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In a College World Series filled with exciting one-run games and extra inning thrillers, the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators reversed the script in Games 2 and 3 of the championship series.
LSU took Game 1 in Omaha with a nerve-wracking 11 inning 4-3 victory over Florida. For LSU, it was their second straight 11 inning win after taking down #1 national seed Wake Forest 2-0 two days earlier to move into the best-of-three championship series against SEC rival Florida.
The tight game script was then summarily tossed out the window for the final two games in this year’s College World Series. The first 14 games played in Omaha had seen the winning team score no more than six runs. That streak came to an end during the final two games of the 2023 college baseball season.
The two SEC teams unleashed their offensive fury on one another during Games 2 and 3. On Sunday, Florida tied the series at one game apiece with a dominating 24-4 thrashing of the Tigers. The Gators racked-up 23 hits and six home runs, while LSU gifted a season-high five fielding errors in the rout.
LSU and its purple and gold-clad fans were shocked and silenced on Sunday afternoon at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. Fortunately for the Tigers, there was still a third and final game to be played in the College World Series on Monday night.
In the first inning of Game 3, Florida looked like they were going to keep the rout going for a second straight game. In the bottom of the first in this series finale Monday night, Gators centerfielder Will Langford blasted a 2-run homer to spot the Gators to a 2-0 lead. The LSU faithful had to wonder if their pitchers were going to get blasted for a second straight game.
Tigers starting pitcher Thatcher Hurd (8-3 on the season) regrouped and kept the Gators in check for six innings on Monday. In the top of the second inning, LSU’s bats finally arrived at the stadium in Omaha as the Tigers responded with six runs of their own. Thousands of LSU fans erupted in glee as their team finally broke out of their Omaha hitting slump. The Tigers then added four more runs in the fourth inning to make the game 10-2 at the halfway point.
From there, LSU added another eight runs over the final three innings to tally 18 runs for the game. The final score was LSU 18, Florida 4. It had taken the Bayou Bengals five games to tally that many runs prior to Monday night’s championship game.
In winning, LSU claimed its seventh college baseball championship and now only trails USC (12) for the top spot. It was the first College Baseball title for LSU since 2009. LSU’s baseball stadium will now get a much desired update to their right field scoreboard (affectionately called “The Intimidator”) in Baton Rouge. The scoreboard boldly highlights every LSU national championship team.
The Tigers’ 24 hits in Game 3 also established a new College World Series mark by breaking the former record (23) set by Florida the day before. The Tigers turned the tables turned on the Gators in Game 3 Monday night. Ironically, both teams finished the season with an identical record of 54-17.
LSU loves Home-aha!
As we stated in a recent story, the LSU baseball fans really love their Tigers. The team routinely leads the nation in home attendance. In fact, LSU’s average home attendance (about 11,000 per game) easily leads every minor league baseball team by a few thousand fans per home opener. In 2023, LSU would also be ahead of the Oakland A’s who only draw 10,000 per game.
Omaha’s Charles Schwab Field holds over 24,000 fans. Anyone watching the game on ESPN Monday night could tell that far more than 50% of that crowd was pulling for LSU. The stadium becomes Alex Box-North in Nebraska whenever LSU is playing in the College World Series.
On Monday night, the Tiger faithful cheered as loudly as if the LSU football team was on the march to score the winning touchdown against Alabama. The players seemed to be quite aware of the crowd’s overwhelming support. Gator Nation definitely needs to up their game during their next trip to Omaha!
SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC!
For the fourth straight year, the Southeastern Conference is taking home the championship trophy from the College World Series. In addition to LSU’s win in 2023, Ole Miss (2022), Mississippi State (2021), and Vanderbilt (2019) have won the last four titles played in Omaha (COVID won in 2020). Pac-12 team Oregon State won in 2018, but the SEC’s Florida Gators won in 2017 (ironically, beating LSU in that year’s championship round).
