Sports

LSU Bat Flip Ignites Explicit Screaming Match As Coach Jay Johnson Provokes Kentucky

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© SCOTT CLAUSE / USATODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


The LSU baseball team picked up a conference win over Kentucky in SEC action on Sunday. The Tigers won the rubber match of a three-game set to secure a series victory.

Play was briefly stopped after an LSU home run celebration in the bottom of the sixth inning. Before the dust settled, coach Jay Johnson got into an explicit shouting matchup with counterpart Nick Mingione.

The manager took offense to criticism of his players’ antics. He welcomed a fight after watching his team take the lead.

LSU bat flip sparks outrage.

The Tigers trailed by two runs in their sixth at-bat. One swing would put them up, 11-10.

Seth Dardar delivered a no-doubt home run to give his team an advantage. He launched his bat into the air after the fact.

Mingione wasn’t pleased with the celebration. He confronted umpires and his opponent after the fact. Johnson responded from his dugout.

Lip readers deciphered his message. “I’m right f— here!” the LSU baseball coach shouted across the diamond at the Kentucky dugout.

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed. Play continued. LSU would go onto win, 17-10.

After dropping Game 1 of the series, the Tigers responded with back-to-back victories. Johnson was asked about his now-viral reaction after the latest triumph.

“It’s going to happen every weekend,” he said. “It happened at Vanderbilt in the eighth inning when we took the lead… More often than not, you’re going to see something like that. It’s the way kids are now. It’s the way this league is, and the fans. It’s part of it.”

The animosity between the two sides appeared to simmer by game’s end. Both coaches shook hands respectfully after the fact.

LSU improved to 19-10 with the win. Kentucky fell to 21-6.