LSU CLAIMS EIGHTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 5-3 WIN OVER COASTAL CAROLINA
OMAHA, Neb. – Right-hander Anthony Eyanson pitched 6.1 innings Sunday for his 12th win of the season, and LSU broke a 1-1 tie with a four-run fourth inning as the Tigers captured their eighth College World Series title with a 5-3 win over Coastal Carolina at Charles Schwab Field.
LSU, which won its eighth straight game, completed the season with a 53-15 record, including an perfect 5-0 mark in the College World Series.
Coastal Carolina, which entered the CWS Finals series riding a 26-game win streak, finished the year with a 56-13 record.
“Unbelievable, I’m so proud right now,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson, who led the Tigers to the national title for the second time in three seasons. “It’s not to be taken for granted being here two years ago. That (2023 championship) was special, greatest night of my life. This is equal, and maybe even tops in some ways.
“It was probably a year ago today, we had 12 players in our program that actually played on the field for us in 2024 – 12. We had to go to work. Our motto for this year was ‘Tough and Together,’ and I’ve never seen a team more mentally tough and consistent.”
Eyanson (12-2) worked 6.1 innings and limited the Chanticleers to three runs on seven hits with one walk and nine strikeouts, firing 99 pitches.
“There’s one player every summer in this crazy new recruiting world that we’re living in that you know it’s going to tip the scales for you to have an opportunity to be here and do what we just accomplished, and that player was Anthony Eyanson.”
CCU starter Jacob Morrison (12-1) was charged with the loss, as he allowed five runs on six hits with 3.2 innings with one walk and two strikeouts.
The Chanticleers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when designated hitter Dean Mihos unloaded his third homer of the year.
LSU tied the game in the top of the third when designated hitter Ethan Frey ripped an RBI double, scoring second baseman Daniel Dickinson, who had led off the inning with a single.
The Tigers erupted for four runs in the fourth inning as centerfielder Chris Stanfield and leftfielder Derek Curiel each delivered two-run singles to highlight the outburst.
Coastal Carolina narrowed the gap to 5-3 in the seventh against Eyanson when centerfielder Wells Sykes hit a two-run homer, his fourth dinger of the season.
Shores, however, entered the game and retired the next two hitters in the seventh. He fired two more scoreless innings to earn his second save of the year, allowing just one hit with no walks and four strikeouts.
Mihos led off the CCU ninth with a single, but Shores struck out shortstop Ty Dooley and forced Sykes to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
“Chase Shores, I’m so proud of him,” Johnson said. “I mean, he was a weekend starter on the 2023 national championship team as a freshman before he was injured. And then he had to go through the 18-month recovery rehab and persevered through all of that. And there’s nobody I would have rather had finish the game tonight for the second national championship than Chase Shores.”
LSU 5 (53-15)
Player ab r h rbi bb so po a lob avg
Derek Curiel lf 5 0 1 2 0 3 1 0 2 .342
Ethan Frey dh 5 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 .339
Steven Milam ss 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 .293
Jake Brown rf 3 1 0 0 2 2 2 0 1 .315
Jared Jones 1b 5 1 1 0 0 0 9 0 1 .320
Luis Hernandez c 3 1 0 0 0 1 12 1 2 .266
Chris Stanfield cf 4 1 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 .297
Daniel Dickinson 2b 3 1 2 0 0 1 0 3 0 .320
Michael Braswell III 3b 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 .193
Anthony Eyanson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 –
Chase Shores p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 –
Totals 35 5 10 5 3 9 27 8 9
Coastal Carolina 3 (56-13)
Player ab r h rbi bb so po a lob avg
Caden Bodine c 4 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 0 .313
Sebastian Alexander lf 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .321
Blake Barthol 2b 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 2 .270
Walker Mitchell 3b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 .266
Blagen Pado rf 4 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 .267
Colby Thorndyke 1b 3 0 0 0 1 2 8 1 0 .299
Dean Mihos dh 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 .340
Ty Dooley ss 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 2 .284
Wells Sykes cf 4 1 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 .295
Jacob Morrison p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 –
Hayden Johnson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 –
Darin Horn p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 –
Ryan Lynch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 –
Totals 34 3 8 3 1 13 27 10 6
Score by Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
LSU 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 0
Coastal Carolina 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 8 2
E – Barthol(10); Mitchell(11). DP – Tigers 1; Chanticleers 1. LOB – Tigers 9; Chanticleers 6. 2B – Frey(15). HR
- Mihos(3); Sykes(4). HBP – Hernandez; Dooley. SH – Dickinson(4); Braswell III(10). SB – Alexander(28). CS –
Dickinson(4).
LSU ip h r er bb so ab bf np era
Anthony Eyanson 6.1 7 3 3 1 9 26 28 99 3.07
Chase Shores 2.2 1 0 0 0 4 8 8 27 4.88
Coastal Carolina ip h r er bb so ab bf np era
Jacob Morrison 3.2 6 5 5 1 2 15 19 63 2.75
Hayden Johnson 2.1 1 0 0 1 3 8 9 38 2.66
Darin Horn 2.0 2 0 0 1 3 8 9 43 2.54
Ryan Lynch 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 4 4 11 0.55
Win – Eyanson (12-2). Loss – Morrison (12-1). Save – Shores (2).
HBP – by Morrison (Hernandez); by Eyanson (Dooley). Pitches/strikes: Eyanson 99/69; Shores 27/22; Morrison 63/42;
Johnson 38/23; Horn 43/26; Lynch 11/9.
Umpires – HP: Angel Campos 1B: Casey Moser 2B: Kellen Levy 3B: Clint Fagan
Start: 1:44 pm Time: 2:55 Attendance: 24734
Weather: 92-Sunny-W:23 MPH S-H:51%
Game notes:
Outfield Umpires: LF – Brian deBrauwere RF-Gregory Street