Just like in college football, the SEC is quite deep in college baseball talent. With the advent of the NCAA’s transfer portal, increasing amounts of now-legal NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) cash, and highly supportive and enthusiastic fans, the SEC is going to remain a big factor in Omaha for years to come.
LSU’s Paul Skenes Gave a Piggyback Ride to his Injured Catcher
LSU’s talented pitcher, Paul Skenes, was not needed in Game 3. He would have been pitching on just three days of rest after a 120-pitch outing against Wake Forest. However, his catcher Alex Milazzo suffered a painful injured leg on a close play at home plate during Monday’s Game 3. Milazzo leaped over the Florida catcher and landed awkwardly on his leg as he touched home plate. Tuesday’s news reports indicated that Alex Milazzo may have suffered a broken bone in his shin on that play. He returned to the LSU dugout on crutches after his injury.
When the final out was recorded in Monday night’s finale, the 6’6” Skenes hoisted his injured catcher onto his back and carried Mizazzo out to the pitcher’s mound to join in LSU’s winning celebration. That’s teamwork for you!
Dylan “One Man Wrecking” Crews
The LSU All-American centerfielder is a junior. He was recently named College Baseball’s national player of the year. Dylan Crews finished the season with a sparkling .426 batting average. He is likely to join teammate pitcher Paul Skenes as one of the first two or three players selected in July’s Major League Baseball draft.
In the championship game on Monday night, Dylan Crews made a few incredible plays in the outfield to rob Florida of extra base hits. He also went 4-6 on the night and scored three runs for the victorious Tigers.
Dylan Crews was the best offensive and defensive player for the LSU Tigers and, perhaps, in all of college baseball. Look for him in the major leagues very soon!
The Florida Gators hit a LOT of Home Runs!
Florida hit a whopping 17 home runs during this year’s College World Series. The number is the largest in the 12-year history of Omaha’s new downtown ballpark. The Gators’ right fielder Ty Evans established an individual College World Series record with 5 home runs over the past week. Ironically, he only hit four round-trippers during the Gators’ previous 65 games of 2023.
LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson Deserves a Lot of Credit
Last summer, the LSU baseball team added several very talented players for the 2023 season. Former Air Force Academy pitching phenom Paul Skenes, ex-North Carolina State slugger Tommy White, and former UCLA pitcher Thatcher Hurd arrived in Baton Rouge with hopes of making LSU a national champion. Expectations for the 2023 season were sky high as LSU was ranked #1 in most pre-season polls.
Second-year LSU Coach Jay Johnson had to manage a very talented roster filled with players who could be starting at most other universities. Getting everyone to buy-in to sacrificing for the team is not an easy thing to do. During ESPN’s telecast, Coach Johnson said that he had the Tigers pose for a team picture after every one of LSU’s 57 wins in 2023. Emphasizing “team” paid off handsomely for the new national champions from Baton Rouge.
Ditto for LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward!
The guy who hired Jay Johnson away from the University of Arizona is LSU AD Scott Woodward. He also hired LSU women’s basketball coach, Kim Mulkey. Her team just claimed the school’s first women’s basketball national championship a few months ago. Woodward also hired LSU football coach Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame. When Scott Woodward was hired as LSU’s new AD in 2019, he stated that he wanted LSU to compete for and win national championships. With LSU’s baseball title to go with a women’s basketball championship, Scott Woodward needs to become a jeweler. He is handing out a lot of rings in Baton Rouge this spring and summer!
Congratulations to the 2023 College World Series champion LSU Tigers!
LSU became just the third school in College World Series history to defeat both the #1 (Wake Forest) and #2 (Florida) seeded teams en route to a national championship. The Tigers earned millions of new fans around the country after ten days of national television exposure on ESPN. That means the talent pool in Baton Rouge should be deep once again next season. LSU loves being in Omaha, and the feeling is mutual!
LSU will hold a victory celebration in Baton Rouge at Alex Box Stadium on Wednesday, June 28 at 7:30PM. Admission is free.