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Associated Press
29 minutes ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
LSU goes for 2nd national title in 3 years as it opens CWS finals against streaking Coastal Carolina
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — LSU and Coastal Carolina have met only two times previously as they enter the College World Series finals Saturday night. Those games back in 2016 have not been forgotten. Coastal Carolina swept the Tigers on their home field in super regionals on the way to their first national championship. The Chanticleers' opponent in the CWS finals that year was Arizona. Jay Johnson, now at LSU, was Arizona's coach. Tigers outfielder Jake Brown was 11 years old and living in Sulphur, Louisiana, at the time, and he recalled Friday how the players on that LSU team were superheroes to him. 'A little bit of heartbreak,' he said Friday. 'That was a great team, a team I think could have made a good run in the championship. Obviously, things didn't go our way that time. Looking forward to turning it around and making something good happen for us this time.' LSU (51-15) will be playing for its eighth national championship and second in three years. Coastal Carolina (56-11), which brings a 26-game win streak into the best-of-three series, is going for its second title in its second all-time CWS appearance. 'That would put Coastal Carolina baseball on a different planet,' Chanticleers coach Kevin Schnall said. Cameron Flukey (8-1), who pitched four innings of relief against Arizona on June 13, will start for Coastal Carolina. Johnson has not named his starter. Ace Kade Anderson (11-1), who limited Arkansas to three hits and struck out seven in seven innings on June 14, is available. The Tigers and Chanticleers each went 3-0 in bracket play. LSU had to beat SEC rival Arkansas twice, winning the bracket final 6-5 in walk-off fashion after a wild three-run ninth inning. LSU's Brown is 4 for 6 with four RBIs in three CWS games and Jared Jones is 5 for 9 with two homers and six RBIs in the last two games after striking out five times in the opener against Arkansas. Tigers pitchers have walked just four in 27 innings. 'I think if you're at this point in the NCAA tournament, you've been battle-tested,' Johnson said. 'I don't believe there's anything we have not seen. ... I feel like we're well-trained and well-prepared for, in my opinion, probably the best team that we've played this year in Coastal.' The Chanticleers are yet to hit a home run at Charles Schwab Field. Colby Thorndyke has two bases-clearing doubles and is 5 for 12 with eight RBIs. Dean Mihos is 5 for 12 with a double and triple. Their pitchers have walked four in 25 innings. Johnson, in his fourth year at LSU after six at Arizona, said his heart still aches for his 2016 Wildcats team. Arizona erased a 4-0 deficit against the Chanticleers in the third and final game of the CWS finals and stranded a runner at third base in the bottom of the ninth inning. 'We were one base hit away,' Johnson said, 'and it took a couple of years to get past that. I think what I do remember about all of that is it has really helped me the next three times that we've been here in terms of knowing how to prepare for this.' Scoring first is keyFast starts are a distinguishing feature of Coastal Carolina's offense. The Chanticleers have outscored their three CWS opponents by a combined 11-0 in the first inning and are a Division I-best 37-2 when they score first. LSU is 32-7 when it opens the scoring. 5 is magic number LSU has won 16 straight CWS games when scoring at least five runs since losing 9-5 to Miami in 2004. High expectationsCoastal Carolina's Schnall makes it a point to remind the media that the Chanticleers are a national power, but that doesn't mean in February he expected the 2025 team to play for a national championship. 'We were picked fourth in the Sun Belt,' he said. 'No problem. We'll move forward, keep our head down and keep grinding. That's what this team did. But we clearly felt like this pitching staff was going to be the best pitching staff we ever had.' The Chanticleers were 19-8 on March 29 and are 37-3 since. Hit by pitch leaders Coastal Carolina leads the country with a program record 176 hit-by-pitches this season, breaking UC Irvine's single season-record 175 in 2024. The Chanticleers have been plunked six times in three CWS games. 'They don't eat if they get out of the way,' Schnall said, drawing laughs. 'No, it's just something that our guys have bought into. Our guys are obsessed with getting on base. They understand the way you score runs is having guys on base. And any way you can get on base helps our team win.' Line of the day LSU's Brown drew laughs at Friday's news conference when he explained the straightforward and simple way Johnson prepares him and his teammates to play. 'We came here to play baseball,' he said. 'We're not really scholars.' ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything Jay Johnson Said Before LSU's Game Against Arkansas
