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Browsing entries posted on Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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SIX-PACK: Tigers take title
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
LSU players, including Leon Landry (6), dogpile after defeating Texas in the deciding game of the College World Series on Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.
LSU claimed the school's sixth national championship by finishing off Texas, 11-4, in the decisive game of the College World Series championship series.
The Tigers added a run in the ninth on Sean Ochinko's leadoff home run inside the left-field foul pole. Ochinko finished with a 4-for-5 night and three runs batted in after being benched Tuesday night.
Louis Coleman survived a four-pitch leadoff walk by finishing the championship run and his college career by striking out the side.
Coleman got Connor Rowe to swing at a 1-2 frisbee slider for the final strike. Then Coleman fired his glove into the air before catcher Micah Gibbs and the rest of the Tigers convened for the obligatory dog pile.
Thanks for reading, and check 2theadvocate.com, The Advocate newspaper and WBRZ-TV for additional coverage.
Posted in: Sports
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8TH INNING: Down to three outs
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
LSU's Ryan Schimpf (16) applauds from the dugout.
LSU added another run to take a 10-4 lead into the ninth.
Austin Nola led off the top of the eighth with an opposite-field double that trickled into foul ground down the right-field line. Nola moved to third after DJ LeMahieu bounced a line drive off the leg of Texas reliever Austin Wood to knock him out of the game.
Lefty Keith Shinaberry came in and gave up a sacrifice fly to Schimpf to put LSU in double figures. Blake Dean ended the inning by bouncing into a 3-6-1 double play.
Louis Coleman, who started for LSU on Monday night, came in after Jones pitched 1 2/3 innings of no-hit, scoreless ball.Coleman, who gave up five solo homers against the Longhorns two nights ago, allowed a one-out double to Texas' Michael Torres. LSU third baseman Derek Helenihi followed with a Graig Nettles impression, circa the 1978 World Series, with a diving stop and throw to retire Travis Tucker for the second out. Then first baseman Sean Ochikno smothered a hard shot to first to retire Brandon Belt and end the inning.
I'll be a bit late with the final-inning post because I have to fulfill some other obligations for our Web site. You'll see a purple "Sports Alert" bar at the top of the site almost immediately after the final out.
So feel free to click the link in the purple bar when the game is over, and check back to this blog for the final-inning wrap-up not too long after that.Posted in: Sports
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7TH INNING: Six more outs for LSU
Eric Francis/AP
LSU pitcher Chad Jones and teammate Buzzy Haydel, right, celebrate after Jones struck out Texas' Russell Moldenhauer in the sixth inning. Jones also worked a scoreless inning in the seventh for the Tigers.
LSU went quickly and quietly in order in the top of the inning, but Chad Jones also kept Texas off the board as the Tigers still lead, 9-4.
Jones hit Kevin Keyes in the front foot with a breaking ball with one out.
But Jones got Connor Rowe to pop to first and retired Preston Clark on a fly out to left.Posted in: Sports
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6TH INNING: High-five gives Tigers 9-4 edge
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
LSU's Mikie Mahtook hits an RBI double in the sixth inning to scored Jared Mitchell with the tiebreaking run.
LSU's offense awakened after a three-inning nap to reclaim the lead, re-living the 11th inning of Monday night's game in the process.
The Tigers sent 10 men to the plate, scoring five times to take a 9-4 advantage in the top of the inning.
Mikie Mahtook's RBI double off Texas reliever Brandon Workman broke a 4-4 tie and put the Tigers back on top. Two nights ago, Mahtook reached Workman for an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning that was the decisive run in LSU's 7-6 victory.
Derek Helenihi followed with a sacrifice fly to the edge of the warning track in left. After the Tigers loaded the bases, Blake Dean was hit by a pitch to score a run and Sean Ochinko drove in two more with a single.
The top of the inning started when Jared Mitchell ended a streak of nine consecutive LSU batters retired with a leadoff walk. It was a good at-bat for Mitchell, who fell behind 0-2 before working the count for the bases on balls.
Mitchell moved to second on a wild pitch after Mikie Mahtook squared to bunt but got out of the way of a first-pitch, high-and-inside fastball. Then Mahtook lined a 3-2 fastball to right-center field for the go-ahead double that chased Workman from the game.
