With a 11-4 victory in the third game of the College World Series championship, Louisiana State claimed their sixth baseball national championship. The Baseball Prospectus preseason no. 1 finished their season with a 56-17 record, and lost just twice in postseason play: in the SEC Tournament opener to Vanderbilt, in which they would storm through the loser’s bracket to win, and in Game 2 against Texas in the championship series.
Interestingly enough, LSU ended up losing just two series on the season, both at home in their new Alex Box Stadium. In early march, the fighting Illini shocked the Tigers and sent them down our rankings, while Tennessee would steal a conference series in Baton Rouge in mid-April.
Sean Ochinko led the way for the Tigers with four hits in the decisive third game, but it was Chicago White Sox first-round pick Jared Mitchell that stole the show and captured College World Series MVP honors with a first-inning home run that set the tempo. When sophomore Anthony Ranaudo ran out of gas in the sixth inning, two-way sophomore Chad Jones (one of the nation’s best safeties in football season) came in and kept the Tigers ahead. Jones, who wasn’t even on my radar as a pitching option before the season, has certainly emerged as a pro pitching prospect if his football career doesn’t work out. The uber-athletic southpaw used a plus curveball to register the two biggest strikeouts of his career against the heart of the Texas lineup.
The Texas Longhorns proved a worthy challenger, but the series went the way we expected it, with LSU holding a clear advantage in the games Louis Coleman and Ranaudo pitched. Texas’ talented freshman Taylor Jungmann finished off a dazzling CWS with a win in the second game, but the rest of the Longhorns staff looked gassed in the third game. Texas finishes the season 50-15, and can hold out hope for 2009 with only Austin Wood, Preston Clark and Brandon Belt set to leave the squad. Without question, the Longhorns are the odds-on favorite to win the 2010 College World Series.
So, with that, we close the door on our NCAA coverage for the spring. I’d like to thank everyone that took the chance on following this unconditional version of our pastime this spring, as you made my job a lot more exciting as a result. Congratulations to coach Paul Mainieri and the 2009 LSU Tigers, clearly the nation’s best team.With a 11-4 victory in the third game of the College World Series championship, Louisiana State claimed their sixth baseball national championship. The Baseball Prospectus preseason no. 1 finished their season with a 56-17 record, and lost just twice in postseason play: in the SEC Tournament opener to Vanderbilt, in which they would storm through the loser’s bracket to win, and in Game 2 against Texas in the championship series.
The Ole Miss jinx is officially debunked. However, I don't see how Texas is next year's clear favorite. I think, for example, UVA has got just as good of a team (if not better).
Another great College World Series tournament. Game one of the final series was one of the most entertaining games I have seen this year at any level. Congrats to the Tigers and congrats to Omaha and Rosenblatt Stadium for once again serving as the ideal setting for such a great event.
Brian, thanks for your coverage this season. A lot of what is easily accessible about college baseball is prospect related, and I really enjoyed your rundowns of the teams involved.
LSU had a clear advantage in the game Louis Coleman pitched? Really?
I thought the Tigers were a slightly better team on paper, and worthy champs, but they were exceptionally fortunate to win game one. Chance Ruffin was superior to Coleman, Taylor Jungmann inexplicably threw six straight balls, and the Tigers were somewhat blessed to have all five home runs allowed be solo jobs.
In any case: nice coverage all year, including throughout the CWS.
I'll stand by that statement, but to refute it, you can't really use results-based analysis. That's unfair. What happened with Jungmann's command, or the sheer amount of home runs that Coleman gave up are irrelevant to the comment that I thought LSU had the advantage before the series.
Ruffin had been hit hard in his previous start, and to be honest, I think Coleman's movement gives him an advantage in terms of stuff. Add in the LSU win streak and the way their offense and defense were playing, and I don't think it's a stretch at all.
What a strange series. Neither Coleman or Ranaudo had their best stuff, yet the Tigers win the series. Texas' normally exceptional defense made some key mistakes, and while their pitching staff's depth was supposed to be their biggest advantage, they ran out of gas while LSU's bullpen, thought to be shaky, was effective. Meanwhile, the "small ball" team blasts one home run after another.
As for Chad Jones on the mound, my dad met him when he was senior in high school, and Jones said his high school coaches tried to get him to fully devote himself to pitching, telling him he could be a first-round pick as a left-hander who throws in the 90s. At the time, he just wasn't interested in pitching, but I guess he's changed his mind since then.
Thanks for great coverage all year, Bryan. Do your best Russell Moldenhauer impersonation and take a curtain call or four.
I am guessing dropping on the outfield depth chart (which Mainieri decided to do when Jones reported for spring football practice) helped Jones make up his mind regarding pitching. It makes you wonder what he could be like if he focused on baseball full-time, as Mitchell decided to do this year. Problem is that Mitchell was a more marginal football player, while Jones could be looking at an NFL career as a safety. The fact that Mitchell chose to focus on baseball exclusively this spring really enhanced his development and draft status.
Pretty cool that LSU had two BCS Champions on their CWS championship team (and who both had pretty sizable roles in winning the championship, although Mitchell more so). I wonder if that's ever happened before.
Yeah, losing his spot definitely had something to do with it, but it's weird that the possibility of millions of dollars didn't do it first. You're right to point out the difference between Jones and Mitchell on the football field, and if Jones has a stand-out football season, it'll be interesting to see if he ever sees the diamond again.
From what I've read, no one had ever won a BCS and CWS championship before this year.
Thanks for the coverage. I hope my Owls will have something to say about your prediction regarding the 2010 Longhorns, especially if Berry is back for his senior year!
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Thanks for the hard work.
Thanks for the hard work.