OMAHA, NE — For the first time since 2009, the LSU Tigers are the 2023 College World Series Champions. After suffering a record-worst 24-4 beat down at the hands of the Gators in Game 2, LSU cranked their offense into high gear and gave Florida a taste of their own medicine. The Tigers routed the Florida Gators in the winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday night, 18-4, to claim the Championship.
LSU survived three eliminations games throughout the tournament and bounced back from the humiliating 24-4 loss. Most teams are not that mentally tough. The Tigers (54-17) showed why they are the best team in baseball.
"We got punched in the mouth yesterday," Tigers star Dylan Crews said. "That's the beauty of baseball. You wake up in the morning and do it all over again. We woke up today, and you could see on everybody's faces that we were ready to go. Nobody in the country was going to beat us today."
Gatorade bath for Coach Jay Johnson
(Credit: twitter.com/NCAABaseball)
Florida took the lead 2-0 early in the game. LSU overcame that deficit with a 6-run 2nd inning. The Tigers never looked back and continually poured it on. LSU finished with the most runs in a title game since USC ran up the score on Arizona State 21-14 back in 1998. The Tigers' 14-run margin was the single largest margin of victory in a title game in the history of College Baseball.
After LSU’s Thatcher Hurd allowed a two-run blast in the 1st inning to Wyatt Langford, he allowed no hits and no runs while retiring 18 of the next 21 batters. Riley Cooper and Gavin Guidry came into the game in relief, and the Tigers finished with a combined 5-hitter.
Many thought that after the 24-4 rout in Game 2, LSU’s ace, Paul Skenes, would pitch for the Tigers in Game 3. Skenes previously made two other starts in the past nine days and threw 243 pitches. The ace ended up watching the game comfortably from the dugout while his team blew out the Gators. Skenes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Men’s College World Series.
"Oh my gosh, this is what I dreamed of since I was a freshman, holding this trophy," LSU’s Dylan Crews said. "We're champions, baby, bringing it back to LSU. It's been a long journey for us. We dealt with a lot of stuff. Just to finally say we're national champions ... I cannot wait to put another flag over the field. It's going to be awesome."
LSU is now the fourth SEC School in a row to win a baseball national title. The Tigers also won the Women’s National Championship in Basketball earlier this year. It seems like this is a great year to be a Tiger, so the rest of the country better watch out come football season.
2023 National Champion LSU Tigers
(Credit: lsusports.net)
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