Ahead of Saturday’s Game 1 against Coastal Carolina in the College World Series Championship Series, LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson was gifted some material for his pregame speech.
On Friday, both LSU and Coastal Carolina players and coaches met with local reporters in Omaha to preview the title fight. During Coastal Carolina’s Q&A session, players were asked to provide some examples of things they like or admire about the Tigers.
One player stared blankly into the crowd. Junior infielder Blake Barthol started to laugh. Star pitcher Jacob Morrison looked to his teammates before leaning forward to answer.
“Not a whole lot,” he said, as laughter filled the media room.
Added Barthol: “We’re not really worried about the Tigers. We’re more of a self-oriented team. We’re just focused on our team and our team only.”
Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall, sitting next to the 3 players, was one of the only people in the room not laughing. Maybe he would have preferred a different answer.
Then again, maybe not. Coastal Carolina enters the title series riding a 26-game win streak. The Chanticleers are 56-11 on the season and haven’t lost a game since April 22. They hammered the opposition during the Conway Regional, then beat Auburn 2-0 in the Auburn Super Regional. At the CWS, Coastal Carolina has beaten Arizona (7-4), Oregon State (6-2), and Louisville (11-3) to reach the final.
But LSU, a 7-time national champion, probably isn’t the team to give extra motivation to. The Tigers are 51-15 and have won 6 straight. They beat Arkansas twice in Omaha — including a thrilling come-from-behind win on Wednesday — to reach the final series. They also have an uber-talented pitching rotation led by a lefty many believe will be the first player selected in the 2025 MLB Draft.
Immediately after Coastal Carolina’s press conference ended, Johnson sat down at the dais with Jake Brown and Anthony Eyanson. The 2 Tiger players were asked about Coastal Carolina’s lack of interest in complimenting LSU and how the Tigers would counter that mindset.
“We’ve trained all year. We’ve been together since August for this. This isn’t something that caught us by surprise. We knew we were meant to be here,” Brown said. “Ready to go out there and compete and bring home No. 8.”
First pitch for Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) on Saturday.
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Coastal Carolina ahead of CWS final vs. LSU: ‘We’re not really worried about the Tigers’ Saturday Down South.
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