LSU isn’t done just yet, and neither is Paul Mainieri’s coaching career.
The Tigers knocked off No.1 seed and regional host Oregon, 4-1, Sunday night to set up a winner-take-all game against the Ducks on Monday at 9 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The Ducks were 2-0 in the Eugene Regional until the No.3 seeded Tigers defeated them in their third straight elimination game of the weekend. LSU is well on its way to becoming just the sixth team since 2014 to lose a regional opener and come back winning it all.
The Tigers need just one more victory to make an appearance in the super regional at Tennessee.
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The weekend was looking like a bust after LSU lost to No.2 seed Gonzaga, 3-0 on Friday night, but things started to look up for the team when they eliminated Central Connecticut 6-5, in 10 innings on Saturday.
The Tigers then went on to beat Gonzaga, 9-4, Sunday afternoon before defeating Oregon Sunday night.
Some standout performances:
Everyone’s talking about LSU freshman left-hander Javon Coleman who put on quite a show pitching the best game of his college career thus far. He replaced starter Trent Vietmeier in the second inning and held the ducks to one run on three hits in six innings with six strikeouts.
Prior to his performance last night, Coleman’s best run to date was just four innings at Texas A&M in late May.
At the plate, Crews led off the game with a strategic double and scored on a Tre Morgan fielder for a 1-0 lead early on in the game.
Gavin Dugas played as if he had something to prove, leading off the fourth inning with a home run for a 2-1 lead. The bombs didn’t end there, Dugas tripled off Oregon starter in the sixth and scored for a 3-1 lead on a fielding error by left fielder Tanner Smith.
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Some may argue Dugas hit an inside-the-park homer (and by some, we mean all of Tiger Nation).
The best part was Dugas blatantly ignoring the third base coaches’ signal to stop at three, but he was adamant about trying his luck.
That man has some wheels on him.
Crews hit his third home run…of the weekend, for a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning. The freshman out of Longwood, Florida was the highest-ranked MLB draft prospect to enter college in 2020, according to Perfect Game. Crews has 10 hits in 16 at-bats in the regional alone, where he is hitting .625 with five RBIs and six runs.
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Tonight could potentially serve as the last game of the season for the Tigers, as well as the final game of Mainieri’s illustrious coaching career.
“I told the guys after the game, ‘You guys just won’t let me retire. You keep making me work,” he said. “I’m happy to do it, though.”
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