OMAHA, Neb. — LSU’s 2023 baseball season kicked off with high preseason expectations as it was the No. 1 consensus in all major polls. It ended up meeting those expectations and in a dog poo near the hill in Omaha.
LSU defeated Florida 18-4 in the deciding Game 3 of the Men’s College World Series Finals Monday night to secure the Division I national championship for 2023.
LSU’s dominating performance, in which they scored 23 goals, came a night after the Tigers themselves were dominated 24-4 in Game 2.
LSU fell behind early in Game 3 when Florida star outfielder Wyatt Langford hit a two-run home run into left field. However, LSU bounced back quickly in the next half inning, putting six runs on the board early in the second, all without an extra base hit. The Tigers extended their lead with a four-run fourth inning, thanks in part to left fielder Josh Pearson’s fourth home run of the season. The runs kept coming.
Meanwhile, LSU starter Thatcher Hurd was coping, collecting outs and giving the Tigers more distance than they probably expected given how the first inning had gone. In the end, Hurd worked six innings, hitting seven walks against two and allowing only two runs. LSU head coach Jay Johnson didn’t have to resort to superb right-hander Paul Skenes thanks to a sizable early lead that systematically widened as Game 3 progressed. Skenes, who pitched eight innings and 120 pitches in Thursday’s mandatory win over Wake Forest, was available as a substitute, but Johnson concluded his services weren’t necessary.
The Game 3 result means LSU and Florida end the season with identical 54-17 records.
On the downside for LSU, catcher Alex Milazzo suffered a broken tibia on a run in the fourth set. However, Apparently he won’t need an operation.
Now for some takeaways from the final game of the 2023 college baseball season.
The second inning was the turning point
Florida starting pitcher and two-way star Jac Caglianone looked dominant in the first frame. In particular, his big fastball stunned the strong top of the LSU order in this top of the first:
As Caglianone hoped for a 2-0 lead in the second half, control slipped. That’s not unusual, as by the start of game three he’d run 52 batters in 73⅓ innings this season, along with 12 batters and nine wild pitches thrown. That can be a bad trait in any context, especially against an LSU offense known for its clout and discipline.
In fact, Caglianone started the LSU comeback with three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch before being lifted with an out in the second round. All that traffic and five singles allowed LSU to score six runs for the inning. All six were attributed to Caglianone, who ended up throwing only half of his 46 shots for strikes.
When LSU came out on top in the second heat, the baseline winner expectation only had a 25.3% chance of winning it all. When Jordan Thompson busted at the end of the half-inning, the Tigers had an 81.3% chance of winning the national title.
The crews made a difference
LSU midfielders Dylan Crews and Skenes will likely be the top two picks in the upcoming MLB draft (Florida’s Langford could end up at No. 3). While Skenes missed the field in his last collegiate game, Crews helped the Tigers in numerous ways.
In his last competition as a collegiate player, Crews extended his winning streak on base to 75 games by winning 4-6 at plate with a triple and a walk. With the glove, Crews made a skillful catch in the third, jumping into the wall to take extra bases from Colby Halter.
Two of the next three batters would make it before Hurd could escape, so the crews’ catch was actually important.
Ty Evans made history with his defeat
It’s no consolation to the Gators, but right fielder Ty Evans outplayed LSU reliever Riley Cooper in the seventh inning to make some history:
This is Evans’ fifth home run this MCWS and a new record for most home runs in a single MCWS. What makes it even more notable is that Evans came to Omaha with just four homers this season.
It is LSU’s seventh national baseball title
LSU has won seven national championships from its 19 collegiate World Series appearances. In addition to 2023 under sophomore head coach Jay Johnson, the Tigers also won both the belt and the title in 2009, 2000, 1997, 1996, 1993 and 1991. Prior to Monday night’s result, LSU was tied with Texas by six titles. Now only Southern Cal has more championships with 12. However, the Trojans have not won every championship since 1998.
Coincidentally, Florida helps keep her out of eight titles. In 2017, they defeated LSU in the MCWS Finals to win their only national championship.
The SEC remains dominant
Given that LSU and Florida are both members of the Southeastern Conference, we already knew the SEC would make another call Monday, but now it’s official. One SEC team has now won four straight DI baseball titles — LSU, followed by Ole Miss in 2022, Mississippi State in 2021, and Vanderbilt in 2019. (There was no MCWS in 2020 because of COVID.) Overall the SEC has won five of its last six baseball titles and six of its last nine. Perhaps most impressively, the SEC has placed at least one team in the MCWS Finals in 14 of the last 15 years.
Don’t be surprised if 2024 is no exception. Right now, however, LSU probably isn’t quite ready to move on from 2023 onward.