OMAHA, Neb. — LSU knocked previously unbeaten Coastal Carolina ace Jacob Morrison out of the game with a four-run fourth inning and the Tigers won their second national championship in three years Sunday with a 5-3 victory in the College World Series finals.
The Tigers (53-15) completed a two-game sweep of the Chanticleers (56-13), who entered the finals on a 26-game win streak and on Sunday saw coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling ejected in the bottom of the first inning.
LSU gave the Southeastern Conference its sixth straight national title in baseball and 11th in 16 years. It was LSU’s eighth, all since 1991 and second most all time behind Southern California’s 12.
Tigers coach Jay Johnson became the first Division I coach to win two titles in his first four years at a school. No other coach had accomplished that feat in fewer than eight seasons.
“Our whole motto for the year was ‘Tough and Together,’ and that’s what they did from Aug. 26 until now,” Johnson said in a postgame television interview. “It’s only 12 returning players. That collection of talent became a team and a family.”
Coastal Carolina won the national title in 2016 and was trying to become the first team since 1962 (Michigan) and the fifth all time to win the championship in its first two CWS appearances.
With five-time champion coach Skip Bertman watching from the stands, LSU tied it at 1 in the third on Ethan Frey’s RBI double and went up 5-1 in the fourth on two-run singles by Chris Stanfield and Derek Curiel.
Coastal Carolina pulled within 5-3 in the seventh against LSU starter Anthony Eyanson when No. 9 batter Wells Sykes hit his fourth homer of the season.
That brought on Chase Shores for his fourth appearance of the CWS. The 6-foot-8 right-hander touched 100 mph with his fastball while retiring the first five batters he faced before Dean Mihos, who homered in the second, singled through the right side leading off the ninth.
With Tigers fans on their feet and chanting “L-S-U, L-S-U,” Shores struck out Ty Dooley and got Sykes to ground into a game-ending double play. The Tigers’ dugout emptied and the celebratory dogpile behind the mound ensued. The 87-year-old Bertman came onto the field in a wheelchair and walked with assistance to have pictures taken with coaches and players.
The Chanticleers had won 15 straight when Morrison (12-1) started. Morrison’s 3⅔ innings marked his shortest start of the season, and the five runs against him were the most he has allowed.
LSU entered having won 13 games in a row in which one of its top two pitchers — Kade Anderson and Eyanson — started.
Anderson was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the CWS after allowing one run and six hits and striking out 17 in 16 innings over two starts in Omaha.
Anderson threw a three-hit shutout in LSU’s 1-0 win in Game 1 of the finals, and Eyanson (12-2) was mostly sharp over his 6⅓ innings. The three runs against him came on seven hits and a walk. He struck out nine.
Schnall, in his first year as head coach after taking over for the retired Gary Gilmore, had not been ejected this season before Sunday.
Walker Mitchell was at bat with two outs and Sebastian Alexander had just stolen second base when Schnall went to the top steps of the dugout, gestured at plate umpire Angel Campos with three fingers and began shouting at him.
The NCAA said Schnall was arguing balls and strikes, was given a warning and was thrown out when he did not leave immediately. Schilling was tossed for comments he made as the confrontation with umpires continued near the plate.
