The NCAA News - News and Features

June 16, 1997

Early offensive burst lifts Tigers to another I baseball title

LSU raced to an early nine-run lead over Southeastern Conference rival Alabama and held on to capture its second straight Division I Baseball Championship, 13-6, June 7 in Omaha, Nebraska.

The victory was the Tigers' fourth championship, all in the 1990s, and they became the first team to win back-to-back titles since Stanford in 1987 and 1988.

LSU jumped on top early in the bottom of the first inning when the first batter, designated hitter Danny Higgins, laced a home run that just cleared the wall of Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in left field. Ten more LSU batters came to bat in the inning and five scored. Higgins drove in two more runs with a one-out single to right field later in the inning.

Higgins' home run pushed LSU's streak of consecutive games with a home run to 71, dating back to Warren Morris' title-winning shot in the championship game of the 1996 College World Series.

The Tigers ended the season with an NCAA-record 188 home runs as a team.

"The first inning was huge," said Alabama head coach Jim Wells, who was a graduate assistant at LSU for head coach Skip Bertman from 1987 to 1989. "LSU makes a living off of scoring runs early. We weren't able to stop them.

"We had opportunities but weren't able to get the big hit."

Alabama starting pitcher Michael Daniel retired only one batter before he was replaced by Jarrod Kingrey. LSU left fielder Wes Davis continued the hit parade in the second inning as he knocked in three runs with a double to left-center field to give the Tigers a commanding 9-0 lead.

Alabama center fielder David Tidwell singled with two outs in the top of the third. Second baseman Joe Caruso, who set the series record for most hits (14), followed by depositing a Patrick Coogan 0-1 pitch in the left-field seats for a two-run home run.

Alabama first baseman Robbie Tucker kept the Tide's hopes alive in the fourth as he doubled down the right field line to cut the LSU lead to 9-4.

Brandon Larson, however, sealed the victory with a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth. Larson hit three home runs in the series and finished the season with 40. He was named the tournament's most outstanding player as he hit .389 with six runs scored and eight runs batted in.

"People said we couldn't win but this team just refused to lose," LSU's Bertman said. "I'm as proud of this team as of any LSU team I've ever coached in my career."

Joining Larson on the all-tournament team from LSU was first baseman Eddy Furniss; outfielder Mike Koerner; and outfielder Tom Bernhardt.

Alabama placed catcher Matt Frick, Caruso, third baseman Andy Phillips, outfielder G. W. Keller, designated hitter Mark Peer; and Kingrey on the all-tournament team. Stanford pitcher Jeff Austin also was named to the squad.

A championship-game crowd of 24,401 set a College World Series single-session record. Overall attendance for the championship reached 204,309, the first time that attendance has surpassed 200,000 for the series. The average attendance per session (20,431) also set a College World Series record.

Game 1

Auburn -- 000 -- 201 -- 000 -- 3 -- 6 -- 3

Stanford -- 010 -- 050 -- 02x -- 8 -- 12 -- 1

Bryan Hebson, Kevin Knorst (8) and David Ross; Chad Hutchinson, Jeff Austin (6) and Jon Schaeffer. W -- Hutchinson. L -- Hebson. S -- Austin.

Game 2

Rice -- 010 -- 002 -- 010 -- 4 -- 8 -- 1

LSU -- 010 -- 100 -- 03x -- 5 -- 9 -- 1

Jeff Nichols, Matt Anderson (7) and Tim McLaughlin; Doug Thompson, Chris Demouy (7) and Conan Horton. W -- Demouy. L -- Anderson.

Game 3

Miami (Fla.) -- 001 -- 020 -- 000 -- 004 -- 7 -- 9 -- 0

UCLA -- 010 -- 000 -- 002 -- 000 -- 3 -- 8 -- 3

J. D. Arteaga, Robbie Morrison (9) and Mike Lopez-Cao; Jim Parque, Tom Jacquez (6), Rob Henkel (8), Jake Meyer (11), Matt Klein (12), Nick St. George (12) and Casey Cloud, Jason Green. W -- Morrison. L -- Meyer. HR -- Jason Michaels [Miami (Fla.)], Troy Glaus (UCLA).

