The LSU Tigers dropped Game Two of the Men’s College World Series Finals 24-4 as the Florida bats woke up with the wind blowing out at Charles Schwab Field. That sets up a winner-take-all Game Three to decide the champion on Monday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Tigers turned to left-hander Nate Ackenhousen, who was fantastic against Wake Forest in his first start last time out. In this outing, Ackenhousen struggled with his command at times. Additionally, the defense was shaky in the early innings as Nate went just two and one third innings.
Florida went with Hurston Waldrep, who also did not have his best stuff. Gavin Dugas delivered early with an RBI double that got LSU on the board first with a 1-0 lead. Florida matched that run with one of their own in the second inning with a solo home run from Ty Evans.
The Tigers took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the second as Tommy White and Tre Morgan both brought home runs. LSU seemingly had the momentum and looked as if they could break it open. However, Waldrep got out of the jam and the Gators offense got back to work.
In that third inning, Florida shifted this game with a key swing. Two RBI singles tied up the score at 3-3. Then, with two outs, Evans lifted a grand slam to take a 7-3 lead and put all the momentum on the side of Florida.
From that moment on, this one was all Florida. The Gators tacked on a single run in the fourth, but then got five in the sixth to make it 13-3. At that point, it seems Coach Jay Johnson decided he was not going to use any of his best relievers, perhaps thinking about tomorrow’s game. The Gators tacked on eleven more runs off of Blake Money, Christian Little, and Sam Dutton. By the time the dust had settled, it was 24-3 Florida.
The Tigers got a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth from Brayden Jobert to make it 24-4. That would be the final score, with the Gators mashing 23 hits. LSU also committed four errors in a game they would like to forget.
BIG NUMBER: 24
In what looked like a football score, Florida put up 24 runs in game two. 23 hits and four errors also contributed to the blow-out win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ty Evans
Evans went 3-5 with two homers and five driven in in Game Two. His grand slam jump-started the Gator offense and they never looked back after that swing.
UP NEXT: The Tigers and Gators will meet one last time to decide it all, with the winner of Game Three taking the championship. Game Three will be at 6:00 P.M. on Monday night.