LSU baseball, women's basketball combine to make history with national championship wins

It’s been a good year to be an LSU fan, as both the baseball and women’s basketball teams claimed national championship victories. The Tigers baseball squad became the latest to do so Monday with a dominant 18-4 win against Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals.

According to the SEC Network, that makes LSU the first school to win a national championship in both baseball and basketball during the same season.

The Tigers’ CWS title win, which is their seventh in school history, followed a 102-85 win from the women’s basketball team against Iowa back in April. That win was already historic on its own as it marked LSU’s first championship in women’s basketball, and now it’s even sweeter.

Tigers outfielder Dylan Crews even took a page from women’s hoops star Angel Reese‘s book in the waning moments of Monday’s victory. After hitting a triple with his team up big in the eighth inning, Crews pointed to his ring finger as he reached third base. That is the same gesture that Reese made following her national championship win a couple of months ago.

The LSU baseball team began the season at No. 1 and lived up to those expectations with the College World Series win. However, it didn’t come without some downs along the way, as they gave up a CWS-record 24 runs in a blowout loss to the Gators in Game 2 of the finals Sunday.

The Tigers responded with a record-setting performance of their own in Monday’s victory. They jumped out to a 10-2 lead by the second inning and ended the game with a CWS-best 24 hits, one more than Florida had Monday.

Crews was one of three LSU players to tie for the team lead with four hits, going 4-for-6 at the plate. The Tigers also got an impressive performance on the mound from starter Thatcher Hurd, who allowed just two hits while striking out seven in six innings of work.

Monday’s win avenged a 2017 loss to Florida in the College World Series Final, and was also the first for LSU coach Jay Johnson, who took over that role just one year ago in 2022. With emotions high, the players celebrated with a dogpile near the pitching mound after closer Gavin Guidry struck out the final batter to end the game.

Now LSU baseball will return to Baton Rouge for more celebration, where they join the women’s basketball team as 2023 national champions.