OMAHA, Neb. — Kade Anderson made his final start in an LSU baseball uniform Saturday night, and it was a masterpiece that put the Tigers on the cusp of their second national championship in three years.
Anderson pitched a three-hitter and struck out 10 batters in the Tigers’ 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in the first game of the best-of-three championship finals at the College World Series, his second straight dominant performance at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.
“That’s what we’ve seen all year,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said of the sophomore from Madisonville, Louisiana, who made his 19th start of 2024 and improved to 12-1 while lowering his ERA to 3.18.
“He’s the best pitcher in the country. And did it again tonight. That’s been on the regular every game one of the entire season. Everybody got to see what we’ve seen and known for an entire season.”
The Chanticleers (56-12), the national No. 13 seed when the NCAA Division I tournament began last month, lost for the first time in 27 games, ending a streak that began two months ago during the regular season. Now they must win Sunday afternoon to force a third and deciding game Monday night.