Tag: 2023 College World Series

Dylan Crews: Winning a championship for LSU is ‘the greatest feeling in the world’

Dylan Crews ended a legendary LSU career as a champion.

For the final time in his LSU career, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] walked off the field on Monday night.

But for the first time in a career that will be remembered in Baton Rouge for a long, long time, he did so as a national champion.

Crews led the Tigers to their seventh College World Series title, a mark that ranks second all-time behind only USC, with a dominating 18-4 win in a decisive Game 3 against Florida.

After the game, Crews — the winner of the 2023 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the top player in the country — said he felt like he checked one last box on Monday night.

“Man, it’s such a great feeling,” he said, according to On3. “I feel like almost every box was checked off except that national championship box. And we all knew this was going to be our last game here. And to finally say that I’m a national champion, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. And I feel all boxes are checked off now. So it’s good.”

Crews is likely to be either the first or second player off the board in the upcoming MLB draft alongside his teammate Paul Skenes, who got warm on Monday but wasn’t ultimately needed.

But first, Crews managed to capture the elusive hardware he’s spent three years searching for.

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Why this LSU baseball national title is more special than the rest

You can’t define this team with one play, which makes LSU’s title run all the better.

Championship runs are often boiled down to a single moment. One great play that stands out.

It’s shown over and over again on the stadium big board and finds its way into every preseason hype video until the end of time.

It comes naturally. You recognize it right away and say, “That was special.”

For LSU on its way to winning the 2023 College World Series, there wasn’t just one moment. You can’t define this team by one play or one player.

On the surface, it looks simple. The program with the most national titles in the last 30 years added another trophy to the case with a team led by the top two MLB draft prospects. Nothing about that is a Cinderella story. It’s LSU doing what LSU expects to do.

But it wasn’t that simple.

You can ask five LSU fans what their favorite moment from this College World Series was and you could get five different answers.

Maybe it’s Tre Morgan charging a bunt down the first-place line to throw a Wake Forest runner out at home and preserve a 0-0 tie in an elimination game. Or it’s [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] hitting a walk-off home run later that night.

It’s [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] making a leaping grab in left, taking a walk-off hit away from the best player in the country not on LSU.

It’s [autotag]Ty Floyd[/autotag] punching out 17 batters for the best start of his career or [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag], the homegrown fourth-year senior, hitting the winning homer in extra innings.

Some might point to [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag], who became a dominant force out of the bullpen, flipping the script on what we thought about that unit all year.

It’s [autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag], who played the worst game of his life on Sunday only to be the spark on Monday.

It’s LSU facing rivals Oregon State, Tennessee and Florida over the last month and sending them all home, avenging losses of previous teams.

Nowhere in that did I mention [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] or [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag], two of the greatest players in LSU history who spearheaded the title run.

That’s why this one is so special. We watch sports for those individual moments. The ones that get the crowd stomping and make viewers at home leap off the couch.

Baseball, in particular, is built around this. It doesn’t have the unflinching momentum of a football game or the quick back and forth of a basketball game. Because of that, the biggest moments on a baseball field fall with even more thunder. Tension builds and builds until something special happens.

An LSU had a whole lot of special happenings in Omaha.

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2 College World Series fans became an immediate meme after awkward exchange in the stands

This meme is everywhere.

One video from Game 3 of the College World Series went viral on Monday night as LSU beat Florida 18-4 for a 2023 national title: It’s of two fans having some kind of exchange.

We have no idea what was said here or the relationship between the two parties. All we know is the woman put her hand up at the man and then gestured toward the field. An argument? Some friendly trash talk? Who knows?

But what is certain: It’s become a meme on Twitter.

So let’s dive in and take a look at what people have come up with for this one:

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LSU’s Paul Skenes classily gave injured Alex Milazzo a piggyback ride to celebrate the Tigers’ championship

What a move from from the LSU catcher’s teammate.

This is how you do it if you’re an LSU player and you just won a national title.

Tigers catcher Alex Milazzo injured his shin earlier in Game 3 of the 2023 College World Series. So when the final out was made in the national championship win over Florida, his teammate Paul Skenes hoisted Milazzo on his back and carried him to the celebration in the middle of the Omaha field.

Later on, as you’ll see, Milazzo got wheeled — not in a wheelchair — to the clubhouse. The injury, of course, is awful. But this is really nice to see from his teammates:

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Paul Skenes wins MCWS Most Outstanding Player

Paul Skenes was ultimately not needed in Game 3 against Florida, but his efforts in Omaha earned him recognition all the same.

What can be said about [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] that has not been said already?

Skenes pitched 15.2 innings during the [autotag]Men’s College World Series[/autotag] and he allowed only two runs on seven hits, 21 strikeouts, and two walks.

For his efforts, he was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

He was available for Game 3 against Florida if [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] would have needed him. Skenes was seen getting warmed up in the dugout early on in the game, but [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] pitched so well that he was not needed.

Skenes accomplished the goal he set out for the day he committed to LSU. He wanted to win a national championship with the Tigers and he did just that.

He finished this season with a 12-2 record, a 1.69 ERA, 209 strikeouts, and only 20 walks. He broke the single-season strikeout record set by [autotag]Ben McDonald[/autotag] and he broke the season-long goal of money raised for Folds of Honor.

