LSU baseball are national champions once again after defeating Coastal Carolina 5-3 in Game 2 of the College World Series finals on Sunday and going undefeated in Omaha.
The Tigers earned their eight national title in program history behind domination of the bats and Anthony Eyanson on the mound.
A dramatic first inning set the tone for the day when CCU’s head coach Kevin Schnall began arguing with the umpire crew about balls and strikes at the bottom of the first.
To the shock of the stadium, he left the dugout to continue arguing and was ejected almost immediately along with the first base coach.
During the dispute, Schnall was given a warning. According to the NCAA, if a coach continues to argue after a warning or comes out of the dugout to do so, it is an automatic ejection.
Two coaches down, CCU still managed to get the go-ahead run when seven-hole Dean Mihos hit a home run in the bottom of the second.
At the top of the third, LSU fought back.
Daniel Dickinson led off with a single followed by Michael Braswell’s sacrifice bunt to get Dickinson to second.
Ethan Frey was the star batter, driving the ball past the center fielder for an RBI double that brought back Dickinson, evening the score 1-1.
After a low scoring 1-0 Game 1, the LSU bats finally found life in the fourth.
Jake Brown, Jared Jones and Luis Hernandez loaded the bases with no outs for Chris Stanfield to hit a 2 RBI single.
Brown and Jones scored to bring the Tigers up 3-1, but offense wasn’t done yet.
With Hernandez and Stanfield on second and third, Curiel singled straight into center field. CCU’s outfield was slow to return the ball, allowing the two runners to score.
With the national championship on the line, a comfortable 5-1 lead was exactly what LSU needed.
CCU had multiple slip ups on defense–mainly dropped balls–that cost the team crucial outs.
In the bottom of the seventh, CCU got back on the board after Eyanson hit a batter with a pitch, and allowed another home run to drive both players in.
After 6.1 innings and nine strikeouts, Eyanson stepped off the field one last time–relieved by Chase Shores.
Three quick outs in the eighth meant the pressure was all on the CCU bats in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run deficit to make up.
A single saw one runner get on base, but Shores struck out the next batter for LSU’s first out.
The last ball hit went straight to second base, where the double play was made to get both runners out and end the game.
As soon as first baseman Jones made the catch, purple and gold flooded the field.
The 2025 team capped their season with a 53-15 overall record and an eight-game win streak.
When the dream of a repeat national championship died in last year’s regionals, Johnson put together a team capable of taking its title back in 2025.
On a sunny Sunday afternoon in Omaha, they executed their fifth and final game of the College World Series, proving LSU had what it takes to win it all again.
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