THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
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Here are some of the pics from Game 13 that put LSU within one game of the national title.
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This turned out to be the best play of the game for LSU. Coach Mainieri’s call to the bullpen resulted in five hitless innings for the Longhorns.
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LSU’s lucky Yeti sits on the dugout wall during pregame warmups.
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Head groundskeeper Jesse Cuevas talks with one of the Air Force guys as he sets up for one of those pregame flyovers during the national anthem that lasts all of 2.3 seconds.
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Chance Ruffin casts a long shadow on the mound in the early part of the game.
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Things didn’t look good early on for the Tigers as Mikie Mahtook can only look up and see this home run bang high off the batter’s eye. Yes, that little speck in the upper left is the baseball that was launched by Russell Muldenhauer.
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The tale of two signs. 1- Attractive girls can always get away with any kind of sign if they’re hotties.
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2- Then again, this sign says “Tiger Fan (Name) died June 11th. LSU will win the College World Series.” You decide.
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You know it must be the championship series if Dennis Dodd from CBS and Mark Schlabach from ESPN are in the press box at Rosenblatt. I almost wanted to go up to them and ask, “So of all the games you’ve been to this year, who are the best teams you saw that didn’t make the College World Series?” (Crickets, crickets)
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No it’s not another drunk fan running onto the field, this ballgirl had to go between home plate and the mound to retrieve a runaway ball.
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D.J. LeMahieu is mobbed after scoring what would be the winning run off a single by Mikie Mahtook.
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The body language says it all. Kevin Keyes, standing far away from his teammates, gives a half-hearted “Eyes of Texas” after the loss. I can’t tell what he’s more bent about, the loss, or being pulled after hitting a home run earlier in the game?
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The bright lights of the big stage shone down on young Mikie Mahtook and he came through like the conquering hero tonight.
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Don’t believe the final scoreboard totals, LSU actually scored its winning run in the 11th inning, not the 10th.
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Had this screen grab from the game sent to me afterward. So who’s the dork on TV in the upper left? I shoulda worn my nice toupee tonight.
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Guy says:
“You know it must be the championship series if Dennis Dodd from CBS and Mark Schlabach from ESPN are in the press box at Rosenblatt. I almost wanted to go up to them and ask, “So of all the games you’ve been to this year, who are the best teams you saw that didn’t make the College World Series?” (Crickets, crickets)”
Good one, Eric. Since this is an EVENT, not the culmination of a great season, they can check it off — “I was in Omaha.” Done. Now on to the LLWS.
Tim K. says:
Are you sure someone didn’t fool Dodd and Schlabach by telling them there was a college football scrimmage at Rosenblatt?
Looking at sportsline.com Dodd has been hard at work banging out 5 college baseball stories in the last week and a half. Must be tough letting coverage of college football go on hiatus during this lull between spring football and summer camp.
Irvinebaseballfan says:
Ah, we the esoteric few who start watching college baseball in February. I stand by earlier proclamations that I like college ball the way it is…on the fringes. Mocking the bandwagoners in June aside, I love the relative conference parity, fan accessibility, and (compared to football and basketball) lack of dirty pool among its coaches and players. I love that as a casual fan, I can say that I’ve had conversations with Dave Serrano, Mike Gillespie, Augie Garrido, Paul Mainieri and many others without having to be a bajillion figure donor to their respective programs. I love that when my kid catches a ball, the players are eager to sign it after the game. I love that I can comment on sites like this one and rivals and get direct feedback from the columnists. I love watching kids play who know they’ll never be drafted — they just love playing the game. I love watching freshman man up on the mound when called upon to do so on a Sunday afternoon. I even love watching the ignorant tripe that pops up from passive fans who probably didn’t even know their local institution of higher learning had a baseball program six weeks ago. Gives me a smug feeling.
Let Dodd and Schlabach have their moment under the lights, and I’ll take my 4 1/2 months of a beautiful game.
Tim K. says:
Irvinebaseballfan – very well put. Heck of a post.
Gusball says:
Stitch, thanks for the pics, man…helluva job you’ve been doing all Series long. What a game last night…can tonight possibly top it? Doubtful, but we can hope, right? Here’s hoping Texas can tie things up and force a Game 3. I’m confident UT can get to Austin Ross early and that Jungmann will be able to shake off that weird cameo last night and be his usual lights out self. Now if Augie will just stop taking out some of Texas’ best bats in the late innings for defensive purposes…can’t ever assume the game’s over against LSU and we need all the bats we can get in case the game goes extra innings, like last night. Painful watching Tim Maitland and Kyle Lusson whiff away while Keyes and Moldenhauer watch from the bench.