LSU Defeats Wake Forest In Men’s College World Series Classic To Advance To Finals
OMAHA—Standing on the infield of Charles Schwab Field under the fading light of the Omaha sky, Tommy White looked around at his LSU teammates. Some were busy talking with reporters, others were celebrating or taking in the moment while their fans stayed in their seats above the third base dugout, singing along to Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and chanting L-S-U.
Not 10 minutes before, White had drilled a walkoff home run to left field, ambushing a first-pitch slider from Wake Forest closer Camden Minacci. LSU defeated Wake Forest, 2-0, in 11 innings and advanced to the College World Series championship series, where it will face Florida.
With a huge smile on his face, White took the moment in.
“Oh dude, I’m so happy,” White said. “We get to keep playing baseball. That’s it. That’s what we came here to do.”
LSU lives to play another day after winning its third straight must-win game in the CWS, and what a game it was. The Tigers’ victory Thursday against the top-seeded Demon Deacons was one that will long be remembered in Baton Rouge and Omaha.
“We just slayed a giant tonight,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “And that was special.”
The day started with the promise of perhaps the best pitching matchup in CWS history, with LSU and Wake both turning to their All-American aces, Paul Skenes and Rhett Lowder, on short rest. Skenes this year was named SEC pitcher of the year; Lowder the ACC pitcher of the year. Both projected to be top-10 draft picks next month. They had each started their team’s tournament opener on Saturday, but with their seasons on the line, there was little question who would take the mound Thursday evening.
No matter what anyone hoped for in that kind of showdown, the reality of the game exceeded the expectations. Skenes threw eight scoreless innings, striking out nine and holding the Demon Deacons to two hits and a walk. Lowder nearly matched him pitch for pitch, going seven scoreless innings with six strikeouts and scattering three hits and two walks.
Skenes and Lowder could barely be two more different pitchers. Skenes, listed at 6-foot-6, 247 pounds, is built like an NFL tight end with an imposing mound presence that has only been enhanced since he added a mustache two months ago. His fastball reaches triple-digits, and he mixes in a hard slider and a devastating changeup. Lowder is listed at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, and has long, flowing hair. His fastball mostly works in the low 90s, but he toys with hitters thanks to his true command of his offspeed stuff.
Both approaches worked brilliantly. Skenes went out and pitched like he has all season, overpowering hitters and using his big, strong frame to eat innings even as his pitch count climbed to 120. He on Thursday broke Ben McDonald’s LSU and SEC single-season strikeout record of 202 that has stood since 1989. Skenes now has 209 strikeouts in 122.2 innings. Only Jered Weaver (213) has more strikeouts than Skenes in a season in the 21st century.
Lowder mixed and matched, never allowing LSU’s hitters to settle into an at-bat. He pounded the strike zone, throwing 63 of his 88 pitches for strikes. Not only was he throwing strikes, however, he was throwing quality strikes and getting the Tigers to beat the ball into the ground.
Once Skenes and Lowder exited the game, the bullpens picked up where they left off. LSU turned to righthander Thatcher Hurd, who threw three scoreless innings, working around a hit and a walk. Wake went first to Cole Roland for two hitters and then Michael Massey, who struck out five in 2.2 innings. Closer Camden Minacci came in for the fateful final at-bat.
But into the 11th inning, every pitcher that stepped on the mound delivered moment after moment. The wind was blowing in, making the already spacious Charles Schwab Field play even bigger, yes, but for anyone that appreciates pitching, Thursday was an all-timer.
LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson, who has seen countless displays of excellence on the mound, both in college and in the major leagues, said he’d never seen anything better.
“This duel right here, that’s No. 1 of all time for me,” he said.
Jay Johnson and Wake coach Tom Walter agreed.
“The best pitched college baseball game I’ve ever seen from both sides,” Jay Johnson said. “Obviously, what Paul did was spectacular. What Thatcher did was spectacular.”
