LSU Baseball is on a magical ride in Hoover this week. They have gone from playing on Tuesday morning to playing for an SEC Tournament Championship in traditional LSU fashion. This week alone, LSU has overcome large deficits and adversity like none other, proving to the nation that despite a few bad weeks, LSU Baseball is still LSU Baseball that won a National Championship last season. Some might not understand it, but only the real baseball fans of the Southeastern Conference understand that weird things happen in favor of the LSU Tigers once LSU arrives in Hoover and Omaha. Some call it voodoo, some call it magic, but in reality, it’s LSU Baseball being LSU Baseball.

There’s something about the program that makes college baseball so pure. They’re never flashy; they might talk but walk the walk. When one thinks of college baseball, one immediately starts with LSU and all the history that goes with the program. Names like Ben Mcdonald, Paul Skenes, Alex Bregman, and so many others to the coaching legends like Skip Bertman, Paul Mainieri, and even the current Coach, Jay Johnson, are legends that all came to LSU in some fashion. These names are icons in baseball; everyone knows and has a memory or ten that is somehow associated with LSU Baseball.

This year’s journey has been no exception. LSU entered the SEC Tournament as a team fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Today, they stand as potential contenders for the 2024 College World Series, aiming to repeat their triumph as National Champions. There’s something unique about this LSU Baseball team, a quality that has been magnified by their magical week in Hoover. It’s a testament to their potential and a source of hope and optimism for every LSU fan.

Just yesterday, LSU found itself in a similar place: down 8-0. The LSU voodoo kicked in after a weird call that again gave South Carolina the lead. From there, a pissed-off LSU team did what LSU does best: they won. Steven Milam stepped up to the plate with Hayden Travinski on base and sent one deep to left-center field for a walk-off two-run shot in the bottom of the 10th to send the Tigers to the SEC Championship.

When asked in the postgame press conference about the Tiger magic here in Hoover, Coach Jay Johnson said this,

” Yeah, it’s one of the huge reasons I came here. Nobody has a following like us. Nobody has a care level about their team, like the LSU Tigers. It’s unbelievable — I want to tip my hat to our fans this season.

It’s straightforward for them to get down on you when you’re 22-15 or 3-12 in the SEC, but they didn’t. They kept showing up. They kept showing up when we played Auburn at home. They kept showing up when we played Texas A&M and home. And they should.

They should because of the effort these guys put into it. These are two elite human beings who were up here talking right now, and that’s across our entire team. Baseball talent is one thing. There are future pro players, such as White, Holman, Jump, Hurd, and on and on and on and on.
But they’re all better people than they are players. That’s the only way you’re sitting where we are right now, which is a great team in a great position to take advantage of the opportunities in front of it.”

LSU will need just a bit more Tiger voodoo on Sunday as it faces the SEC Regular-Season Champions, the Tennessee Volunteers. Expectations are that both teams will run out of pitching at some point today, creating a wild onslaught of offensive production that only one can describe as Hoover magic.

Tony Vitello and his Tennessee Volunteers are awaiting LSU in the SEC Tournament Championship. Tennessee and LSU met in April in Knoxville, where the Volunteers dominated LSU, sweeping the Tigers. Sunday will be different, though; this isn’t the same LSU team that they were a month ago; this LSU team went from boys to men this week in Hoover.

Sunday will be a magical day of baseball between the old-money team and the new blood looking to prove they belong. As a baseball conference, moments like those we have on Sunday don’t come often; the Hoover Met will be the center of the universe at 2:00, and every eye will be tuned in to watch the Volunteers and Tigers.