Williams inks deal with D-Backs
June 25, 2013
LSU fans need some perspective sometimes
June 25, 2013
LSU’s latest trip to Omaha wasn’t a good one – it was a two and barbecue College World Series for the Tigers.
After losing last Sunday’s opening game with UCLA, the Tigers were eliminated from the eight-team tournament last Tuesday in a 4-2 loss to North Carolina.
The defeat ends LSU’s season with a 57-11 record.
It marked a bitter end to what was a championship-winning regular season for the Tigers.
“Obviously, it’s a very disappointing day for all of us associated with LSU baseball,” Mainieri said following the loss. “Like I told the players – you have to deal with two disappointments. You have to deal with the disappointment of losing a singular game … and at the same time, you also know that it’s a loss that ends your season.”
LSU simply couldn’t get a key hit with runners in scoring position in the College World Series.
The Tigers left 20 men on base in their two games in Omaha, scoring just three runs in the 18 innings of baseball.
Against the Tar Heels, LSU fell into a 2-0 deficit in the first inning when Brian Holberton jerked a pitch from Cody Glenn into the outfield seats for a two-run home run.
Playing from behind throughout the game, the Tigers had runners in scoring position in several innings, but couldn’t break through to either tie or lead the game.
LSU’s best chance to break through came in the eighth inning down 4-2. During that inning, the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs for Mark Laird.
Instead of getting a game-tying base-hit, Laird flied out to right field, which effectively ended the Tigers’ hopes.
The next inning, LSU brought the tying runner to the plate, but didn’t seriously threaten the scoreboard.
“We got guys on base and just couldn’t come through with the hits that we needed,” Mainieri said. “We didn’t play our best out here. We know that. We’re disappointed in that, and we came here to win. We came here to win a championship, and we came up a little bit short.”
The loss and elimination is one that is doubly disappointing for the LSU community because of the change coming soon to the Tigers’ roster.
LSU is losing sluggers Raph Rhymes and Mason Katz to graduation. Elite closer Chris Cotton and reliable bullpen arms like Joey Bourgeois and Brent Bonvillain are also seniors and will not be back.
The MLB Draft is also a threat to take away JaCoby Jones, Ty Ross, Ryan Eades and Nick Rumbelow from the collegiate ranks and into pro ball.
Because of the steep departures, many considered this to be LSU’s year.
Now that it’s over and the Tigers finished short of their goal, players and coaches are left wondering what the future holds.
“I’m going to let it sink in first,” Katz said following the defeat. “It’s pretty devastating right now. For myself, Brent (Bonvillain), and the other six seniors, this is it. This is our last run. … This stings more than any of them because I’m done now. (A national championship) is why we came here. It’s why we came back to school. But as time goes on, we’ll get back to Baton Rouge, and we’ll be able to kind of sit back and look at the great things we did do this year.”
Mainieri agreed and said that the despite the bad ending, the Tigers’ 2013 season was a step in the right direction for the program.
He said he is proud of the team for the progress they made in the campaign.
“I’m not going to let (our defeat) take away from these kids and what they accomplished this year,” Mainieri said. “They are champions, and we won several championships this year. We just didn’t win the big one – the big championship. And we went two and out and we’re going to have to deal with that.”
LSU senior pitcher Chris Cotton fires a pitch during last Tuesday’s College World Series game between LSU and North Carolina. The Tigers fell 4-2 in the game and were knocked out of the College World Series. Cotton pitched his final game as a Tiger in the world series.
