National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2000
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STAFF WRITER
OMAHA, Nebraska -- For Louisiana State, it was the stuff dreams are made of. And according to the Tigers, the thrilling, come-from-behind 6-5 win was expected.
"I always try to visualize positive things and teach that to our players," LSU coach Skip Bertman said. "More often than not, it works."
Catcher Brad Cresse drilled a single to left field off of Stanford's Justin Wayne in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Ryan Theriot from second base and giving the Tigers their fifth College World Series title since 1991.
"I had (Cresse) hitting a home run," Bertman joked after the game.
Cresse was mired in a College World Series slump before his final at-bat. The senior was 1-for-12 before his game-winning single.
"It was definitely a miserable personal performance this whole College World Series until now," he said.
Theriot started the ninth-inning rally with a single to left, and Mike Fontenot followed with a walk, setting up Cresse's heroics. Cresse, LSU's leading hitter this season, stepped to the plate knowing that Wayne, the Stanford reliever, likely would be offering a steady diet of sliders. In fact, Wayne threw Cresse six consecutive sliders in his previous two at-bats.
"All I was thinking is that I better swing at that slider he struck me out on the first two times," said Cresse.
After taking a slider for a strike, Cresse lined Wayne's 0-1 pitch over the infield, and Theriot beat left fielder Andy Topham's throw home.
Trey Hodges pitched four scoreless innings for his second win of the tournament. Hodges, who retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced, was selected as the most outstanding player of the College World Series.
"He came in when we had the lead and shut us down," Stanford head coach Mark Marquess said. "It's the same way he pitched the whole College World Series. He did an outstanding job."
Wayne gave up four hits and four runs in relief of starter Jason Young. Wayne started the fifth inning and seven of his first nine outs were strikeouts, four looking. The Tigers' normally strong offensive game seemed to be silent.
But LSU (52-17) tied it in the eighth inning with two home runs.
Blair Barbier, after fouling off three pitches to stay alive, reached out and slapped Wayne's 2-2 curve ball over the left-field fence to make the score 5-3. It was Barbier's ninth homer of the season and third of the CWS. Wayne walked Wally Pontiff, and with one out, Jeremy Witten lined a two-run homer into left, tying the game.
"This team is as close and courageous as any in my 42 years of coaching," Bertman said. "Of the five titles, this is the best one."
Stanford (50-16) had been undefeated in CWS championship games. The Cardinal looked to make it 3-0 in title games and claim their first championship since 1988 with an early lead.
Chris O'Riordan and Topham hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth. With one out, LSU starter Brian Tallet hit Damien Alvarado to load the bases, setting up Craig Thompson's grand slam. Thompson ripped Tallet's 2-1 pitch on a line over the left-field fence for his 12th homer of the season. His second career grand slam gave Stanford a 4-2 lead.
The Tigers' seniors, led by team captain Barbier, pulled the team together for the final few innings. Still, with Stanford having one of the best pitchers LSU had faced all year and a three-run lead, it was not the best situation.
"We had to gut this one out," Barbier said. "When Jeremy hit one out, that changed our mindset and we knew it was possible."
With the win, LSU finished the year with 13 consecutive victories. The Tigers rolled through the Southeastern Conference tournament, NCAA regionals and super regionals and the College World Series without a blemish.
"This one means the most to me," Bertman said. "The way everyone on this team contributed makes this one really special."
Game No. 1
|
San Jose St. |
011 |
310 |
000 -- 6 |
11 |
4 |
|
Clemson |
082 |
000 |
00x -- 10 |
10 |
1 |
Chris Key, Chris Sherman (2), Jared Sandler (9) and Adam Shorsher; Ryan Mottl, Steve Reba (6) and Brian Ellis. HR -- John Fagan (Clemson), Patrick Boyd (San Jose St.). W -- Mottl. L -- Key. S -- Reba.
