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Casan Evans (Photo by Eddie Kelly/ ProLook Photos)
The field couldn’t contain it. In the space of 10 feet, two fates collided—one season ended and another roared forward.
Charles Davalan dropped to his knees in left field the moment the ball skipped past Cam Kozeal’s glove. His face found his hands before the scoreboard changed. Arkansas teammates sprinted toward him—not to celebrate, but to catch him as he broke.
Across the diamond, Luis Hernandez screamed toward home, Jared Jones flung his helmet into the air and LSU players spilled across the infield like they owned it.
Because in that moment, they did.
The Tigers are headed to the College World Series final for the second time in three years. Arkansas is going home. And between them—just one misplayed fly ball, an errant throw and a double play ball that grabbed just one out. The result was a 6-5 LSU win.
“I told them to get in a little tighter,” Dave Van Horn said in the aftermath. “A lot of guys were distraught. Charles was super upset. I just told them I appreciate the effort all year and the ride they took us on.”
In front of 25,740 fans—the largest crowd of the 2025 College World Series so far—college baseball’s final two bluebloods delivered a heavyweight classic. A nine-inning war. A game that ended on a two-out walk-off single one out shy of Arkansas forcing extra innings and a potential winner-take-all.
And it all unraveled in the bottom of the ninth.
Arkansas led 5-3 thanks to a two-run single from Justin Thomas Jr. in the top half. But the bottom began with a chopper on the infield. Reese Robinett charged it from first base—a ball that was clearly Kozeal’s—and his rushed throw skidded away. A walk. A fielder’s choice. Then Hernandez—who’d seen offspeed all night—drove a changeup into left.
“I had a straight-on view of it,” Van Horn said. “It was hit hard, obviously. It was kind of hooking and sinking. But it looked like Charles slipped like right at the beginning of taking off for it. When he slipped, he probably lost sight of it.”
Two runs scored. Tie game.
Moments later, Jones chopped a ball that tipped off Kozeal’s glove and into the outfield to score Hernandez and end the game.
“I thought he had caught it honestly because it fell in behind him,” Jones said. “But once I saw the ball hit the grass, I just blacked out in the moment, just celebrating with my teammates.”
Meanwhile, Davalan stayed down.
“It’s not his fault,” Van Horn said. “We wouldn’t have got here without Charles Davalan. We wouldn’t have gotten close. Guy got so much clutch hits, started so many rallies. You can probably take 10 wins off our SEC (record). He was unbelievable.”
Arkansas players never left the field quickly. They surrounded him. Held him. Some sat in silence. Others sobbed.
“It sucks to say goodbye to everybody,” catcher Ryder Helfrick said. “And Charles, he told me, he’s, like, ‘I’m sorry.’ I said, ‘Why are you sorry?’ We wouldn’t be where we are today without him.
“For him to say sorry, it kind of pissed me off, because the game’s not on him. It’s on the team. He’s one of the greatest to do it here.”
Even in celebration, LSU felt the weight of what it had just taken.
“I want to congratulate Arkansas, coach Van Horn, the staff,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “Coming here four years ago from the West (division), I just felt like that’s the program we always have to catch. It’s just the consistency of talent, fundamentals, competitiveness. They have it all.”
But this night belonged to LSU.
“I would coach this team forever,” Johnson said. “I’ve been telling them that probably since March or April. And it’s because of the character.”
Waiting for LSU now is Coastal Carolina, the mid-major giant-slayer that’s become the story of the tournament. The Chanticleers are built on development and cohesion, home-grown stars and fearless belief. They ride a 26-game winning streak into the College World Series finale. Their core features dominant college players.
Meanwhile, LSU’s roster—elite, expensive, assembled through college baseball’s new financial arms race—is loaded with pro potential.
This is the championship college baseball deserves. One of the richest rosters in the sport against one of its most resourceful. A war of tools and toughness. A power on a mission against a mid-major hunting history.
“Just excited to prepare for a couple more days and enjoy being together and go compete for a championship,” Johnson said. “Because I get to coach guys like this.”
But even as LSU celebrated what’s next, it was impossible to ignore what was lost. Van Horn watched from the dugout for 10 quiet minutes. He saw his players circle Davalan. He saw the joy erupt across the field. He saw the silence settle around his own bench.
“We didn’t lose the game because of Charles,” he said. “We lost the game because we didn’t score early in the game, we didn’t make a pitch, we didn’t make a play. And we lost. One play might be something that stands out, but there’s a lot of things going in that 27 outs.”
He stood. He spoke softly. And in the end, he said the only thing a man who has seen everything can say in a moment like that.
“It’s tough, man,” Van Horn, choking back tears, said. “Kids are good, man. I love being around them. That’s why I do it.”
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