In the wake of a loss to Little Rock in the Baton Rouge Regional, the LSU Tigers were one loss away from being eliminated in the opening round of the Men’s College World Series.
Instead, the Tigers went on to win the whole thing.
After a complete game masterpiece from Kade Anderson staked LSU to a 1-0 series lead on Saturday, the Tigers got another strong start from Anthony Eyanson and some timely hitting to knock off Coastal Carolina 5-3, and claim their eighth NCAA title.
The deciding game was not without a little controversy.
In the bottom of the first Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall came out of the dugout after home plate umpire Angel Campos had a discussion with first base coach Matt Schilling. After Campos gave Schnall a few chances to return to the dugout, the head coach was ejected. In the fracas that ensued one umpire was sent tumbling, and Coastal Carolina Schilling was sent to the showers as well:
Here’s a replay of the umpire tumble:
However, it was the Chanticleers who got on the board first the following inning, when designated hitter Dean Mihos lofted a fly ball to left that carried just enough, staking Coastal Carolina to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second:
But LSU would answer over their next two at-bats. In the top of the third, the Tigers tied the game on an RBI double from DH Ethan Frey, and then LSU pushed four runs across in the top of the fourth. The Tigers loaded the bases to begin the inning, ahead of an RBI single from center fielder Chris Stanfield that brought two Tigers home to give LSU a 3-1 lead:
After Chanticleers starting pitcher Jacob Morrison recorded the next two outs, he surrendered a single to leadoff hitter Derek Curiel, which brought two more runs home to stake the Tigers to a 5-1 lead.
Coastal Carolina threatened in the bottom of the fourth, putting two runners on with a pair of outs. But Eyanson struck out Ty Dooley to end the threat.
The score was still 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth when Coastal Carolina started to barrel the ball a bit. Third baseman Walker Mitchell led off the inning with a hard line drive right at Stanfield in center, and then Blagen Pado ripped a single through the left side. But Eyanson settled in again, striking out Colby Thorndyke and then Mihos on a tough slider below the zone to end the inning.
LSU was then just nine outs away from their eighth Men’s College World Series title.
But the Chanticleers would not go quietly. Shortstop Dooley was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the seventh, and No. 9 hitter Wells Sykes lifted a fly ball to left that just got out of the park, for his fourth home run of the season to cut LSU’s lead to 5-3.
Eyanson got leadoff hitter Chase Bodine to fly out for the first out of the inning, but LSU head coach Jay Johnson came out of the dugout to summon right-handed reliever Chase Shores.
Eyanson’s final line on the day was 6.1 innings pitched, seven hits, three earned runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts.
Shores immediately took care of business, retiring Sebastian Alexander on a groundout and striking out Blake Barthol on a 101-mph heater to end the inning.
The big right-hander was perfect again in the eighth, striking out two Coastal Carolina batters and getting a groundout from Thorndyke to set the Chanticleers down in order. Shores touched triple digits on the radar gun several times during the inning, mixing in a tough slider as well to keep hitters guessing.
The Tigers were three outs away.
Chanticleers relievers Hayden Johnson, Darin Horn, and Ryan Lynch held up their end of the bargain, combining for 5.1 innings of scoreless relief to hold the Tigers to five runs. Lynch handled the ninth inning, giving the bottom of Coastal Carolina’s lineup a chance to scratch two runs across and send the game to extras, or perhaps win it outright to force a Game 3.
Mihos, who homered earlier in the game, led off the ninth with a sharp single through the right side off Shores to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Dooley. Shores was able to punch the Coastal Carolina shortstop out on strikes as Dooley chased a 100-mph heater up and out of the strike zone for the first out of the inning.
That brought Sykes to the plate, whose home run in the seventh cut LSU’s lead to 5-3. But he could not deliver magic, as he grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to touch off the celebration. The Tigers poured out of the dugout to celebrate their eighth title, and all the Chanticleers could do was watch.
Anderson, who was dominant on Saturday in his complete game shutout, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. He was 2-0 in Omaha, pitching 16 innings with an ERA of just 0.56.
“Can’t really talk right now, it’s been a pleasure,” said Anderson to ESPN after the win. “It’s a dream come true.”
“Everybody just coming together as a group and a team, just being themselves, that’s what led us here,” added Eyanson.
“[LSU] is the place to be.”