Game 4

Mississippi St. -- 000 -- 010 -- 001 -- 2 -- 7 -- 0

Alabama -- 000 -- 020 -- 001 -- 3 -- 11 -- 1

Eric DuBose and Barry Patton; Heath Henderson, Jarrod Kingrey (7) and Matt Frick. W -- Kingrey. L -- DuBose.

Game 5

LSU -- 300 -- 220 -- 210 -- 10 -- 12 -- 1

Stanford -- 000 -- 020 -- 030 -- 5 -- 7 -- 0

Patrick Coogan, Brian Daugherty (8) and Clint Earnhart, Brad Cresse; Kyle Peterson, Tony Cogan (6), Josh Koons (9) and Jon Schaeffer. W -- Coogan. L -- Peterson. HR -- Brandon Larson (LSU) 2, Eddy Furniss (LSU), Wes Davis (LSU), Earnhart (LSU).

Game 6

Rice -- 000 -- 001 -- 000 -- 1 -- 4 -- 1

Auburn -- 014 -- 203 -- 00x -- 10 -- 11 -- 0

Stephen Bess, Mario Ramos (3), Marc Gwyn (4), Matt Anderson (6) and Tim McLaughlin; Tim Hudson, Finley Woodward (7) and David Ross. W -- Hudson. L -- Bess. HR -- Jacob Baker (Rice), Jamie Kersh (Auburn), Hudson (Auburn).

Game 7

Alabama -- 000 -- 001 -- 000 -- 1 -- 9 -- 1

Miami (Fla.) -- 004 -- 001 -- 10x -- 6 -- 15 -- 1

Pete Fisher, Doug Hurst (6) and Matt Frick, Jayson Cox; Darin Spassoff, Eddy Reyes (6) and Mike Lopez-Cao. W -- Spassoff. L -- Fisher. S -- Reyes. HR--Mandy Jacomino [Miami (Fla.)].

Game 8

UCLA -- 002 -- 100 -- 101 -- 5 -- 10 -- 3

Mississippi St. -- 020 -- 001 -- 40x -- 7 -- 10 -- 2

Peter Zamora, Matt Klein (6), Rob Henkel (7) and Casey Cloud; Chris Reinike, Hank Thoms (6) and Barry Patton. W -- Thoms. L -- Henkel. HR -- Troy Glaus (UCLA).

Game 9

Stanford -- 300 -- 104 -- 102 -- 11 -- 13 -- 2

Auburn -- 004 -- 000 -- 000 -- 4 -- 8 -- 3

Brent Hoard, Jeff Austin (3) and Jon Schaeffer; Brent Schoening, Patrick Dunham (4), Kevin Knorst (8) and David Ross. W -- Austin. L -- Dunham. HR -- Luke Quaccia (Stanford), Jody Gerut (Stanford).

Game 10

Mississippi St. -- 000 -- 100 -- 301 -- 5 -- 12 -- 3

Alabama -- 000 -- 040 -- 05x -- 9 -- 13 -- 0

Keith Dilgard, Van Johnson (5), Matt Ginter (8) and Barry Patton; Michael Daniel, Jarrod Kingrey (7) and Matt Frick. W -- Kingrey. L -- Johnson. HR -- Adam Piatt (Mississippi St.), Andy Phillips (Alabama), Mark Peer (Alabama).

Game 11

Stanford -- 000 -- 040 -- 302 -- 9 -- 16 -- 1

LSU -- 024 -- 140 -- 02x -- 13 -- 9 -- 1

Chad Hutchinson, Tony Cogan (3), Kyle Peterson (5) and Jon Schaeffer; Doug Thompson, Chris Demouy (5), Kevin Shipp (7), Joey Painich (8), Eric Berthelot (8), Brian Daugherty (9), Patrick Coogan (9) and Clint Earnhart. W -- Berthelot. L -- Hutchinson. S -- Coogan. HR -- Josh Hochgesang (Stanford), Mike Koerner (LSU) 2.

