Games like the one which took place at Charles Schwab Field on Sunday do happen.
Nothing went right for LSU.
The Tigers squandered scoring opportunities in the early innings. None of LSU’s six pitchers was effective. The Tigers committed five errors. Meanwhile, Florida set a College World Series record for runs in a game while hitting six homers.
The result was a 24-4 rout of the Tigers by the Gators in the second game of the CWS Finals in Omaha. Therefore, it will be a one-game, winner-take-all matchup between LSU and Florida on Monday night.
Don’t talk about momentum in baseball. Momentum in baseball is determined by the next day’s starting pitcher. What took place Sunday will have absolutely zero impact on Monday’s national championship game.
What will be a factor is the performance of the two teams’ pitchers. It is known that Jac Caglianone, the No. 3 starter all season, will get the ball for the Gators.
Now, it is a different story for the Tigers.
How many innings can LSU get out of Paul Skenes, who threw eight innings Thursday night against Wake Forest? The guess here is that Skenes will be available for about three innings.
So, the other six innings will probably be handled by Thatcher Hurd, Riley Cooper and Griffin Herring. None of those pitchers was a part of the Florida assault Sunday.
Just two pitchers, who had thrown meaningful innings in the Tigers’ previous CWS games, got the ball in the second game of the series. Nate Ackenhausen, who threw six scoreless innings Tuesday against Tennessee, started and allowed six runs in 2.1 innings.
Gavin Guidry, who got four key outs in the Wednesday victory over Wake Forest, was coach Jay Johnson’s first reliever Sunday. Guidry gave up a grand slam homer, which was certainly wind-aided, in the bottom of the third.
By the time Guidry left the game after the fourth inning, the Tigers were trailing 8-3. The back end of the LSU bullpen gave up 16 runs – Bryce Collins, Blake Money, Christian Little and Sam Dutton. Florida’s Nick Ficarrotta allowed one run and three hits in five innings.
The tone of the game was set in those first four innings. Ackenhausen was simply not as efficient as he had been against the Volunteers. Still, he gave up just one run in the first two innings – a Ty Evans’ homer. However, everything fell apart for the Tigers in the third.
Holding a 3-1 lead, Ackenhausen hit the first batter. Three consecutive singles from the hitters in the heart of the Gators lineup tied the score. Ackenhausen picked up a strikeout for the first out. Then, the defense prevented Ackenhuasen from getting out of the inning.
Shortstop Jordan Thompson misplayed a potential double-play ground ball which loaded the bases. Guidry replaced Ackenhausen and struck out the next hitter. Evans then hit a fly ball down the leftfield line. The wind, which was blowing out for the first time during the CWS, pushed the ball over the fence.
Evans’ grand slam gave Florida a 7-3 lead and brought a wave of emotion to the Gators dugout. An inning later, another Thompson error brought in a run for a five-run Florida lead.
The LSU offense, which was horrendous with runners in scoring position in the 4-3 Saturday victory, duplicated that body of work in the early innings Sunday.
Gavin Dugas had a RBI double in the bottom of the first. But, Hurston Waldrep escaped a big inning when he got Brayden Jobert to ground out with the bases loaded and two out.
In the second, Tommy White had a run-scoring single and Tre Morgan hit a sacrifice fly to put the Tigers ahead 3-1. A hit batter and a walk loaded the bases. Again, there was no timely hit from LSU as Hayden Travinski grounded into a force out.
Following the Gators’ big six-run third, the Tigers filled the bases on two walks and a hit batter. However, reliever Blake Purnell got White to ground into an inning-ending double play. LSU did not get a runner past first base until Jobert hit a homer with two out in the ninth.
The Tigers have had their chances to sweep two games. Florida’s top two starters – Brandon Sproat and Waldrep – struggled. In 6.1 innings, the two Gators hurlers gave up ten hits and walked 11 batters. But, LSU scored just five runs off Sproat and Waldrep and settled for a split of the two games.
The rubber game of this three-game series for the national championship will be played Monday with the wind forecasted to be blowing out to centerfield although not quite as strong as Sunday.
LSU is 3-2 in rubber games of series this year – beating Arkansas, Kentucky and Wake Forest and losing to Auburn and Mississippi State. Florida is 5-1 in rubber games – beating Miami, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky and Texas Tech and losing to Texas A&M.
The winner of Monday’s deciding game will be the 2023 national champion.
2023 College World Series 8 Team Bats Tee
from: Alumni Hall 
LSU 2023 College World Series Stacked Odds Tee
from: Alumni Hall
