OMAHA, Neb. — LSU returned to the pinnacle of college baseball on Monday, defeating SEC rival Florida, 18-4, to win its seventh national championship and the 2023 College World Series.
Led by second-year head coach Jay Johnson – who became the first coach to win a title prior to his third season at an institution – LSU (54-17) overcame a 2-0 first-inning deficit by scoring six in the second and four in the fourth inning to take a commanding 10-2 lead.
LSU start Thatcher Hurd (8-3) earned his second win in the series, throwing six innings and allowing only two runs on two hits – the first two batters he faced – while striking out seven.
Offensively, the Tigers amassed 24 hits, the program’s most hits in a CWS game. Eleven Tigers recorded at least one hit in the contest.
The Tigers captured five national titles (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000) under legendary head coach Skip Bertman, and added a sixth when third-year head coach Paul Mainieri won the championship series in 2009 over Texas.
After a 3-2 loss to No. 1 seed Wake Forest last Monday, Johnson’s Tigers came through the loser’s bracket by eliminating Tennessee before earning consecutive win over the Demon Deacons to setup a best-of-three championship series against No. 2-seeded Florida. LSU won game 1 of the series, 4-3 in 11 innings, before Florida drew even with a 24-4 victory Sunday.
(MORE TO COME)
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