Martin to take mound on 22nd birthday

• By RANDY ROSETTA
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Jun 19, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:25 a.m.

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OMAHA, Neb. — LSU has already delivered one birthday wish at the 2008 College World Series.

Blake Martin would like to extend that particular streak today.

When Martin takes the mound as the Tigers’ starting pitcher in an elimination game against North Carolina (6 p.m., ESPN), the junior left-hander will be celebrating his 22nd birthday.

Martin’s parents, David and Kayla Martin, arrived in Omaha on Wednesday night and will watch their son pitch in the biggest game of his life on his birthday.

“There will be a lot of emotions with my family here, but once I step on the field it’s going to be all about North Carolina and I’m looking forward to it,” Martin said.

Since emerging as a reliable starter early in the season, Martin is 5-3 with 80 strikeouts (second on the team) and a 4.83 earned-run average. He has been rock-solid in three postseason starts, allowing only five earned runs in 161/3 innings in outings vs. Vanderbilt, Southern Miss and UC Irvine.

He was on the hill in the decisive third game of the super regional against UCI and set an important early tone by holding the Anteaters hitless for the first two frames while LSU exploded for nine early runs on the way to a 21-7 victory.

The Tigers (49-18-1) gave Martin the chance to pitch on college baseball’s biggest stage by rallying for a 6-5 triumph against Rice on Tuesday. Martin knew he would get the ball if LSU’s season was extended, so his celebration had a short shelf life.

“It wasn’t the first thing that crossed my mind because I wanted to celebrate with everybody else, but it was right there,” Martin said of today’s assignment. “I was excited for a minute and then when we were walking off the field after we shook hands, I was like ‘Alright, I’ve got to get ready for North Carolina.’ ”

LSU coach Paul Mainieri put Martin into LSU’s CWS opener against the Tar Heels for two-thirds of an inning to get the junior acclimated to Rosenblatt and emotions of pitching in Omaha.

“Blake has been one of our best pitchers all year and he got his chance to break the ice the other day at Rosenblatt Stadium,” Mainieri said.

“I would expect him to go out there with a great deal of poise and composure and a very competitive attitude. I’ve got a lot of confidence that he’ll have a good outing and keep us in the game and get us to our bullpen in good position.”

North Carolina (52-13) will counter Martin with one of the best freshmen pitchers in the country.