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College World Series: LSU hammers Florida to win its 7th national title

June 27, 2023

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb. — A day after giving up the most runs ever in a College World Series game, LSU cranked up its offense and won its first national title since 2009 with an 18-4 victory over Florida on Monday night in the third and deciding game of the championship series.

LSU (54-17) staved off elimination three times in bracket play and bounced back from the humiliating 24-4 loss in Game 2 to claim its seventh championship, second to USC’s 12.

“Right people, right place, right time,” Tigers coach Jay Johnson said. “This is the way it was supposed to go.”

The Tigers wiped out an early 2-0 deficit with a six-run second inning against Jac Caglianone (7-4). The runs kept coming until they finished with the most in a title game since USC’s 21-14 victory over Arizona State in 1998. The 14-run margin was the largest ever in a final. Their 24 hits were the most in a CWS game.

“It wasn’t our day, all the way around,” Gators catcher B.T. Riopelle said.

Thatcher Hurd (8-3) allowed Wyatt Langford’s two-run homer in the first and then allowed no hits or runs while retiring 18 of the next 21 batters. Riley Cooper took over to start the seventh and gave up Ty Evans’ CWS-record fifth homer, and Gavin Guidry finished the combined five-hitter.

There was speculation after Sunday’s blowout loss about the Tigers bringing back ace Paul Skenes for a third start in Omaha. He threw a combined 243 pitches over 15⅔ innings in two spectacular appearances, and he would have been working on three days of rest.

It turned out Skenes was able to watch from the dugout in the comfort of his sneakers while LSU poured on the runs and Hatcher kept dealing. Skenes headed to the bullpen to do some stretching in the seventh inning, but he went back to the dugout after the eighth and stayed there until he and his teammates rushed the mound when Guidry struck out Cade Kurland to end it.

Skenes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CWS.

The overwhelmingly partisan LSU crowd included Kim Mulkey, coach of the national champion women’s basketball team and the mother of Kramer Robertson, who played shortstop on the 2017 team that lost to Florida in the CWS finals.

The Tigers had been pointing toward a title run since their first team meeting last August. Johnson brought back Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Dylan Crews and the rest of the core of his team’s 2022 lineup.

Three key transfers took LSU to a higher level. Skenes was the first college pitcher in 12 years with 200 strikeouts and could be the No. 1 pick in the amateur draft. Tommy White hit 24 homers and drove in a nation-leading 105 runs. Hurd was solid as a starter and reliever and matched his longest outing of the year in the title game.

The Tigers were the consensus No. 1 team in the polls from the preseason until the first week of May, when they were overtaken by Wake Forest. They finished the season well enough to be the No. 5 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, and they swept through regionals and super regionals in Baton Rouge to make it to Omaha for the first time since they were national runners-up six years ago.

LSU joined Mississippi, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in a line of four straight national champions from the SEC.

“Oh my gosh, this is what I dreamed of since I was a freshman, holding this trophy,” 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.”

Florida (54-17) won the SEC regular-season title, was the No. 2 national seed and set school records for wins and home runs – the Gators hit 17 of the 35 homers by all teams in the CWS. But the Gators were unable to carry over the momentum from their record-setting production Sunday.

Caglianone, Florida’s two-way star, struggled with his command for a second straight start and was done on the mound after 1⅓ innings. He remained in the game as the designated hitter.

LSU got on the board when Jordan Thompson, who had been 1 for his last 30, singled in a run. It was tied after Caglianone hit Cade Beloso – his fifth hit batter in his 5⅔ CWS innings – and a walk to Crews put LSU in front. Cade Fisher relieved and gave up a couple of RBI singles and a sacrifice fly.

Josh Pearson’s fourth homer of the season highlighted the Tigers’ four-run fourth inning.

More to come on this story.

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