Everything Jay Johnson Said Before LSU's Game Against Arkansas originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The LSU Tigers are preparing to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in their opening game of the 2025 College Baseball World Series. Head Coach Jay Johnson helped lead the Tigers to their Championship two years ago. This is Johnson's fourth trip to Omaha, having twice led the Arizona Wildcats to the World Series before coming to LSU. Advertisement Ahead of the game, Johnson met with the media and talked about starting on day two in the final game of the opening round. He said, 'We played on day two, also in 2023, it allows you separation from the Super Regional. It allows you to embrace the things that come along with being in Omaha which is really important and then also gives you time to settle into your routine which is preparing and executing. I feel like we've had a good couple days of that.' Johnson went on to speak about the confidence level of starting pitcher Kade Anderson. He said, 'I think some [guys] have it. The elite performer that has great confidence a lot of times it's exuded in body language. I can tell when it's authentic and when it's not and with him, it most certainly is. He should be confident. I think his upbringing, his great parents, high expectations, great level of discipline and he's talented. He's a really good baseball player. He's a really good athlete and all of those things make him unique and in my world special.' Johnson also gave his thoughts on Arkansas star pitcher Zach Root. He said, 'He's a great pitcher. He's one of the best pitchers in the country. It's hard not to think about, we recruited him really hard and didn't get him. But you know, I think what he does a really good job of is that he throws a ton of strikes and his misses are very small and so he puts a lot of pressure on the hitter where you are making a decision on every pitch because he's going to be around the [strike] zone. Runs will not come easy in the game Related: How to Watch LSU Baseball vs Arkansas in College World Series Related: Livvy Dunne Shares Revealing Swimsuit Photos Related: Livvy Dunne is Officially a Supermodel after Walking the Runway at Miami's Swim Week Related: Livvy Dunne Wants to Make 'Hot Girl Fishing' a Thing This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Everything LSU's Kade Anderson Said after Beating Arkansas
Everything LSU's Kade Anderson Said after Beating Arkansas originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The LSU Tigers' starting pitcher, Kade Anderson, had a remarkable game against Arkansas. He pitched for seven innings and held the Razorbacks to just one run. After the game, Anderson talked about if he will pitch again in this tournament. He said, 'Yeah, I completely expect to pitch. Obviously that's not really up to me; it's up to Coach. But I want to pitch again. And this is a really cool moment for our team and we'll be ready to go.' Advertisement Kade also spoke about not letting the moment get too big for him. He said, 'I think just taking it all in. That's why you come here. Really just proud of our team. And at the end of the day that's all you need to do is win. And it doesn't matter the stat line kind of how this paper lines up. But we won the game and that's really all I care about.' Anderson talked about how the team has approached this College World Series. He said, 'I think Coach Johnson does a really good job in preparing our team. And when you treat every game like a playoff, you get used to it. LSU is used to being in Omaha and that's something that we do often. We're proud to say that. But we're meant for these kind of games, and we're excited to keep going.' And finally, Kade spoke about what it would be like to play Arkansas again in this tournament. He said, 'Like I said, we treated every game like a playoff. We'll be ready to go. We've faced them four times. I like the results of what we had. Advertisement Just continuing to go out there and battle. And we're not, like Coach Johnson says all the time, we're not playing Arkansas, we're playing the game. When you take that kind of note at it, it's just another game. And I think that playoff mindset has really helped us a lot.' Related: Jay Johnson Reacts to an Impressive College World Series Win Related: Arkansas' Dave Van Horn Reacts After Loss to LSU Related: Livvy Dunne Helps LSU Take Control in Jello Shot Competition Related: Livvy Dunne Shares Revealing Summer Photos This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jay Johnson Reacts to an Impressive College World Series Win
