The Journey: How LSU Baseball Returned to Glory

The LSU Tigers sit atop college baseball once again after claiming National Championship No. 7 led by Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes and a star-studded 2023 roster.

The journey was challenging. This program faced adversity time and time again, but continuing to remain as one kept this team afloat.

“I think the most gratifying part of it is they were national championship people every single day of this thing,” Jay Johnson said on Monday.

After defeating the Florida Gators in Game 3 to take home a title and cement their legacy in the history books, LSU returns to glory as the top team in America.

A dive into the journey that led the Tigers to being crowned National Champions:

Conquering Tennessee

The journey started against Tennessee in the College World Series opener behind a masterclass day on the mound for Paul Skenes. With Skenes doing what he does best and Brayden Jobert shining at the plate, the Tigers downed the Volunteers to get their run in Omaha started.

Skenes fired 7.2 innings with 12 strikeouts Saturday night while Jobert collected three hits and two RBI to lift the Tigers to a 6-3 victory in Game 1. The victory propelled LSU into the winner’s bracket where they fell to Wake Forest, setting up another rematch with Tennessee.

The hero? Nate Ackenhausen with a touch of Riley Cooper. The left-handed duo put together a combined eight strikeout shutout to push LSU into the College World Series Semifinals.

The dominance on the mound shined bright, but once again, the Tigers’ efforts at the plate put them in position to take home the win.

Cade Beloso, Dylan Crews and Tre Morgan strung together timely at-bats in order to put LSU on the board and catapult this program to their next challenge: Wake Forest.

Redemption Over Wake Forest

After defeating Tennessee two times in four days, it brought the Tigers up to face the No. 1 seeded Demon Deacons once again. With Wake Forest getting the best of LSU in the first go around, Jay Johnon’s group had to win two games in two days over the top offense in America.

Led by Brock Wilken and Nick Kurtz, it presented a fierce challenge, but LSU’s proven time and time again they can hang with the best of them.

In Game 1 of the semifinals, it was Griffin Herring who stepped on the mound in relief to piece together a stellar performance for LSU. Herring enjoyed an impressive performance and quieted the Demon Deacon bats for the remainder of his outing come the second inning. Herring worked 4.2 scoreless innings while striking out a career-high six and limiting Wake Forest to three hits.

The one shining moment? Cade Beloso. The seasoned veteran launched a three-run homer in the third inning to balloon LSU’s lead with the Tigers never looking back, forcing a winner-take-all-showdown on Thursday.

From there, it was the Paul Skenes and Tommy White show. Skenes strung together an unbelievable performance on the mound in a pitchers duel against Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder.

After going to extra innings, White cemented himself into LSU history. A walk-off homer in the 11th inning sent the Tigers into the College World Series Finals, defeating the Demon Deacons for the second time in two days.

The Last Dance: Florida

The journey to get into the College World Series Finals took a toll on the Tigers. It was five games in six days for LSU against two of the top teams in America (Tennessee and Wake Forest) with the Florida Gators presenting the final hurdle.

A rested Gators squad led by Wyatt Langford and Jac Caglianone, the challenge was monstrous, but one this program knew it was prepared for.

In Game 1, it was everything baseball fans could have ever asked for. A back-and-forth battle in Omaha, it had storybook ending written all over it and that it was.

The Tigers sent Charles Schwab Field into a frenzy after Cade Beloso smashed a solo homer in the top of the 11th inning with the go-ahead run ultimately propelling LSU to a 1-0 series lead.

Beloso’s College World Series run will go down in the history books for the purple and gold, but the Gators responded in a big way come Sunday afternoon. Florida came out with something to prove, punching the Tigers in the gut with a 24-4 victory to force a winner-take-all matchup for the National Championship.

The rest is history. LSU put Sunday’s smackdown behind them and rode with the best player in college baseball, Dylan Crews, until they were crowned champions. Crews went 4-6 at the plate with a triple in the eighth inning to put the cherry on top.

LSU claimed National Championship No. 7 after an 18-4 demolition over Florida in Game 3 to claim the College World Series.

It was a journey for the ages. This program took down Tennessee, Wake Forest and Florida twice in the span of nine days to bring a title back to Baton Rouge. Earned, not given.