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LSU slugger Cade Beloso's father cooks up grilled gator ahead of College World Series final vs. Florida

PeterWarrenPhoto2by:Peter Warren•06/25/23•

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Cade Beloso, LSU Tigers first baseman
LSU first baseman Cade Beloso raises his hand during a game against Wake Forest at the College World Series on June 21, 2023. (Steven Branscombe / USA TODAY Sports)

LSU designated hitter Cade Beloso has been on fire throughout the Men’s College World Series. Now after his son metaphorically grilled Florida on Saturday, his father is literally grilling Gators on Sunday.

Rodney Beloso is grilling a 25-pound alligator before Game 2 of the Men’s College World Series in a parking lot next to Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.

LSU is up 1-0 on Florida in the Men’s College World Series finals. If the Tigers win Sunday, it will be the program’s first title since 2009.

Cade Beloso hit the game-winning homer in the top of the 11th on Saturday to give LSU the 4-3 win in Game 1 of the finals.

“You’ve got to give credit to Brandon Neely first. He’s unbelievable. He’s one of the best pitchers in the country. And he has a great fastball,” Beloso said. “In my prior at-bat, he struck me out on three straight heaters. I figured he was going to go back to that. It was not pretty.

“And then the first pitch blew by me again. So I knew he was coming back with it; they weren’t going to switch anything up. Finally got one that I was supposed to swing at and put a good swing on it.”

LSU has won six Men’s College World Series titles in its program’s history. The Tigers last made the finals in 2017 when they lost to Florida.

They are hoping to lift the trophy once again, this time in head coach Jay Johnson‘s second season leading the team.

“You can’t make it anything bigger than it is. It’s another baseball game. And we always take the one-game-at-a-time, one-pitch-at-a-time approach. That works best for us,” Beloso said after Game 1. “We’re going to take the exact same approach. We know what’s on the line. You don’t need to say it or it doesn’t need to be broadcasted.”