Return to glory

LSU defeats Texas in best of three to clinch College World Series

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By Christopher Gordy

In just his third season as head coach at LSU, Coach Paul Mainieri has brought the Tiger baseball program back to its glory days. Taking over a program that was somewhat on the down slope under Smoke Laval, Mainieri led LSU to its sixth national championship title last week, and its first since 2000.

Led by a core group of veterans, some talented freshmen, and a dominant pitching staff, the Tigers defeated the Texas Longhorns by a convincing score of 11-4 in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the College World Series Finals.

But just as talented and determined as this year's team was throughout the season, many Tiger fans have already started to compare this year's Tiger team to championship teams of the past. In fact, all the LSU championship baseball teams have some common connections: great pitching, major league talent, home run hitters, etc. However, it is hard for one to compare this year's team to past teams because the game of college baseball has changed so much over the years.

Many of Skip Bertman's championship teams of the '90s were known for knocking off their opponents with "gorilla ball," a philosophy of hitting homeruns consistently. Past LSU teams would rely on a simple pattern: base hit, base hit, three-run homer, repeat. It was almost as if in every game the players would challenge each other to see who could hit more homeruns.

Today's game has changed, though, as teams now rely more on dominant pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting. If you could compare LSU's 2009 team to any former championship LSU team, they would compare most to the 2000 Tigers. In 2000, the Tigers relied on two great starters in Brian Tallet and Hunter Gomez, a great middle reliever in Trey Hodges and a solid closer in Weylin Guidry. The 2009 team relied on its two starters Louis Coleman and Anthony Ranaudo, a middle reliever in Paul Bertuccini, and a fantastic closer in Matty Ott.

The lineups of 2000 and 2009 are similar as well. Both teams batted .315 or better on the season, and both lineups featured two talented freshmen each: the 2000 team with Mike Fontenot and Wally Pontiff and the 2009 team with Austin Nola and Mikie Mahtook.

While the 2000 team relied on its solid hitting catcher Brad Cresse for 30 homeruns, the 2009 team looked to outfielder Ryan Schimpf for 22 homers. Both infields featured great defenses: the 2000 team with Blair Barbier, Brad Hawpe, Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot and the 2009 team with Derek Helenihi, DJ LeMahieu, Sean Ochinko and Austin Nola. Solid outfielders of 2000 featured Cedrick Harris, Jeremy Witten and Ray Wright, while Schimpf, Mahtook and Jared Mitchell covered their ground in 2009.

While the similarities may not be perfect, they are probably the two LSU championship teams that resemble each other closest. Of course, every team had its reliable hitters. In 2009, LSU relied on Dean, LeMahieu, and Schimpf for clutch hits. The 2000 team had Cresse and Hawpe knocking in the most runs.

The 1997 team was led by hot-hitters Eddy Furniss and Brandon Larson, who set the LSU and SEC single season record for homeruns with 40. The 1996 team featured Furniss and Tim Lanier, before Warren Morris became the hero with his walk-off homer in the championship game. LSU's 1993 team was led by Hall of Famer Todd Walker, with Jim Greely, Armando Rios and Russ Johnson pulling the Tigers through. In 1991, LSU had great batters in Lyle Mouton, Gary Hymel and Armando Rios.

However, the 2009 team had something that not all of those other championship teams had. Mainieri's team probably had the best team chemistry, partly because they played with each other for so long. It started three seasons ago when Dean, Ochinko and Mitchell became everyday starters as freshmen. Moreover, pitcher Louis Coleman was also earning his stripes as a freshman starter before moving to the bullpen and almost losing it completely his sophomore season.

Coleman bounced back as a solid reliever in '08, before becoming the SEC Pitcher of the Year in '09 as a starter. Coleman, combined with Ranaudo, provided the Tigers with the best one-two combo in the country. A steady bullpen featuring Bertuccini, Nolan Cain, Daniel Bradshaw and Chad Jones proved to be key down the stretch. Freshman Matty Ott provided the last piece to the puzzle as a dominant freshman closer, with an LSU record 16 saves in a season.

Still, while I would argue the 1997 team was probably the most talented championship Tiger team, the 2009 team will be remembered for its more modern, adapted style of play. No gigantic homerun numbers were needed this season, just dominant pitching, solid defense, and timely hitting. That is what helped lead LSU to its sixth and Coach Mainieri to his first national championship this year.

And while Skip had a lock on the "gorilla ball" play of the '90s, it looks as though Mainieri may have a lock on "chemistry ball" as this decade comes to a close. But when all is said and done, LSU fans will surely take either style as long as leads to more titles.

Originally Published: Issue 806 - July 1, 2009

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