Coming off a series loss in Austin, TX, this past weekend, head coach Jay Johnson and his LSU baseball squad now have an opportunity to right the ship over the next few days in a home series against SEC foe Mississippi State.
Texas hands LSU baseball first series loss of the 2025 campaign
An early-season loss is never the end of the world. As a matter of fact, in the case of Jay Johnson and LSU baseball, there’s a very real chance that it might have been exactly what the Tigers needed to stay focused as they look ahead to the remainder of their spring season.
Getting the 2025 campaign off to one of the hottest starts in all of college baseball, the purple and gold were sitting strong with a 21-1 overall record, including a series sweep against SEC foe Missouri. That said, it was still nearly impossible to predict exactly what this team was going to end up looking like come May, as the team had only faced off against one other top 25 team, having beaten No. 18 DBU by a score of 7-3 in late February.
Fast forward to late March, and we now have much greater understanding of the fact that this team is vulnerable when facing off against some of the top competition in college baseball.
Over the weekend, LSU baseball hit the road to take on brand new SEC foe Texas in Austin, TX. While they notably took care of business in game one, two straight losses quickly brought the Tigers back down to earth, and for head coach Jay Johnson, it’s now a matter of getting back on track as SEC play continues to move along.
Fortunately for the purple and gold, the good news is that it’s still March. There are months remaining in the 2025 campaign, and considering this was only their second taste of SEC-level competition, there’s little to no reason for panic, and the players more than understand this.
“Obviously, no one likes to lose,” Friday starting pitcher Kade Anderson said while speaking on the Mik’d Up podcast earlier this week. “This wasn’t our weekend, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the weekends can’t be ours.”
This is especially true when you consider that Texas was, and will likely continue to be a top 10 team nationally. Add in the fact that it was the first true away series that the Tigers have faced, and it doesn’t take long to realize that more than anything else, this has the potential to be a fantastic learning moment for a team that has College World Series aspirations.
Head coach Jay Johnson looking to get back on track in home series against Mississippi State
That said, you can have all the aspirations you want, but none of it matters unless you can find a way to get back on track, and for head coach Jay Johnson, that’s priority number one as his team gets set to host unranked Mississippi State (16-9) for a series this weekend.
Fortunately for the Tigers, midweek games make for an excellent opportunity to reset mentally, and that’s exactly what LSU baseball received Tuesday evening, as they went on to demolish in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 17-4.
Coming out and immediately scoring 9 runs in the first inning on Tuesday, it was clear that the purple and gold had recovered from the series loss vs. Texas. Now, in just one hour or so, we’ll soon find out if that mental recovery can transition into another SEC weekend series, against what Jay Johnson views as a “very talented” Mississippi State squad.
“The main pitcher [Pico Kohn], he does a great job of getting swings, and misses, and getting people out,” the Tiger head coach began, while previewing the Bulldogs. “I think he was SEC Pitcher of the Week last week. Very talented lineup, at the top particularly. Ace Reese is a very dangerous hitter. Hunter Hines, I’ve always thought he was one of the better guys in the league over the last few years.”
“I think they’re a Super Regional, Omaha caliber team, and it should be another great weekend.”
Despite their unranked status up to this point, you can truly never count an SEC team out of a series. Last Friday, Mississippi State stole a game away from No. 10 Oklahoma, winning 2-1. The Friday prior, they nearly found a way against an elite Texas squad, falling just short by a score of 7-8.
Whether they’re able to bring that same energy for a Thursday night in Baton Rouge, LA, is yet to be seen. Still, don’t expect coach Johnson to sit around, waiting to find out.
LSU baseball will take on Mississippi State (16-9) Thursday evening, for what will ultimately be a three-game weekend series hosted in Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, LA. The matchups are set to take place at 7:00 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network, SEC Network+ and SEC Network+, respectively.
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