“What can you say about Rhett Lowder today?” Walter said. “Paul Skenes was fantastic, and Rhett matched him pitch for pitch. It was one of the best pitched college baseball games I’ve ever seen. And Michael Massey behind him was dominant. And Hurd was too for LSU.”
Skenes said he was too locked in to really enjoy the duel, but he was impressed by what he saw from Lowder.
“It might have been cooler for the people in the stands than it was for me just because all it comes down to is just executing,” Skenes said. “I didn’t watch a whole lot of Lowder’s outing. Obviously, he did really well, executed really well.”
Wake has one of the best lineups in the country and this season averaged 9.0 runs per game, sixth most nationally. But in three games this week against LSU, the Deacs never found much success. They won the winner’s bracket showdown Monday, 3-2, but lost the last two nights, 5-2 and 2-0. They totaled just 15 hits over 28 innings.
Things didn’t get any easier Thursday for Wake when it had to scratch first baseman Nick Kurtz, typically the team’s cleanup hitter, just before the game. He was hit in the ribs during super regionals and coach Tom Walter said the injury was reaggravated during pregame warmups.
The way Skenes pitched Thursday it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Wake got a single in the third from Jack Winnay, who replaced Kurtz in the lineup, and a double in the fifth from Justin Johnson. Otherwise, it wasn’t finding much green against the big righthander.
Wes Johnson said with Skenes pitching on short rest, he called more fastballs early in the count to try to get some quicker outs and keep the pitch count in check.
“They did a nice job waiting him out, taking a few fastballs away,” Wes Johnson said. “Then we were able to execute some sliders later and make them start swinging the bat.
“But come on, two hits? That’s a really good club over there. I think they throw the ball well and they’ve got a good plan at the plate.”
Wake’s best scoring opportunity—and the best opportunity for either team in the first nine innings—came in the eighth. Skenes walked Justin Johnson to lead off the inning. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and Skenes then struck out Winnay, but the ball got away from catcher Alex Milazzo, putting runners on the corners with one out.
With nine-hole hitter Marek Houston at the plate, Wake put on a squeeze play. Houston bunted the ball up the first base line, where first baseman Tre’ Morgan was crashing. Morgan is considered the best defensive first baseman in the country and he fielded the ball cleanly and quickly flipped the ball to Milazzo, who swiped a tag on Johnson as he dove for home plate.
Milazzo said the Tigers practice that play three or four times a week. They had drilled it enough that on the biggest stage, he said the whole thing played out on muscle memory.
“Just kind of how the game was going, we figured something would be on,” Milazzo said. “Tre’ made a hell of a play.”
Wake still had two runners on after the play, but Skenes ended the threat by getting a fly ball to left field. That ended his night, as he’d thrown 120 pitches. In two starts in Omaha, Skenes has struck out 21 batters and held hitters to two runs on seven hits and two walks in 15.2 innings.
Meanwhile, LSU had a bit more traffic against Lowder. The Tigers got a runner on in five of his seven innings and twice got a runner to second base, but to no avail. They went 0-for-9 with runners on base against the All-American.
Like Skenes, Lowder on Thursday set the program’s single-season strikeout record as he pushed past teammate Josh Hartle to finish the season with 143 in 120.1 innings. It also was the first time this season that Wake lost a game that Lowder started.
“His ability to command the offspeed at will (stands out),” Wes Johnson said. “Not just throw it for a strike, but command it. His slider and then that changeup, the ability to do that was impressive. That’s why he was 15-0 coming into this.”
In the end, the game came down to one swing of the bat. In a game as well pitched as Thursday’s and with two offenses who both rank in the top five nationally in home runs, it was probably always going to come down to one hitter finding a barrel.
That hitter was White. Last year’s Freshman of the Year while at North Carolina State, he last summer transferred to LSU for moments like Thursday night. And, as he said, he’ll this weekend get the chance for more because LSU gets to keep playing baseball for at least a few more days.