Micah Gibbs followed with a sacrifice bunt and reached first on an errant throw by new Texas pitcher Austin Dicharry. The error put LSU runners at first and third with none out. Helenihi followed with his sacrifice fly to score Mahtook.
Gibbs moved to second on a ground out and to third on a wild pitch. DJ LeMahieu walked and Texas lefty reliever Austin Wood came in and nicked Ryan Schimpf to load the bases. Then Wood nipped Dean to force in a run and give LSU a 7-4 cushion. Ochinko followed with a chopper through the left side to put the Tigers ahead, 9-4.
In the bottom of the inning, LSU's Anthony Ranaudo departed in favor of lefty Chad Jones after retiring the first Texas hitter of the bottom of the fifth. Jones struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
Ranaudo's pitching line
5 1/3 innings pitched, eight hits, four earned runs, five walks, four strikeouts, 119 pitches
Texas pitching lines
Workman: Three-plus innings, two runs, two hits, one walk.Dicharry: Two-thirds of an inning, two unearned runs, one walk.
Posted in: Sports
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5TH INNING: Keyes to fresh start for Texas
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
LSU's Micah Gibbs (33), left, tries to calm Anthony Ranaudo (23) on the mound.
LSU's early four-run lead is completely gone, and it's a new game at 4.
After Cameron Rupp's leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth, Texas' Kevin Keyes hit a game-tying, two-run homer to left-center field off LSU's Anthony Ranaudo.
Ranaudo gave up a one-out single to Preston Clark, but he worked out of trouble to leave the game tied.
LSU's offense hasn't provided much help in the last two innings with quick at-bats that have not left Ranaudo much time to recover in the dugout between innings.
Unofficially, Ranaudo passed the 100-pitch mark during the fifth.
Conversely, Texas reliever Brandon Workman has stabilized his team on the mound with three scoreless innings. Workman has gone completely through the LSU order without allowing a baserunner since giving up a leadoff single to Sean Ochinko in the third.
In the fifth, Workman navigated LSU's 2-3-4 hitters by inducing two ground outs to first and a foul popout to the catcher.
Before the top of the inning, Texas head coach Augie Garrido told ESPN's Erin Andrews that nervousness caused his team to chase pitches out of the strike zone the first time through the order. Garrido said his offense had a better collective eye on the strike zone in the third to get to Ranaudo.
In a between-half-innings interview with ESPN's Kyle Peterson, LSU head coach Paul Mainieri blamed himself for the double-steal that set up Texas' two-run third inning. A grounder to short scored the first Texas run of the third before Ranaudo walked home another run with two out.Posted in: Sports
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4TH INNING: Teams swap goose eggs
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
LSU outfielders Ryan Schimpf (16), left, and Mikie Mahtook (8) celebrate after Mahtook made a diving catch for an out.
It's still 4-2 after four.
LSU's offense went quietly in the top half, but Anthony Ranaudo got back on track in the bottom of the inning.
The Tigers' 8-9-1 hitters were retired in order, meaning not much rest for Ranaudo after his long stint in the bottom of the third.
Texas leadoff hitter Michael Torres inexplicably swung at the first pitch and lined it to center field for an out. Travis Tucker reached base with a one-out, opposite-field single to right, but Ranaudo escaped harm with a strike out and a ground out.
Texas' hitters stretched out Ranaudo in the third by fouling off two-strike pitches on almost every at-bat. But Ranaudo seemed to have better command of his curveball in the fourth in having an uneventful inning.Posted in: Sports
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3RD INNING: 'Horns cut LSU lead in half
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
Starting right-handed pitcher Anthony Ranaudo (23) throws a pitch against Texas.
Texas scored twice to slice the Tigers advantage to 4-2 as LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo struggled with his control.
The Longhorns put the leadoff runner on for the third consecutive inning. Travis Tucker doubled into the left-field corner to start the Longhorn half of the third. Brandon Belt walked and went to first after temporarily losing track of the count, giving Texas runners at first and second with none out.
