LSU Baseball With "Growing Up To Do" In Face Of Another Tough SEC Week
LSU players were upset after Saturday's loss to Texas A&M and Jay Johnson could sense it. The Tigers clawed their way back into a game with a late push in the eighth inning only to give it away in the ninth and lose the first SEC series of the season.
How this group would respond on Sunday in an attempt to avoid a sweep would tell Johnson a lot about the makeup of his players. The team came out focused and while there play was still far from perfect, the Tigers made enough clutch pitches and swings down the stretch to salvage the weekend.
From the outside that might not be all that important but inside the program it was a great momentum boost for a team that was looking for some positive to take away from the weekend. Johnson was very impressed with the response from his group as not only a sign of growth but maturity to come through in a tough situation when the team wasn't necessarily playing its best.
"I don't have a problem with the competitiveness. There's a few times where you gotta grab them in the dugout and be like 'hey this is what needs to happen now' and I feel like they responded," Johnson said. "That's part of learning the importance of every pitch and staying in the moment.
"We've got growing up to do and so some of the struggles are not surprising and we're addressing them all the time. They were excited to win, they competed hard. It's the baseball and the execution side of things that we constantly have to strive to be better at."
Of course the weekend as a whole was defined by inconsistent results on the mound and those persistent defensive mistakes that become more glaring than any other shortcoming on this team. Outside of centerfielder Dylan Crews, every player has made varying mistakes when in the field, pointing to a team wide issue that Johnson says the program is working to fix.
The Tigers started making small tweaks after the Baylor game, one that still sticks with Johnson, but in the end if its a confidence issue for the players on defense, it's something Johnson says they simply have to get over.
"I told our team our path to Omaha will be through defense," Johnson said. "We modified things. When you have a bad error it really magnifies it. Some of it is baseball feel, it's all encompassing. I don't have an answer other than work. It doesn't matter if it's confidence, they have to get over that. There's an element where guys can do it or they can't and we'll continue to coach them."
Johnson typically likes giving Monday's off but with LSU not playing against Louisiana Tech until Wednesday due to weather, the Tigers will practice Monday and throughout the week with so many areas that need to be worked on. Not having a midweek game will also get guys a little extra rest while giving the program a little more time to work a few guys back from injury.
Catcher Alex Milazzo is progressing and Johnson mentioned his mental and physical toughness is among the strongest on the team. As for Cade Beloso, Johnson also said that he even took batting practice on Sunday but is still a ways away from a possible return. Beloso has been adamant about trying to play through a serious injury in the hopes of helping his team any way possible but there's still no timetable on a return.
"You have to know the psychology of your team, where they're at and it'll be good for us to get back on the field," Johnson said.