore as when I was a player. But I love these guys. Love our team, love this program. I know where we were. I remember vividly we were playing New Orleans on a Tuesday, we just got back from Tennessee, I walked in the room, and I said, hey, look, it’s not going to get any worse than this, but we have to stay with it. I am going to remain positive. Nobody is getting blown up. Nobody is cussing anybody out, calling anybody soft. We’re just going to keep working because I believe in our team. The good thing about playing in this league is it still provides you opportunities. I mean, I’m elated that we’ve played as well as we have here and have won four games and are playing for a championship tomorrow. We were a postseason team coming here. Now I think everybody can probably understand what I’m talking about. But I’m proud of them, and we’ve come this far. We might as well give it another great effort tomorrow.”
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