LSU TIGERS WIN THEIR SECOND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THREE YEARS

LSU Baseball

The Chanticleers from Coastal Carolina came into the College World Series Finals series on a 26 game win streak. While on the other hand, the LSU Tigers were looking for their second national title in three years. This was only Coastal’s second appearance in the CWS. The last time they were in it was 2016 and they won it all. On their road to being national champions, they knocked off LSU in the Super Regional round in Baton Rouge. They would then go on to be champs after beating Arizona and their then head coach, Jay Johnson, in the finals. Not only does the entire LSU fanbase want revenge on Coastal, but so does LSU head coach, Jay Johnson. 

Game one of the college world series finals was a good old fashioned pitchers duel. Coastal Carolina had Cameron Flukey going, while LSU countered with Kade Anderson. Flukey went six innings striking out nine and only giving up one run. That lone run came on a Steven Milam base knock that scored Derek Curiel in the first inning. No one would cross home plate for the remainder of the game for either team. The rest of the game was the Kade Anderson show. He went on to throw a complete game shutout, only the third person to do so since the finals started in 2003 (JC Cloney, AZ vs. Coastal and Kevin Abel, OSU vs. Arkansas). Kade finished with nine innings pitched, ten strikeouts, zero earned, and three hits on 130 pitches. Tigers win 1-0. Spoiler alert: this would get him this years Most Outstanding Player Award.

The craziest part about this is that if you asked anyone who watched the game, they would say the same thing: he didn’t even have his best stuff. Especially early on, struggled to find the zone, walked a few guys, but then he settled in as the game went on. This is just a testament to the competitive nature of Anderson. Don't have your best stuff? Doesn’t matter, find a way. He found a way. 

Game two had all the makings to be another pitchers duel. Morrison was 12-0 for the Chants and coming off an unbelievable pitching performance against OSU going 7.2 deep with seven strikeouts and only one earned. While for the Tigers, Anthony Eyanson was 11-2 on the year with a sub three ERA.

Facing elimination, the Chants needed a hot start. They got it. Not just because the real feel temperature on the field was 106, but because they struck first scoring a run in the bottom of the second inning on a solo shot to left from Dean Mihos. This lead didn't last long as LSU tied it up in the top half of the third on a double from Ethan Frey scoring Daniel Dickinson after he singled earlier in the inning. The Tigers would go on to score four more runs in the top half of the fourth to knock Morrison out of the game. He would only go 3.2 innings this outing giving up six hits, five earned and two strikeouts. 

LSU would take a 5-1 lead into the bottom half of the 7th inning with the Chants running out of time. Ty Dooley leads off the inning with a hit-by-pitch, and is quickly followed with a two-run shot from Wells Sykes to left center cutting the deficit in half for the Chants. We now have a 2 run ballgame with no outs in the 7th. This would be it for Eyanson as Chase Shores comes in for relief and gets the Tigers back in the dugout. 

Michael Braswell III, who had been struggling all postseason, was receiving standing ovations from the LSU faithful all series. With each at bat everyone rose to their feet and cheered hoping to pull him out of his slump. It wasn’t until the 8th inning, Braswell came to the plate with two outs in what is most likely his last at bat this season if LSU can hang on. The crowd rises and is as loud as they’ve been all week. Braswell steps in the box, and rips a single to left field. The Chuck explodes. You’d think it was the final out if you weren’t in the stadium. It was awesome to witness. 

Chase Shores jogs out to the mound for the bottom half of the 9th inning. The LSU Tigers are three outs away in a two run ballgame from their eighth national championship and second in three years. The Chants need baserunners. Mihos leads off the ninth with a single to the right side. Chants have one on with no outs. Unfortunately for the Chants, this is all they would get. Shores would go on to get a strikeout and then a routine double-play ball to second base. Dickinson and Milam spin it up the middle for the final two outs and the LSU Tigers are national champions. The dogpile starts to form just between the mound and shortstop and it’s a beautiful sight. It feels good to see a dogpile again. 

In case you forgot, after the Tennessee Volunteers won it all last year, they did not dogpile. It was a jumpfest around the infield and no one went down for the dogpile. People said there may never be a dogpile again. Those people were wrong. We are back.

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-DOGPILE SZN