LSU slugger Tommy White talks about walk-off HR that lifted the Tigers to their first CWS Final since 2017

LSU slugger Tommy White was the hero on Thursday night for the Tigers in what was one of the best games of the 2023 College World Series thus far. In the bottom of the 11th inning against Wake Forest with the game tied at 0-0, White absolutely destroyed the baseball, sending it deep into the seats at Charles Schwab Field.

The two-run home run was his 23rd of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The two-run blast lifted LSU to a 2-0 victory over the Demon Deacons in a closely contested affair. With the win, LSU punched their tickets to the 2023 CWS Final, where they’ll face off against the Florida Gators in a best-of-three series for the national crown.

The CWS Final appearance marks the first time since 2017 the Tigers will be playing for the national title. Following his late game heroics, ESPN’s Kris Budden spoke with White about the magical moment.

Tommy White could barely speak after the walk-off HR

As you might imagine, his heart was still racing on the field. How was his heartbeat?

“A thousand, million, miles an hour. I don’t know, I’m gassed,” White said, still winded from the postgame celebrations.

The former N.C. State star knew exactly what kind of pitch he was looking for from Wake Forest’s Camden Minacci.

“Fastball. I was gonna get a fastball, but I was so amped up that I just threw my hands at it,” White said.

It was in fact, not a fastball, but White swung away and put himself in the LSU history books in the process.

He talked about the dominant pitching performance the Tigers got from their star, Paul Skenes. “An unreal performance as always. You know we’re gonna have a chance to win every time he’s on the mound. Yeah, he’s something different,” the LSU slugger said.

If Thursday night was the last time fans ever see Skenes in an LSU uniform, it was yet another excellent outing. In eight innings of work, he only allowed two hits, allowed zero runs, while firing nine strikeouts. Early in Thursday night’s game, he became the SEC single-season leader in strikeouts, shattering Ben McDonald’s record (202).

Not surprisingly, he was at a loss for words in the interview and could still barely catch his breath. “Awesome. I dunno. I’m at a loss for words. I’m excited. Wow,” said White.

It was an epic pitching duel between two of the game’s best

If there was one way to describe Thursday’s game, it was a pitching duel. Everyone spent the day hyping up LSU’s Paul Skenes vs. Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder. Not only did the matchup deliver but it went further than anyone could imagine. Something college baseball fans will not forget for a long time.

Lowder went seven innings and was pulled while his pitch count was still relatively low. Skenes was extended a little more, going into the eighth inning and surpassing 100 pitches. Neither gave up a run before their respective head coaches turned to the bullpen.

The matchup lived up to the hype and then some. For college baseball fans the 2023 version of the College World Series simply can’t get much better. Nearly every game has been closely contested in Omaha and it’s nice to see it play out that way.

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.