White’s walk-off HR sends LSU into CWS Finals
It was like a Game 7 which lived up to all of the hype.
LSU and Wake Forest, the only two teams who were ranked No. 1 in the country this season, met in a win or go-home contest at the College World Series on Thursday night.
Moreover, the game matched the two best starting pitchers in the nation – LSU’s Paul Skenes and Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder. The two pitchers performed to their season numbers.
Therefore, one should not have been surprised that the game ended in a dramatic manner.
Tommy White, who had been struggling at the plate in the CWS, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th to give the Tigers a 2-0 victory over the Demon Deacons at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
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WATCH: LSU Jay Johnson, Tigers to play for National Title beat Wake Forest postgame
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LSU’s work is not over yet. The Tigers will now face Southeastern Conference rival Florida in the best-of-three College World Series Finals. The first game of the series is set for Saturday night.
LSU exhibited a lot of great pitching and one excellent defensive play to go along with White’s game-winning homer. Skenes, working on four-days’ rest, gave up just two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts in eight innings. Skenes broke Ben McDonald’s single-season strikeout record Thursday.
Thatcher Hurd took over for Skenes and tossed three more shutout innings. Hurd allowed two baserunners – one on a single and one on a walk. Since losing to Wake Forest on Monday, the Tigers have allowed just two runs in winning three straight elimination games.
Wake Forest put a runner in scoring position just three times in 11 innings. In the fifth, Skenes gave up a one-out double. Two infield ground outs ended the threat. In the 11th, Hurd allowed an infield single and a walk with two outs. Hurd stranded the go-ahead run at second with a fly ball to centerfield.
The Demon Deacons’ other chance to score was snuffed out by a spectacular defensive play by first baseman Tre Morgan. Wake Forest put runners on first and third with one out on a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout/wild pitch.
Demon Deacons coach Tom Walter called for a suicide squeeze bunt. Marek Houston got the bunt down. A hard-charging Morgan fielded the ball and flipped it to catcher Alex Milazzo, who tagged the runner out at the plate. Skenes got a line drive to leftfielder Josh Pearson for the third out.
White, who faced Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year as a North Carolina State freshman, was certainly feared by Walter. In the eighth, the Demon Deacons elected to pitch to Dylan Crews with a runner at second and one out. Crews struck out.
Walter then intentionally walked White. Morgan flied out to end the inning. Three innings later, Walter could not intentionally walk White after a leadoff single by Crews. White was 5-for-21 with one RBI in the CWS prior to that last at-bat.
Lowder threw seven scoreless innings with two walks and six strikeouts. Two Wake Forest relief pitchers held the Tigers scoreless in the eighth, ninth and tenth innings. Demon Deacons closer Camden Minacci threw one pitch – the result being White’s homer.
History has repeated itself. In the 2017 CWS, LSU lost its second game to No. 1 seed Oregon State. The Tigers then won three straight elimination games – one against Florida State and two against the Beavers. That three-game winning streak put LSU in the CWS Finals against Florida.
This week, the Tigers lost their second game to No. 1 seed Wake Forest. LSU has won three straight elimination games – one against Tennessee and two against the Demon Deacons. This three-game winning streak has placed the Tigers in the CWS Finals – once again against Florida.
LSU dropped two straight games to the Gators six years ago. A red-hot pitching staff needs to keep repeating its recent performances to get the Tigers their first national title in 14 years.
2023 College World Series 8 Team Bats Tee
from: Alumni Hall 
LSU 2023 College World Series Stacked Odds Tee
from: Alumni Hall