Dylan Crews shares secret to his plate success

There has been no college baseball player better at the plate this season than LSU center fielder Dylan Crews. MLB.com’s No. 1 recruit for the 2023 MLB Draft, Crews has been an absolute menace in the batter’s box all season.

That was the case once again Tuesday at the Men’s College World Series. Going up against Tennessee and last season’s SEC Freshman of the Year Drew Beam, Crews made an immediate impact at the plate.

Leading off the game, Crews worked a 3-2 count and then drew a walk. He then advanced to second on a passed ball, third on a Tre’ Morgan single and scored on a Cade Beloso single.

The run gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish on their way to a 5-0 win that kept their national championship hopes alive.

“I was seeing the ball pretty good today,” Crews said after the win. “It was a great pitcher on the mound today. He’s going to be a big leaguer for a long time, I believe, in the future. But I mean I had confidence in myself and I was going up there and giving it my best shot. And just to draw the walk, I have confidence in all the guys behind me.”

The walk wasn’t the only key play from Crews during the game. He added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning with a two-run homer and made three solid plays in the field.

Crews is currently hitting .429 with a .569 on-base percentage and a .731 slugging percentage. He has 102 hits on the season, including 18 homers and 16 doubles, 69 RBI, 92 runs scored and 67 walks.

His batting average ranks third in the country, third in walks, fifth in hits, second in on-base percentage and second in runs scored.

“I feel like if I get on base those guys are going to score me at any point,” Crews said. “So just my mental mindset thing is just going up there and give it my best shot and it’s a new at-bat every single time.”

The Tigers now face Wake Forest once again to keep its season and Men’s College World Series finals hopes alive another day. LSU has to beat the No. 1 overall seed twice over the next two days to make the finals.

It stands to reason that Crews will play a major role in doing so. The star went 0-for-3 with a walk in the first game between the two Monday.