Game No. 2
|
La.-Lafayette |
000 |
020 |
110 -- 4 |
7 |
1 |
|
Stanford |
002 |
210 |
10x -- 6 |
7 |
1 |
Justin Gabriel, Andy Gros (3), Gordon O'Brien (7), Brian Babin (9), Trey Bullinger (9) and Danny Massiatte; Jason Young, Jeff Bruksch (8) and Damien Alvarado. HR -- Nathan Nelson (La.-Lafayette), Jarvis Larry (La.-Lafayette), Rick Haydel (La.-Lafayette), Edmund Muth (Stanford), Joe Borchard (Stanford). W -- Young. L -- Gabriel.
Game No. 3
|
Southern California |
000 |
320 |
001 -- 6 |
16 |
0 |
|
Florida St. |
011 |
001 |
010 -- 4 |
9 |
0 |
Rik Currier, Ronald Flores (8) and Beau Craig; Blair Varnes, Robby Read (4), Daniel Hodges (5), Jon McDonald (7), Mike DiBlasi (9) and Blair McCaleb. HR -- Beau Craig (Southern California), Anthony Lunetta (Southern California), Ryan Barthelemy 2 (Florida St.). W -- Currier. L -- Varnes. S -- Flores.
Game No. 4
|
Texas |
010 |
011 |
020 -- 5 |
9 |
1 |
|
LSU |
410 |
016 |
10x -- 13 |
14 |
1 |
Beau Hale, Eric Tomlinson (6), Ray Clark (6) and Sam Anderson; Brian Tallet, Hunter Gomez (8) and Brad Cresse and Ryan Jorgensen. HR -- Sam Anderson (Texas), Mike Fontenot (LSU), Blair Barbier 2 (LSU). W -- Tallet. L -- Hale.
Game No. 5
|
Stanford |
003 |
121 |
030 -- 10 |
12 |
1 |
|
Clemson |
000 |
002 |
002 -- 4 |
12 |
1 |
Justin Wayne, Jeff Bruksch (8) and Damien Alvarado; Kevin Lynn, Mike Proto (4), Matt Additon (4), Ryan Childs (5), Nick Glaser (8), Thomas Boozer (8), B.J. LaMura (9) and Brian Ellis and Steve Pyzik. W -- Wayne. L -- Lynn.
Game No. 6
|
San Jose St. |
001 |
000 |
200 -- 3 |
5 |
1 |
|
La.-Lafayette |
020 |
020 |
11x -- 6 |
10 |
1 |
Joey Baker, Tim Adinolfi (5), Steve Murphy (8) and Adam Shorsher; Scott Dohmann, Gordon O'Brien (7) and Danny Massiatte. HR -- John Fagan (San Jose St.), Massiatte (La.-Lafayette). W -- Dohmann. L -- Baker. S -- O'Brien.
Game No. 7
|
LSU |
000 |
003 |
250 -- 10 |
9 |
0 |
|
Southern California |
000 |
210 |
100 -- 4 |
7 |
4 |
Ben Saxon, Trey Hodges (4) and Brad Cresse; Mark Prior, Ronald Flores (7), Tim Petke (8), Mark Todd (8), Pete Montrenes (8), Brian Bannister (9) and Beau Craig. HR -- Brad Hawpe 2 (LSU); Beau Craig (Southern California); Alberto Concepcion (Southern California). W -- Hodges. L -- Prior.
Game No. 8
|
Florida St |
100 |
210 |
020 -- 6 |
12 |
2 |
|
Texas |
000 |
100 |
001 -- 2 |
5 |
1 |
Mike Ziegler and Blair McCaleb; Phil Seibel, Charlie Thames (6) and Sam Anderson. HR -- John-Ford Griffin (Florida St.), Ryan Barthelemy (Florida St.). W -- Ziegler. L -- Seibel.
