| It’s all over. Monday afternoon in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, first-year LSU coach Jay Johnson and the Tigers watched their season come to an end in the NCAA regionals, thanks to an 8-7 loss to Southern Miss in the championship game. In the end, Johnson kept no secret about why his team came up short: "We've got to pitch better — end of story. That's the story of this tournament. That's the story of the SEC tournament. That's the story of the last regular-season game, and there's nothing about competitiveness, there's nothing about heart. These guys don't need more motivation." Beat writer Leah Vann gives you an up-close look at the players’ heartbreak, and at what went wrong against Southern Miss. Our columnist, Scott Rabalais, was in Hattiesburg, as well. He reflected on a long, wild weekend that was filled with so much LSU comeback magic, but in the end was replaced by the pain of a season suddenly over. The loss was especially frustrating because it robbed LSU of a real shot at making it to Omaha. Late Sunday night, the Tigers had learned that if they were to defeat Southern Miss, they would host a super regional at Alex Box Stadium. Miami, the No. 6 national seed, had been eliminated from its own regional. LSU and Southern Miss were the highest-rated teams remaining in the Hattiesburg-Coral Gables super regional pairing. We’ll obviously have much more from the fallout of the Hattiesburg regional — and believe it or not, the LSU sports season isn’t over. The track and field national championships are on deck — and as you might remember, the Tigers had a pretty good time there last year. Stay tuned. Cheers, Leah Vann and Scott Rabalais | 
