The 2017 stage was reset. Former finalists University of Florida Gators and Louisiana State University Tigers fended off six teams to end back up at The Greatest Show on Dirt. Would the Tigers of LSU rewrite history? Turns out, both teams had their own way of rewriting history in the 2023 Men’s College World Series Championship.
Game 1: LSU “Ty’s” one on
History was rewritten in this game when LSU RHP Ty Floyd joined the Men’s College World Series and the SEC record books. In this start, Floyd cancelled 17 batters, setting a new record for LSU at the MCWS and tied Ed Bane for the all-time MCWS strikeout mark for an outing in nine innings or under. Arizona State's Ed Bane set the record in 1972.
This long and hard fought battle ended in the 11th inning when Tigers’ DH Cade Beloso blasted a go-ahead homerun on the second pitch over the right field wall. This was Beloso’s second go-ahead homerun during the College World Series.
The Tigers edged the Gators 4-3 in Game 1.
LSU gets another 11th inning win, takes Game 1 over Florida in the MCWS
Game 2: Gators know how to “Ty” one on, too!
The Florida Gators went off in Game 2, drawing a line in the sand themselves. In this contest, the Gators cleaned the slate to force a Game 3, silencing the Tigers in a 24-4 outing.
Prior to this game, the most runs ever scored in a single College World Series game happened in 1957 when the Notre Dame Irish beat Colorado State College in a 23-2 slashing. The record held strong for 66 years. The record now belongs to the Florida Gators for likely many years to come.
This game put the Gators at a total of 14 CWS home runs this season, which is the most ever for a single team, six more than the second most single-season CWS home runs by one team (eight held by four teams).
This is also the first time since the College World Series moved to Charles Schwab Field in 2011 that there’s been a five-home run game by one team or combined.
Florida's RF and eight-hole hitter Ty Evans had back-to-back home runs in his first and second at-bats of the night, with his second being a grand slam to give the Gators a huge lead. Evans contributed in a big way capping off the night with five RBI's.
Perhaps it was karma deserved after LSU DH Cade Beloso’s dad served gator as the main course tailgate pregame meal.
Cade Beloso's dad grilling gator before Game 2 of the #MCWS Finals 😳♨️ pic.twitter.com/hQWkdWz4DQ
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) June 25, 2023
Ty stepped up in the biggest way possible this week. Couldn't ask any more of him. Really kind of helped take the pressure off as a team having a comfortable lead, something we haven't had this week so far. And we were really just able to roll with it. – Jac Caglianone
Men’s CWS Championship: Florida Gators make CWS history, force decision game
Game 3: One Last Dance
The Gators cleaned the slate in Game 2 and it was just that, a clean slate, and the Tigers treated it as such. Nothing that happened before Game 3 mattered and the playing field had leveled for the deciding game.
The last danced appeared as if the two SEC competitors would be two-stepping in tandem for another long night race, but the tides changed when LSU scored six runs in the top of the second inning to give the Bayou bengals the early breather with a 6-2 lead and force Florida to pull their starting pitcher Jac Caglianone.
It was small ball all night for the Tigers as they clawed their way to the natty dogpile with only four of their 18 runs coming from two total home runs, the rest coming from RBI’s that were contributed by all but three LSU sluggers contributed one or more RBI, with two of those players being pinch-hitters.
LSU Box Score:
Accompanying the Tigers back to Baton Rouge is their seventh piece of MCWS hardware in school history, first since 2009, and first since the College World Series was moved from the original Rosenblatt Stadium to Charles Schwab Field in downtown Omaha. LSU is now the sole owner of the second most titles in Division I baseball, separating themselves from a previously tied-for-second with the Texas Longhorns, and trailing just USC (12 titles).
WE DID IT#ThePowerhouse pic.twitter.com/PShASp638a
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 27, 2023
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