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LSU outfielder Derek Curiel (6) fouls the ball off his foot in the sixth inning of the game against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday, February 16, 2025 at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 8-1. STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU head coach Jay Johnson walks back to the dugout after exchanging the lineup before the game against Nicholls on Monday, February 24, 2025 at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
STAFF PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Jay Johnson never tinkers. The LSU baseball coach doesn't even know what the word means. The adjustments he makes to his lineups are purposeful, not experimental, and they're always designed to win that day's game.
"I set the team up to win," Johnson said. His lineups reflect a matchup-dependent philosophy, one that shows how he's not afraid to move players up and down or in and out of the order. He didn't settle on a particular lineup last season until the SEC tournament.
But lately, Johnson hasn't changed his batting orders much. The Tigers have rolled out a certain group of players in a similar order since the start of the Frisco College Baseball Classic on Feb. 28.
And it has worked, LSU has put up at least eight runs and 10 hits in six of its past seven games. "I like where we're at right now," Johnson said. "I like some things about how it flows.
" The two biggest questions the lineup has answered are who leads off and who hits behind junior Jared Jones. Freshman Derek Curiel has answered the first question with flying colors. Since rising to the top of the order, he's reached base in 26 of his past 41 plate appearances.
His consistency has set the table for Jones. The slugger, who blasted his fifth home run of the season Saturday, has been hitting second after starting the year batting third. After Jones in the order is junior Daniel Dickinson, the answer to the second question.
Dickinson is tied with Jones for the team lead in homers. His three-run blast on Feb. 28 against Kansas State, after Jones was intentionally walked, was a perfect example of what Johnson was hoping for when he slotted him there in the order.
He finished that game with six RBIs. "They're so afraid to pitch to Jared Jones. Great, (here's) six RBIs," Johnson said.
"Keep walking him." The cleanup hitter after Dickinson has been the designated hitter. Against a left-handed pitcher, that's been junior Ethan Frey.
For righties, senior Josh Pearson has usually filled the role. Sophomores Steven Milam and Jake Brown have batted fifth and sixth after the DH. Senior Luis Hernandez and the starting third baseman that day follow Brown.
Third base has turned into a platoon between junior Tanner Reaves and senior Michael Braswell. Braswell, who led off for the Tigers last season, is right-handed and the more experienced defender at third. Reaves is left-handed and had only played a couple games at third before transferring to LSU from Blinn Community College in the summer.
Who starts depends on the matchup for that day, but Reaves has emerged at the plate lately. He went 2 for 3 with a double against Nebraska and was 3 for 3 with a three-run home run on Friday. Johnson is comfortable with the platoon LSU has settled on, even if Reaves started against a left-handed pitcher Saturday.
"I think we're going to need them both," Johnson said. "I don't feel like it has to tip one way or the other, or probably that it will for a while." Junior Chris Stanfield hits after the third baseman in the nine hole.
He led off LSU's first five games, but Johnson said he likes how Stanfield has settled into the final spot in the lineup. "I don't want to say that I woke up in the middle of the night and wrote it down on a notepad," Johnson said, "but I just had (the idea of) like, 'Hey man, if we can get to this, this is going to be a great lineup or be really hard to deal with.' " The lineup alternates between left-handed and right-handed hitters when Reaves starts against a righty, with the exception of Jones and Dickinson who both are right-handed.
Having that balance throughout the order has paid off for Johnson. He's been happy with how the Tigers have performed against left- and right-handed pitching. "There is still a lot of left/right mixing because we're going to see probably a 50/50 split between left and right pitchers in SEC play," Johnson said, "at least with the 10 teams on our schedule.
" This order is working for Johnson, but he isn't married to it. It hasn't been tested against Southeastern Conference competition yet and Johnson's history suggestshe isn't afraid of mixing things up again if something stops clicking. But either way, the lineup has put a jolt in LSU's bats since that arduous 11-inning stretch against Omaha two weekends ago.
"I like it," Johnson said. "But I don't think we're really pigeon holed into anything.".
