LSU Tiger Blog

“Extra” Special Win

Monday, June 22nd, 2009      Email Print

The LSU Tigers have showed us they can overpower teams at the plate and on the hill in this postseason, but they were in an unfamiliar position on Monday, they were actually trailing! Good teams can win under any circumstance and the tigers proved they can comeback not once (Jared Mitchell's triple tied it in the sixth) not twice (DJ Lemahieu's double tied it in the ninth) but three times (yes Mikie Mahtook's 11th inning single was the dagger) Three gutty comebacks which left Paul Mainieri full of adjectives after this one. The LSU coach called it "one for the ages" and the "most courageous comeback in his 27 years of college coaching." Hard to argue with that.

It would be impressive against any club but doing it against Texas on this Omaha stage made it sweeter. Coming back against Texas is like keeping John and Kate off the cover of the tabloids these days. The Longhorns entered Monday's game an amazing 39-0 when leading after 8 innings but the Tigers put an end to that streak and put themselves a game away from college baseball's ultimate prize. Putting the biggest smile on Mainieri's face is the fashion they did it. You talk about a team effort, this was it. A number of Tigers provided clutch hits, there weren't any miscues in the field and on a night when ace Louis Coleman wasn't pitching like Louis Coleman, the bullpen "saved" the day with 4 unbelievable innings of no-hit baseball. The Tigers can beat you in so many ways and are loaded in every aspect of the game, it was clear on Monday night why this team is a game away from winning a National Title.

Texas had the label as the team of destiny with its three come from behind wins here in Omaha, but LSU maybe Destiny's Darlings. They were the comeback kids on this night and still haven't lost this postseason since their opening game in the SEC Tournament. They have won most of those games by jumping on teams early, last night they had to jump on the longhorns late, pretty soon they may be jumping on each other....another National Championship dogpile which will give these newfound comeback kids, the school's sixth national title!

MIKIE LIKES IT: Freshman Mikie Mahtook doesn't act, look or sound like a freshman especially in the 11th last night. After a hitless night full of strikeouts he worked the count to get the game winning single. His patience at the plate impressed upperclassman like Blake Dean and Jared Mitchell who marveled at his composure after the game.

WHO'S ON THE HILL??: You would think Paul Mainieri would throw Anthony Ranaudo in game two versus Texas, not so fast! The LSU Head coach says he isn't sure what to do as Ranaudo isn't used to making a start on only 3 days rest, so he didn't say afterwards who will take the hill.

OTT---SPOT ON! Matty Ott looked strong in shutting down the Longhorns in three innings of work Monday and assured everyone afterwards that his arm is fine.

ONE GAME AT A TIME: We can finally buy into the cliche "take them one game at a time." Paul Mainieri assured everyone after the game, his team will not have the mindset that they can 'just win one of the last two games." Its a one game mindset for LSU.

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

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