TIGERS TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!! LSU Walks Off Arkansas 6-5

Arkansas Arkansas-ed yet again and the Tigers are moving on to the national championship

There’s just something about LSU baseball in Omaha.

LSU unbelievably, improbably, miraculously scored three two-out ninth inning runs to walk off Arkansas 6-5 in Wednesday’s national semifinal to eliminate the Razorbacks and advance to the program’s ninth national championship series.

An early pitcher’s duel between Zac Cowan and Landon Beidelschies turned absolutely topsy turvy in the game’s final two innings. LSU gave the ball to Cowan to start and he had his best outing in weeks, going 5.1 innings of four-hit, one-run ball. Cowan’s last start came against Little Rock and he didn’t make it out of the second, tonight he kept LSU’s season alive. But for one bad pitch to Ryder Helfrick, Cowan was the lone bright spot because LSU’s offense was miserable for the game’s first five innings.

Beidelschies gave LSU fits, going five innings and striking out nine. Beidelschies was pulled in the fifth inning after giving up a leadoff double to Ethan Frey and then hitting Steven Milam with a pitch. That opened the door for Arkansas to turn to Gabe Gaeckle, who struck out 10 Tigers the last time LSU saw him.

Luis Hernandez laid down a bunt to advance Frey and Milam, and Jared Jones struck out for the second out. With an open base, Arkansas elected to intentionally walk Josh Pearson to face Chris Stanfield, but Jay Johnson countered and inserted Jake Brown into the game.

With runners on the corners and two outs, LSU tried a delayed steal with Brown and then tried to sneak Pearson home for a third run. Unfortunately for LSU, Brown slipped in the run down and he got tagged out before Pearson got to home plate so the Tigers were unable to push across the run.

Chase Shores entered the game in the middle of the seventh inning for Jaden Noot. Noot is going to be a forgotten hero of this game but he absolutely did his job, retiring the only three batters he faced.

Shores struck out the first two batters that he faced to preserve LSU’s 2-1 lead into the home half of the inning and the Tigers had a chance to get some insurance but blew the chance. Daniel Dickinson led off the bottom of the seventh with a double, but Michael Braswell couldn’t get a bunt down to move Dickinson over. Braswell popped out to the catcher in foul territory, and Derek Curiel and Frey followed with strikeouts.

Arkansas made LSU pay for not capitalizing in the eighth inning. Shores loaded the bases and the Tiger defense, which had been stellar all throughout their run in Omaha, finally faltered. Dickinson wasn’t able to turn a double play and three batters later, Jones wasn’t able to corral a throw from Milam that would have ended the inning. Instead the bobble allowed Arkansas to not only tie the game, but heads up base running by Wehiwa Aloy gave the Razorbacks a 3-2 lead.

Jones wouldn’t have to wait long for his redemption, and tied the game with a solo home run to right centerfield.

If the eighth inning wasn’t dramatic enough for you, the ninth amplified the dramatics by a thousand. Shores went back out there in the ninth, and while he got the first out, he gave up a single and a double and that was the end of the road for him. Jacob Mayers came on for Shores and Arkansas’s Justin Thomas Jr. turned the first pitch Mayers threw around for a two runs and gave the Hogs a 5-3 lead.

Arkansas handed the ball to Cole Gibbler in the ninth inning. He got the first out. He even got the second out. But in a baseball game you have to get all 27 outs and neither Gibbler nor anyone else on this Arkansas team was able to get the last one, and their season is over because of it.

Gibbler got John Pearson to strike out to start the ninth inning. Then Derek Curiel hit an infield single, and was able to advance another 90 feet because of an error by Robinett. Frey drew a walk to bring Milam, the winning run, to the plate. Milam hit into what very easily should have been a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, but for reasons that we’ll never know, Aloy elected to get Curiel out at third.

Gifted with an extra life, Hernandez roped a double to left field, but Charles Davalan didn’t get a good read on the ball, lost his footing, and LSU was able to tie the game.

With the game on the line—and LSU’s season or dreams of winning an eighth national championship potentially hanging in the balance—Jared Jones, who else, came through for the second time and sent his team to the championship series.

LSU Baseball did what it always does and so too did Arkansas Baseball when it comes to Omaha: the Tigers found a way to win, while the Razorbacks invented a new way to lose. LSU is now off to this weekend’s championship series against Coastal Carolina, the team that beat both the Tigers and Jay Johnson en route to the 2016 national championship.

It’s time to settle that score.