On top of all of those accomplishments, Skenes will likely be taken No. 1 or No. 2 overall in this year’s MLB draft by either the Pirates or the Nationals.

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PHOTOS: LSU knocks off Florida 18-4 to win program’s 7th national title

Second-year coach Jay Johnson led LSU to a national championship on Monday night.

LSU’s run at the College World Series in Omaha ended with a dogpile.

The Tigers captured the seventh national championship in program history on Monday night and the first under second-year head coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag]. Despite all the talk surrounding the availability of ace [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], LSU didn’t need him as it breezed to an 18-4 series-clinching win over Florida.

The Tigers fell behind 2-0 after the first two at-bats resulted in a single and a Wyatt Langford home run, but it was all LSU after that. [autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] recovered to have a great game on the mound, and the offense erupted to break the CWS hits record the Gators set Sunday with 24.

Here were the photos from Monday night as the Tigers captured a title.

5 takeaways from LSU’s national title win in Omaha over Florida

Here are five takeaways as Jay Johnson leads LSU to a national title in Year 2.

For the seventh time in program history, LSU baseball won a national title.

[autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] became the first second-year coach to ever win a title behind a star-studded team led by [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag].

LSU fought off elimination in the bracket earlier in the week and again in the final.

For veteran stars like [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag], it was a Cinderella ending. Skenes was named tournament MVP, and program staples like [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] got one last chance to shine.

Here are five takeaways from LSU’s title-clinching win in Omaha.

CHAMPS AGAIN: Thatcher Hurd, record-setting offensive performance lead LSU to CWS national title win over Florida

The LSU Tigers just won their seventh national championship in school history!

What a difference a day makes.

One of the best traits a baseball player can have is a short memory. LSU got shellacked by the Gators in Game 2 of the College World Series final, but the Tigers not only turned the tables on Monday, but they also flipped the table over.

Game 3 wasn’t even close as LSU got everything it wanted in a dominating 18-4 win as LSU captured a national championship for the seventh time in program history.

For the first time in the series, Florida scored first with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to give them an early lead. That would wind up being their only lead of the game.

[autotag]Jordan Thompson[/autotag] put the Tigers on the board in the top of the second inning with an RBI single to cut the lead in half. A bases-loaded hit by pitch and a walk gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead, but LSU was not done in the inning. [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] and [autotag]Gavin Dugas[/autotag] both hit RBI singles to increase the lead to 6-2 LSU.

In the top of the fourth inning, LSU scored four more runs as Thompson hit an RBI single, [autotag]Josh Pearson[/autotag] hit a two-run homer, and [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] hit an RBI single to make it 10-2 Tigers.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag]’s night was over after pitching 6 innings and giving up two runs on two hits, seven strikeouts, and two walks. The UCLA transfer was everything [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag] and the Tigers needed him to be. In the top of the seventh, LSU scored again on a bases-loaded walk to increase the lead to 11-2. The Gators got that run back in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot of their own.

LSU scored three runs in the top of the eighth and four runs in the top of the ninth as Jobert capped off the scoring with a two-run homer to increase the lead to 18-4.

[autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] got the final three outs in the ninth inning as the LSU Tigers won their seventh national championship in school history and the first under coach [autotag]Jay Johnson[/autotag].

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YEAR OF THE TIGER: Reactions as LSU baseball wins the 7th national championship in program history

It was a celebration among Tiger nation on Monday night as LSU left no doubt in Game 3 against Florida.

For the seventh time in program history, the LSU Tigers baseball team is the College World Series champion.

Coach Jay Johnson’s team responded as well as he could have hoped after allowing a CWS-record 24 runs in a Game 2 loss to Florida, shelling the Gators in Game 3 en route to a dominating 18-4 win to seal the national championship.

[autotag]Thatcher Hurd[/autotag] pitched a gem on the mound as the Tigers didn’t even ultimately need [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag], and [autotag]Tre Morgan[/autotag], [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] and [autotag]Tommy White[/autotag] all came in clutch on offense, recording three-plus hits each.

Here’s how LSU fans, athletes, alumni and media responded to the national title-clinching win.

College baseball fans were baffled at a runner interference call against Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series final

Florida fans were not pleased when Josh Rivera was called out after seemingly beating a throw to first.

Florida took an early 2-0 lead over LSU in Game 3 of the College World Series final, but it could have potentially been even more.

After initially appearing to beat a short groundball to first, shortstop Josh Rivera was ultimately called out for baserunner interference. Many were confused by the call, and Gators coach Kevin O’Sullivan ultimately challenged the decision.

Though first baseman Tre Morgan made a mistake in running toward the ball initially and Rivera likely beat the throw anyway, he was ruled to have interfered with it after exiting the runner’s lane and entering into fair territory.

By the letter of the law, Rivera is out and the call was confirmed.

Obviously, Florida fans weren’t happy with the decision, especially in such a crucial game. But regardless of whether the rule should be changed, it seems the umpires followed it in this instance.

But here’s a thought: Maybe if everyone agrees a rule is silly, perhaps it should be changed.

Just something to consider.

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