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LSU ace Ty Floyd ties NCAA record for most strikeouts in nine innings in CWS Final vs. Florida

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•06/24/23
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(Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)

Much of the chatter surrounding the LSU Tigers leading up to the 2023 CWS Final surrounded their superstar pitcher, Paul Skenes. Make no mistake about it, Skenes is worth every bit of the hype and media attention he’s gotten. But LSU’s Ty Floyd wanted college baseball fans to not forget about him in Game 1 of the championship series. Floyd delivered a performance for the ages on Saturday night against the Florida Gators, fanning 17 batters in eight innings of work. With the legendary performance, he tied the NCAA record for the most strikeouts in a nine-inning game in CWS history. He tied Arizona State’s Ed Bane, who accomplished the feat back in 1972.

Watch below as he ties the NCAA record against the Gators with some absolute smoke.

Not only did he tie the NCAA record for a nine-inning game, but Floyd set a new SEC and LSU program record for strikeouts during a College World Series game. Check out the graphic below from ESPN Stats & Info.

Through seven innings, he had 15 strikeouts, and even fanned four straight batters. His velocity was even touching 95-96 miles per hour in the seventh inning. It was a remarkable performance that college baseball fans won’t forget for quite some time. Nor should they.

Simply put, Floyd has brought his best stuff when the Tigers have needed it the very most and on the biggest of stages. During the 2023 season, he’s had three outings with 10 strikeouts or more, and two of those have come at the College World Series in Omaha. The first in Omaha was when he fired 10 strikeouts on June 19th against Wake Forest, and the other came on Saturday night, when he fanned 17 batters.

Check out the impressive graphic from LSU baseball.

His brilliant performance was critical in propelling the Tigers to a 4-3 win on Saturday night in Game 1 of the CWS Final. They needed 11 innings to pull off the victory, in what was another highly entertaining affair. In the top of the 11th inning with the game tied at 3-3, Tigers’ slugger Cade Beloso launched a solo shot that undoubtedly cemented him in the hearts of LSU fans forever. His home run would prove to be the eventual game-winner.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, LSU baseball is now the only team to hit even one home run in extra innings at the College World Series since they made the move to Charles Schwab Field in 2011. They’ve now hit two and they’ve done it in back-to-back games.

LSU is now just one win away from hoisting the seventh national crown during their program’s history.

Following the game, Tigers’ head coach Jay Johnson had a hard time putting into words what Floyd’s historic showing meant on Saturday night. “Really hard to put into words what that performance meant for the outcome of the game and for our team,” Johnson said.

The Tigers are now 3-1 all-time during extra-inning games in the College World Series. Florida now sits at 0-2 during extra-inning games in the College World Series.

The 2023 College World Series has been one of the best in college baseball history and Saturday night’s game added yet another spectacular page to the portfolio.

Game 2 of the championship series will take place on Sunday, June 25th. That one will begin at 3:00 PM EST and will be nationally televised on ESPN. For more information about the history of the CWS Final series between Florida and LSU, check out this excellent article by On3’s Griffin McVeigh.