LSU Defeats Texas To Win The 2009 College World Series

June 24, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

The Louisiana State University Tigers capped off their 2009 Men's Baseball Season by winning the National Championship over the University of Texas Longhorns. It was the dream ending that all teams hope for, but in the end, there is only one team that can end the season by winning the National Title, and this year, that team is LSU.

Wednesday night, the final game of the 2009 College World Series Finals, took place, from Rosenblatt Stadium, in Omaha, Nebraska. This game, signified the end of the college baseball season, as the champion was crowned. This year featured two familiar faces, the LSU Tigers and the Texas Longhorns. Both teams have proud programs, and have both won multiple NCAA National Titles. Coming into this final game, Texas looked to win their 7th title, as LSU was seeking their 6th. The first two games of the series, was a split, with LSU taking the first game, in 11 innings, and then Texas winning game 2, Tuesday night, which led us to this point. Both teams took the field determined to be champions, however, when all was said and done, it was the LSU Tigers that came home with the hardware, by defeating the Texas Longhorns 11-4.

From the start of the game, Texas was in trouble. In the top half of the first, the visiting LSU Tigers were able to put a 3 spot, on the board, before the Longhorns had even had a chance to bat. Even then, things would get worse, before they got better. The Longhorns were unable to match any runs, LSU had put up in the first inning, and gave up yet another one, in the top of the second, which brought the score to 4-0. It wasn't until the third inning that things began to shift towards Texas, as they kept the Tigers off the scoreboard, and answered with 2 runs, of their own, in the bottom of the third, bringing the score to 4-2. Texas would eventually tie this game, in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two more runs, making the score 4-4. However, that success was short lived as the Tigers came back in the top of the sixth inning with 5 runs, which essentially put the game out of reach at 9-4. The Longhorns were unable to answer, as they never scored again, and eventually gave up runs in the top of the eighth and ninth innings, bringing the final score to 11-4, in favor of the Tigers.

For Paul Mainieri, this is his first National Title, though it is LSU's sixth. His team played rock solid ball, combined with terrific pitching, all year, which led them to this point. Coming into the 2009 College World Series, the Tigers were given the number 3 national seed. They lived up to those expectations, and then some, by going all the way. This is LSU's first national title since 2000, and the first under Mainieri. Congratulations to Mainieri, and his LSU Tigers Baseball Squad for winning the 2009 Collegiate Baseball National Championship.