Jay Johnson Reacts to an Impressive College World Series Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports. LSU rode a tremendous pitching performance by Kade Anderson to a 4-1 victory over Arkansas to open the College World Series. Advertisement After the game, LSU Head Coach Jay Johnson talked about how important it was for his team to get off to a hot start in Omaha. He said, 'Great win for our team. Outstanding performance against a great team in Arkansas. Start with Kade, outstanding performance. What we've been accustomed to on the opening night of every weekend this year. I thought he got stronger as the game went along. I thought he executed pitches at a really high level, which you have to do against that offense.' Johnson continued, 'I thought the bullpen was great. Chase coming in with a man on base, executing, getting two strikeouts right there. Then we got the fly ball or line drive, I should say. And then Casan, great poise in the ninth especially after giving up the single to Davalan. Offensively, we did just enough. And really good job by Luis drawing a walk, Derek falling down 0-2 and drawing a walk. And then great bunt by Danny. Chris, staying within himself, not doing too much, moving the ball to the outfield, getting another free base with the hit-by-pitch. And Josh moving the ball against a really tough left-hander to get three. And Kade got stronger. Big hit by Derek there in the eighth inning, I believe, yeah, the eighth inning. And as usual, really good defense by our team tonight. Good performance. Get ready for Monday.' Johnson was asked about how critical it is to take advantage of any opportunities presented against a team like Arkansas. He said, 'I thought we did a good job of that tonight. Again, when you're facing those caliber arms, you're not going to get a ton, maybe like you would playing in SEC ballparks where the home runs a real thing with every pitch of the game. I thought we did an excellent job of that, setting the table -- walk by Luis, walk boy Derek, drag bunt single by Danny, really good at-bat by Chris, really good at-bat by Michael, really good at-bat by Josh. Coached enough games here knowing that playing with a lead is really important. I was happy our team was able to do that tonight. And then Gabe made it tough on us. Like I said, he's one of the best pitchers in the country. Electric arm.' Watch the full press conference here: Related: Everything Jay Johnson Said Before LSU's Game Against Arkansas Related: Arkansas' Dave Van Horn Reacts After Loss to LSU Related: Livvy Dunne Helps LSU Take Control in Jell-O Shot Competition Related: Livvy Dunne is Officially a Supermodel after Walking the Runway at Miami's Swim Week This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
LSU's Derek Curiel Reacts to Beating Arkansas
LSU's Derek Curiel Reacts to Beating Arkansas originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Tigers handily beat the Razorbacks 4-1 in the opening game of the College World Series. After the game, Derek Curiel talked about pitcher Kade Anderson's performance. He said, 'Yeah, Kade's been great. Super happy for him. He's a great teammate. I look up to him a lot. We played when we were younger. He's always been dominant on the mound. He used to swing the stick pretty good too. Advertisement I'm super happy for him. He's been great. He just does what he does. It's just business as usual. So I'm just super happy for him. He competes his butt off and I'm proud of him.' Curiel also spoke about his success against left-handed pitchers this season. He said, 'Baseball is a game of failure. Just trying to my best to stay there on the lefties. And chief and I got to work keeping my shoulder in there and trying to stay on balls. And just having fun and learning from my mistakes and just getting better every day. That's what baseball's about.' Finally, Derek talked about his mindset going into this game. He said, 'Yeah, trusting myself with two strikes, whether that's taking or swinging. I know, with my hand-eye coordination, I could be able to battle in any count. So I'm never defeated in the box, even when I go down 0-2 on two pretty ugly swings, probably my two ugliest swings of the year. But just having confidence and sticking to my approach and knowing that he was going to go back to that pitch, staying on it.' Advertisement Related: Jay Johnson Reacts to an Impressive College World Series Win Related: Everything LSU's Kade Anderson Said after Beating Arkansas Related: Arkansas' Dave Van Horn Reacts After Loss to LSU Related: Livvy Dunne Helps LSU Take Control in Jello Shot Competition This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
