By Hunt Palmer
No team in the SEC has even nearly rivaled LSU’s SEC Tournament success.
Yet, there is no mention of the Tigers’ 12 titles anywhere at Alex Box Stadium. The Intimidator in right field lists the seven national championship. Those victories are chronicled on the flags that fly outside the stadium as well.
LSU enjoys success in Hoover, but it’s part of the road to Omaha.
“To me, the NCAA Tournament is the thing that matters,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said Tuesday.
The coach continued on insisting that LSU would make every effort to win games starting Friday night when his team takes the field, but there will be guidelines in place that don’t exist in SEC regular season games or in June.
“I’ve used this reference before, (in the SEC Tournament) in 2023 against Arkansas, I took Paul Skenes out with the bases loaded because he was at 31 pitches in the inning,” Johnson said. “I’m never taking Paul Skenes out with the bases loaded, ever, except in this scenario where there was a good chance he was going to pitch the following Friday. To win a national championship, to go to Omaha, or to win a regional, you need Paul Skenes healthy and at his best.”
LSU lost that game to the Razorbacks and went 1-2 that week in Hoover before rattling off five straight regional wins to reach the College World Series.
That year LSU was assured of two games in Hoover as part of the double-elimination format. This year the entire bracket is single elimination. That could change how Johnson and his staff plan to handle pitching.
Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson have been workhorses for LSU all season. They rank second and third in the SEC in innings pitched as well as second and third in the SEC in strikeouts. The Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 starts.
“I think we’re set up pretty good,” Johnson said. “I haven’t made a final determination of who we’re going to throw Friday yet, but I feel good about them being rested. This time of year, I think that matters as much for the bullpen as the starters. Kade and Anthony have pitched deep in games just about every week, and they’ve been good. Been great, not good. And some of those key relievers have performed time and time again for the better part of the year. It makes you want to keep going to them, so I think having six days off is a great thing.”
Last season LSU played from Tuesday through Sunday in the championship game. Christian Little threw 51 pitches in a Thursday win and came back Sunday to work on inning. He was unavailable for the regional with an injury issue.
With a maximum of three games on the schedule this week for the Tigers, no one should exceed a normal workload.
On Monday, the selection committee will announce the top eight national seeds and the field of 64. With a third-place finish in the nation’s toughest conference and an RPI in the top eight, Johnson doesn’t feel like his team has anything to prove to the committee this week.
“I think we’re for sure a top eight national seed,” Johnson said. “I’m not on the committee, though. There are smart people on there that look at this thing hard and make smart decisions, but I don’t have any doubt in my mind that we’re a top eight national seed and have earned that.”
In 2023, LSU had a top eight locked up. The Tigers ended up as the No. 5 seed with a poor Hoover showing. How strongly Johnson feels about his team’s current standing will likely be revealed with his pitching plans come Friday night when the Tigers take on Texas A&M, Mississippi State or Auburn.
