June 20 – LSU is seeking its second national Men’s College World Series championship in three years and its eighth overall.
Coastal Carolina is looking to extend its 26-game winning streak and win its second MCWS title.
The No. 6 seed Tigers (51-15) and the No. 13 seed Chanticleers (56-11) are heavyweights that will open their best-of-three championship series Saturday night in Omaha, Neb.
“Two worthy opponents in the College World Series,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said Friday, adding that Coastal Carolina is “probably the best team that we’ve played this year.”
It will make for excellent baseball,” Johnson said. “I think if you’re at this point in the NCAA tournament, you’ve been battle-tested. I don’t believe there’s anything we have not seen. What I mean by that is high-level pitching, high-level bullpen, high-level defense, offenses with speed, power, hitting skills, know how to play the game, move the offense.”
Both teams swept through three games to win their brackets and have been off since Wednesday. But Johnson has more flexibility with his starting pitching than Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall as the series gets under way.
