Why LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson sent Tre Morgan home v. Wake Forest in CWS, Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. — LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson has no regrets about his decision to send Tre Morgan from third base to home plate in the eighth inning of LSU's 3-2 loss to Wake Forest in the 2023 College World Series on Monday.
With the score tied at two in the eighth and runners on first and third base with nobody out, LSU (49-16) had a chance to take hold of the game as Cade Beloso came up to the plate. Morgan led off the inning with a double before advancing to third base on an error from Wake Forest second baseman Justin Johnson.
On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Beloso hit a ground ball to third baseman Brock Wilken. Wilken fielded the ball and double-pumped before firing the ball to home plate and throwing out Morgan, who was ordered before the play to run on contact.
"We were in a red situation so go on contact," Morgan said. "As soon as the ball was hit I took off. I knew he would have an awkward throw, so I tried to get a bit over to get in the way but he made a great play."
Not only did Johnson defend the decision to send Morgan, but he believed that it was a no-brainer.
"We were going because if he doesn't go then we're going to hit into a double play and it makes it really difficult," Johnson said. "Now you have a man on third standing there with two outs. Now you need a base hit.
"It's very simple baseball, actually."
LSU still had runners on first and second with one out after the play, but Gavin Dugas grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Wake Forest (54-10) took the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single from Bennett Lee before Camden Minacci ended the game in the ninth.
"They got a clutch hit there at the end and we did not," Johnson said.
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The only aspect of the play at the plate that caught Johnson off-guard was that Beloso hit the ground ball to third base. "I don't know that Cade Beloso has hit a ground ball to third base the entire season," Johnson said.
Beloso, a left-handed hitter, is a notorious pull-hitter. And if he had hit the ball up the middle or to the pull-side, Wake Forest — with its middle infielders playing deep — was willing to concede the run in order to turn the double play.
"When you're the home team, to me, we had six outs to get, we would have taken the double play in the middle, for sure," Wake Forest coach Tom Walter said. "And just to end the inning there, and hope we score in either the bottom of the eighth or ninth."
Morgan's play at the plate may have decided Monday's game. But LSU fans will have to wait until Tuesday when the Tigers face Tennessee (6 p.m., ESPN) in an elimination game until finding out if that play determined their season.
"We're in a different position now obviously, but our mentality is still great. We're going to show out tomorrow," Morgan said.
Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball: Why Jay Johnson sent Tre Morgan in College World Series