Game No. 9
|
Clemson |
000 |
000 |
400 -- 4 |
4 |
3 |
|
La.-Lafayette |
000 |
210 |
002 -- 5 |
10 |
2 |
Jarrod Schmidt, Steve Reba (8), Ryan Mottl (9) and Brian Ellis; Justin Gabriel, Gordon O'Brien (7); Brian Babin (8) Trey Bullinger (9). HR -- Will Hawkins (La.-Lafayette), Tommy Clark (La.-Lafayette). W -- Bullinger. L -- Mottl.
Game No. 10
|
Southern California |
000 |
101 |
000 -- 2 |
4 |
0 |
|
Florida St |
000 |
100 |
101 -- 3 |
6 |
2 |
Anthony Reyes, Ronald Flores (8) and Beau Craig; Jon McDonald and Blair McCaleb. HR -- Marshall McDougall 2 (Florida St.). W -- McDonald. L -- Flores.
Game No. 11
|
La.-Lafayette |
151 |
000 |
110 -- 9 |
11 |
4 |
|
Stanford |
050 |
017 |
24x -- 19 |
17 |
1 |
Nick Webb, Andy Gros (2), Eric Templet (6), Aaron Welbourne (6), Brian Babin (8), Lance Stutes (8)and Danny Massiatte; Brian Sager, Mike Gosling (2), Mike Wodnicki (3), Ryan McCally (9) and Damien Alvarado. HR -- Steven Feehan (La.-Lafayette), Nathan Nelson (La.-Lafayette), Will Hawkins (La.-Lafayette), Scott Atwood (La.-Lafayette), Edmund Muth 3 (Stanford); Andy Topham (Stanford). W -- Wodnicki. L -- Gros.
Game No. 12
|
Florida St. |
000 |
001 |
020 -- 3 |
9 |
0 |
|
LSU |
100 |
110 |
03x -- 6 |
9 |
1 |
Blair Varnes, Matt Lynch (8), Nick Whidden (8) and Blair McCaleb; Hunter Gomez, Billy Brian (6), Shane Youman (7), Weylin Guidry (8), Trey Hodges (9) and Brad Cresse. HR -- Brad Hawpe (LSU), Ray Wright (LSU). W -- Guidry. L -- Varnes. S -- Hodges.
Championship game
|
Stanford |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
|
Craig Thompson, 1b |
5 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
Eric Bruntlett, ss |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Edmund Muth, cf |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
John Gall, 3b |
5 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
Joe Borchard, rf |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chris O'Riordan, 2b |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Andy Topham, lf |
5 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
|
Arik Van Zandt, dh |
4 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Damien Alvarado, c |
3 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
|
Jason Young, p |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Justin Wayne, p |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Totals |
39 |
5 |
13 |
5 |
|
LSU |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
|
Ryan Theriot, ss |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Mike Fontenot 2b |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Brad Cresse, c |
3 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Brad Hawpe, 1b |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Blair Barbier, 3b |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Wally Pontiff, dh |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
|
Cedrick Harris, cf |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jeremy Witten, lf |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Ray Wright, rf |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Brian Tallet, p |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Trey Hodges, p |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Totals |
30 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
|
Stanford |
000 |
401 |
000 -- 5 |
13 |
0 |
|
LSU |
020 |
000 |
031 -- 6 |
8 |
0 |
DP -- Stanford 1. LOB -- Stanford 11, LSU 9. 2B -- Thompson, Van Zandt, Fontenot, Pontiff. HR -- Thompson, Barbier, Witten. HBP -- Borchard, Alvarado, Fontenot, Cresse, Barbier, Witten. SH -- Wright. SB Bruntlett. CS -- O'Riordan.
|
Stanford |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Jason Young |
4.0 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
|
Justin Wayne |
4.0 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
|
LSU |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
Brian Tallet |
5.0 |
11 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
|
Trey Hodges |
4.0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
W -- Hodges. L -- Wayne. S -- None. HB -- Young 2, Wayne 2, Tallet, Hodges. BK -- Hodges. Umpires -- Home, Scott Graham; 1st, Al Davis; 2nd, Joe Burleson; 3rd, Dan Mascorro. T -- 3:42. A -- 24,282.