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Florida Baseball: UF survives LSU to claim first national championship

By Tanner Dennie

Jun 27, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators second baseman Deacon Liput (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first inning against the LSU Tigers in game two of the championship series of the 2017 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 27, 2017; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators second baseman Deacon Liput (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first inning against the LSU Tigers in game two of the championship series of the 2017 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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THIRD TIME’S A CHARM! The Florida baseball team defeated rivals LSU in game 2 of the College World Series to claim the programs first national championship.

It wasn’t easy by any means, but in Florida baseball’s third attempt at a national championship series in Omaha, the Gators are finally national champions. That feels awesome to say.

The Gators started freshman P Tyler Dyson on the mound, for what was only his second start of the season.

The LSU Tigers started veteran Jared Poché on the mound, and he held his own for most of the game.

In order for the Gators to the claim the hardware, they needed to swing the bats early and score quickly, and they did just that.

Florida started off with 3 straight singles from Deacon Liput, Dalton Guthrie, and J.J. Schwarz, bringing home Liput to give the Gators an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

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The Gators were able to strike again the bottom of the second inning with a Nick Horvath single, resulting him stealing second a few pitches later. Liput drove the ball straight up the center field gap to bring Horvath home for a 2-0 lead.

LSU struggled on the defensive side of the ball, wracking up three errors in the first four innings.

Dyson exceeded every expectation Kevin O’Sullivan had for him on the mound, finishing the game with 6 innings pitched, 3 hits, and 2 strikeouts, and no runs allowed.

Michael Byrne took over for Dyson in the 7th inning and the LSU bats awoke.

Zach Watson singled for the Tigers and stole second base soon after.

Jake Slaughter contributed with a single, advancing Watson to third base.

Josh Smith doubled to bring Watson home, bringing the Tigers within 1 run.

The Gators executed a double-play on the insuing batter, and Nick Horvath caught a pop-fly to shallow center field to stop the Tigers from tying the game.

The Tigers wouldn’t go away.

Kramer Robertson lead off for the Tigers in the eighth inning, singling to shallow right-field. A wild pitch advanced Kramer to second base, and a Cole Freeman bunt sent Roberton to third, giving LSU runners in the corners with no outs for the Gators.

Byrne came up clutch with a beautiful change-up to strike out Antoine Duplantis.

Sully decided to put Jackson Cowar on the mound for Byrne, and it paid dividends for the Gators.

Schwarz came up big for the Gators, intercepting a Deichmann chopper to second base, throwing Robinson out at home plate to maintain a 2-1 lead.

Horvath came up with another big-time catch in shallow center field to get the Gators out of the jam.

India connected on a double up the third-base line to give the Gators another runner in scoring position.

After Austin Langworthy walked to first base, Mike Rivera connected on a sacrifice bunt to shift India and Langworthy closer to home.

LSU P Zack Hess intentionally walked Christian Hicks, loading the bases for the Gators with one out.

Horvath was hit by a pitch to bring in a run for Florida, giving Florida a 3-1 lead.

Liput singled to shallow center field, bringing home Langworthy and pinch-runner Andrew Baker, adding two more runs to the scoreboard, making it 5-1.

Guthrie singled to shallow left center field, loading the bases once again for Schwarz, who sac-flied to center field, claiming a 6-1 victory and the school’s first baseball championship in 103 years of existence.

Gators P Alex Faedo claimed the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award winner with 14.1 shutout innings.

The Florida Gators athletic program claims their third national championship in 6 weeks, with the Men’s outdoor track and field and Women’s tennis team adding trophies to the trophy case.

It’s Great to be a Florida Gator.

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