LSU ROUTS TEXAS TO WIN COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

LSU broke open a close game with Texas in the sixth inning and went on to rout the Longhorns 11-4 on Wednesday night, earning the Bayou Bengals their sixth College World Series championship.  They’re now tied with Texas for 2^nd on the all time victory list at six, though are well behind first place Southern California with twelve all time victories. 

Jared Mitchell, who opened the scoring with a 3 run homer in the first inning, was name the series MVP.  After the game he shared his thoughts on the victory:

"It's an unbelievable feeling to be put in the position where you're remembered forever in Baton Rouge now. To be in that company with the players who won championships, to put LSU baseball on top where it belongs, to be a part of that is special.  It's everybody pulling together, a sense of urgency we had, and we began to play our best ball at the end of the year"

Mitchell has had a nice run in Baton Rouge—he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox earlier this month, and already has a national football championship trophy on his wall.  He was a wide receiver on LSU’s 2007 BCS Championship team.

It was LSU’s first championship since 2000, as well as the first for head coach Paul Mainieri.  In his postgame comments, Mainieri gave all of the credit to his kids:

"I've had wonderful kids everywhere I've been. They're all feeling a part of this. I'm so happy for these kids. They've done everything I've asked. They played great. They played great defense. Our pitching has been solid all year. When we got to the end of the season everyone was determined they would get it done. It's been a coach's dream to have a group like this. They've done everything they need to do to become champions. Had we not gotten this one, it would have left a little bit of an empty feeling."

LSU capped off a dominant year, having won the SEC regular season title, the conference tournament and swept through the preliminary rounds of the NCAA tournament.  Texas coach Augie Garrido paid tribute to LSU after the game:

"They are the best team we've played by far. We didn't lose it. They won it. It was a well-deserved championship."

The Bengals opened a 4-0 first inning lead, only to see Texas tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.  LSU went on to score 5 runs in the top of the sixth to blow the game wide open.  LSU had won the opening game of the best of three series on Monday 7-6 in 11 innings.  Texas drew even with a 5-1 game two victory to force Wednesday’s decisive game 3.  LSU had been installed as a -150 wagering favorite in the championship game.