Game 12

Alabama -- 300 -- 041 -- 000 -- 8 -- 8 -- 1

Miami (Fla.) -- 000 -- 024 -- 000 -- 6 -- 8 -- 0

Heath Henderson, Jarrod Kingrey (6) and Matt Frick; Alex Santos, Todd Ozias (6), Eddy Reyes (9) and Mike Lopez-Cao. W -- Henderson. L -- Santos. S -- Kingrey. HR -- G. W. Keller (Alabama), Mark Peer (Alabama), Lopez-Cao [Miami (Fla.)], Ryan Grimmett [Miami (Fla.)].

Game 13

Miami (Fla.) -- 000 -- 000 -- 002 -- 2 -- 7 -- 1

Alabama -- 008 -- 000 -- 00x -- 8 -- 10 -- 3

J. D. Arteaga, Eddy Reyes (4), Robbie Morrison (8) and Mike Lopez-Cao; Pete Fisher, Doug Hurst (9) and Matt Frick. W -- Fisher. L -- Arteaga. HR -- Frick (Alabama), Mark Peer (Alabama).

Championship game

Alabama -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI

David Tidwell, cf -- 5 -- 2 -- 2 -- 0

Joe Caruso, 2b -- 4 -- 1 -- 3 -- 4

Andy Phillips, 3b -- 5 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Dustan Mohr, rf -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

G. W. Keller, lf -- 4 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0

Matt Frick, c -- 5 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0

Robbie Tucker, 1b -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 2

Mark Peer, dh -- 4 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0

Nate Duncan, ss -- 4 -- 0 -- 1 -- 0

Michael Daniel, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Jarrod Kingrey, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Heath Henderson, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Doug Hurst, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Totals -- 39 -- 6 -- 11 -- 6

LSU -- AB -- R -- H -- RBI

Danny Higgins, dh -- 4 -- 1 -- 2 -- 3

Blair Barbier, 2b -- 5 -- 1 -- 1 -- 0

Brandon Larson, ss -- 6 -- 1 -- 2 -- 3

Eddy Furniss, 1b -- 5 -- 1 -- 3 -- 0

Mike Koerner, cf -- 6 -- 2 -- 2 -- 1

Trey McClure, 3b -- 3 -- 1 -- 0 -- 0

Tom Bernhardt, rf -- 4 -- 3 -- 3 -- 3

Jeremy Witten, rf -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Wes Davis, lf -- 4 -- 1 -- 1 -- 3

Clint Earnhart, c -- 2 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Conan Horton, c -- 1 -- 2 -- 1 -- 0

Patrick Coogan, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Doug Thompson, p -- 0 -- 0 -- 0 -- 0

Totals -- 40 -- 13 -- 15 -- 13

Alabama -- 002 -- 200 -- 020 -- 6 -- 11 -- 3

LSU -- 630 -- 002 -- 11x -- 13 -- 15 -- 1

E -- Caruso, Duncan, Henderson, McClure. DP -- Alabama 1, LSU 1. LOB -- Alabama 9, LSU 13. 2B -- Caruso, Phillips, Tucker, Peer, Bernhardt, Davis. HR -- Caruso, Higgins, Bernhardt. SB -- Caruso.

-- IP -- H -- R -- ER -- BB -- SO

Daniel (Loser) -- 0.2 -- 5 -- 5 -- 4 -- 0 -- 0

Kingrey -- 3.2 -- 5 -- 4 -- 0 -- 6 -- 4

Henderson -- 2.1 -- 4 -- 3 -- 2 -- 1 -- 4

Hurst -- 1.1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 1 -- 2 -- 2

Coogan -- 4.1 -- 6 -- 4 -- 4 -- 1 -- 8

Thompson (Winner) -- 4.2 -- 5 -- 2 -- 2 -- 1 -- 7

WP -- Coogan 3, Thompson. PB -- Earnhart, Horton. HBP -- Keller (by Coogan), McClure (by Henderson). Umpires -- Al Davis, Jim Garman, John Magnusson, Bob Hernandez, Danny Mascorro, Gus Rodriguez. T -- 3:15. A -- 24,401.