Russell Moldenhauer hit a scorching line drive to left-center field that LSU center fielder Mikie Mahtook ran down after almost misplaying the ball. Texas followed with a double-steal to put runners at second and third with one out, and Rupp scored Tucker with a ground out to short.
But Ranaudo issued three consecutive walks to force in another run and cut LSU's lead to 4-2. Brandon Loy hit into a fielder's choice to end the inning.
Ranaudo has walked five, tying a single-game high this season. His pitch count is unofficially at 77 through three innings.
In the top of the inning, Texas head coach Augie Garrido took a page out of LSU head coach Paul Mainieri's book and brought in a new pitcher. At least for one inning, Garrido's decision worked out better than Mainieri's bullpen call did Tuesday night.
Brandon Workman came in for Longhorn starter Cole Green, who departed after giving up four runs and five hits in two innings. Workman took the loss Monday night, allowing Mikie Mahtook's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th inning of LSU's 7-6 victory.
LSU's Sean Ochinko greeted Workman with a leadoff line-drive single to left. But Workman recovered, striking out Mahtook and Micah Gibbs after Jared Mitchell's fly out to left.
On Tuesday night, Mainieri yanked LSU starter Austin Ross after he gave up two runs in two innings. Mainieri's manuever didn't pay off as Ryan Byrd subsequently gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning to put LSU in a 5-1 hole it couldn't escape.
Posted in: Sports
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2ND INNING: Schimpf boosts Tigers' advantage
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
Tiger fans taunt Texas' outfielder Preston Clark.
The Tigers added a run to make it 4-0.
Ryan Schimpf's two-out bouncer just to the right of second base scored Micah Gibbs to boost the LSU lead.
Gibbs led off the second with a line-drive single over the head of second baseman Travis Tucker. Gibbs moved to second after Derek Helenihi hit a chopper to third and was tagged out by Texas first baseman Brandon Belt after an errant throw. Gibbs reached third on DJ LeMahieu's two-out infield single before Schimpf's RBI single.
Blake Dean popped out to second to end LSU's half of the inning.
Texas leadoff hitter Connor Rowe reached on an infield single, but LSU's Anthony Ranaudo kept him stranded at first.Posted in: Sports
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1ST INNING: Mitchell powers LSU to 3-0 lead
Mark Saltz/The Advocate
Texas' catcher Cameron Rupp (3) watches LSU's Blake Dean (34) and others mob teammate Jared Mitchell (3) after his first-inning home run.
LSU jumped out to an early edge on a two-out, three-run home run by Jared Mitchell. His line-drive blast on a 2-2 pitch hooked just inside the right-field foul pole, and it was made possible in part by an umpires' conference.
With none on and two out, Blake Dean appeared to take a Cole Green pitch off the top of his foot. Home-plate umpire Perry Costello originally ruled the ball did not hit Dean, but Costello convened with the other umpires convened and subsequently awarded Dean first base.
Sean Ochinko followed with a single through the left side to put two on and set the stage for Mitchell's long ball.
In the bottom of the inning, LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo escaped a two-out bases-loaded jam without giving up a run.
Texas' Michael Torres led off the bottom of the first inning with a single through the center of the infield. With two outs, Torres moved to second on Russell Moldenhauer's chopper through the right side for a single. Cameron Rupp drew a walk to load the bases.
But Ranaudo struck out Kevin Keyes on a 1-2 high fastball out of the strike zone to end the Longhorn threat.Posted in: Sports
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LSU CWS celebration slated for 4 p.m. Thursday
By RANDY ROSETTA
Advocate sportswriterOMAHA, Neb. – Some basic info on LSU's College World Series celebration, which will be held at 4 p.m. at Alex Box Stadium regardless of tonight's outcome.
- There will be speeches from the team and other LSU and Baton Rouge dignitarie and a season highlight video.
- Gates open at 2 p.m. and the event is free to the public.
- All parking is free, except the Champions Lot which will be used for the team.
- Concession stats will be open and CWS souvenirs will be available.
With 12 minutes to go before first pitch, I'm signing off and letting 2theadvocate.com Sports Editor Rich Loup take the blogging baton.
Posted in: Sports
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