After being blown out the day before in historic fashion, the LSU Tigers baseball team pulled together perfectly Monday night.
The Tigers roared over Florida 18-4 on Monday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha to close out the men’s college World Series and win the national championship. It was the show’s seventh title, and first since 2009.
LSU player Paul Skenes was named tournament MVP. He started two games, pitched 15 innings, and had 21 hits, allowing seven hits and two hits.
Florida, after a historic 24-4 win in Game 2 on Sunday, picked up right where they left off on Monday. White Langford hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put the Gators on the board first.
This, however, was about it.
LSU broke out in the second half and never looked back. The Tigers put up six runs, three of them on Florida pitcher Jac Caglianone, who walked the run and let another in after hitting it with a pitch before being replaced by Kid Fisher. The Tigers got three more on Fisher from a pair of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly to completely turn the game around.
Then in the fourth, Josh Pearson hit an RBI single and then was hit deep by Josh Pearson.
Cady Peluso added an RBI single before the end of the inning, putting the Tigers up by eight at the time.
Although Florida’s Ty Evans soloed the seventh and Cade Kurland’s eighth, it was too late to make a meaningful impact. LSU added three more runs in the eighth inning, which started with a huge triple by Dylan Crews. Crews hit an Angel Reese celebration while standing on third base as well, honoring LSU’s last star to win a national championship earlier this year.
Only from there, too, did this celebration gain momentum. Then the Tigers picked up four more in the ninth after an RBI double and then a two-run homer off Brayden Gobert.
From there, the Tigers simply held on to win 14 rounds and the National Championship. The Tigers hit an MCWS-record 24 wins as well, surpassing Florida’s record Sunday night performance. LSU also left 18 runners stranded on base, yet had no problem winning 18-4. The Gator was held up with only four hits.
“It’s what I’ve dreamed of since I was a freshman,” Crews, the top prospect in the MLB draft, said on ESPN. “This moment right here, holding this cup, it’s the best feeling in the world. I can’t put it into words.”
LSU, after making it to the Finals from the losers’ bracket, barely won the first game of the series on Saturday night. Tigers pitcher Ty Lloyd struck out a career-high 17 batters in this 11-run win, which ended only after a home run from Peluso. His 17 strikeouts were the most in an MCWS game in 51 years. Florida then responded by extending the series on Sunday in what was the most lopsided MCWS finals game since 1957. Florida was seeking its first championship since 2017.
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