What He Said: Jay Johnson Reacts to LSU's Loss to North Carolina in Chapel Hill

The Tigers will now prepare for an elimination game against Wofford on Sunday, remain alive in Chapel Hill.

Tigers Herad Coach Jay Johnson as the LSU Tigers take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge LA. Friday, April 5, 2024. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA

LSU came up short in their second game of the Chapel Hill Regional with the Tigers falling 6-2 to fourth-ranked North Carolina Saturday afternoon inside Boshamer Stadium, Bryson Field.

With the loss, LSU fell to 41-22 on the season and 1-1 in NCAA Regionals while the Tar Heels improved to 44-13 and 2-0 in the Regional.

The Tigers return Sunday at 11:00 a.m. CT to take on Wofford in their third game of the regional. The contest can be streamed on ESPN+, and it can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates.

It'll be a "win or go home" showdown for the reigning National Champions with Wofford up next.

Jay Johnson addressed the media following Saturday's loss to North Carolina.

The full Q/A:

Must-Win Three Games in Two Days: The Thought Process

“We worked too hard to get here to let a little disappointment get in the way of what is in front of us. I’ve done it in a regional and done it in Omaha twice, so I feel good about what we have available, I really do.”

“This is a little more than what we did in Hoover, but it’s the format. We knew that going in. Thats why we threw Gage yesterday and Luke today, so that we didn’t have to do that. It’s my first time in four years I haven’t been sitting on 2-0, but the best wins I’ve had in my career, including Omaha last year, came in elimination games. I have full confidence in our team we will execute. Our goal isn’t just to get out of here now. Our goal is to have the best day we’ve had as a team tomorrow.”

Utilizing Bullpen Moving Forward:

“Well, we were trying to win the game for sure. We’ve come back a lot lately, but when you’re down, it’s not your best move to bring in Herring or Guidry that pitched yesterday. For having three games, outside of having [Jump and Holman] available, we’re in about as good of a spot as we could be coming out of two games.”

The Struggles On Offense:

“Braswell smoked one. Travinski hit one good, but it’s a tough pitch to do much with. We had a really good plan, we were committed to the plan, they just didn’t give us much to do anything with and when we did, we hit it hard at somebody.”

The Approach For Sunday:

“You start with tomorrow at noon, we’re playing a great team. This is a great regional. Long Island, hats off to them with how they played last night. The other three teams are really good teams. There’s no carpet ride to the supers anymore. Home or on the road, doesn’t matter. There’s three great teams left and it just starts with a great start on the mound and a great approach at the plate and then you get to the second one tomorrow night and you do it again.”

Inexperienced Roster, Challenges That Come With It:

“We’re always learning, but if you have expensive experience at this time of the year, it’s really expensive. That’s part of the game and what we do developing players. We had some of that tonight, and I wouldn’t have guessed we’d be rolling out three freshmen out in a road regional against the no. 4 teams in the country, but a big reason why we’re here is because of those guys helping lead that surge last in the season. I have no problem with how we competed in the game. You win these regionals when your best players play great and somebody is going to pay that guy a lot of money and he got a couple good swings off tonight.”

Other LSU News:

The Bracket: The Updated Chapel Hill Regional Bracket, LSU Set to Face North Carolina

The Betting Odds: What are LSU's Chances of Winning the College World Series?

Join the Community:

Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Country: @LSUCountry_FN for all coverage surrounding the LSU program.