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Wednesday - June 24, 2009

Game 67: Louisiana State at Texas (CWS)

Texas played home to the Louisiana State Tigers in the 3rd and final game of the 2009 College World Series Championship Series this evening. As in the last few games, I watched the game on ESPN and listened to the KVET radio broadcast by Craig Way and Keith Moreland, streaming over the Internet (I synced the Internet radio stream with the ESPN broadcast on my TiVo). This report is based on that combination.

Today's starting line-ups:

Texas	Louisian State
1 DJ LeMahieu, 2b 2 Ryan Schimpf, lf 3 Blake Dean, dh 4 Sean Ochinko, 1b 5 Jared Mitchell, rf 6 Mikie Mahtook, cf 7 Micah Gibbs, c 8 Derek Helenihi, 3b 9 Austin Nola, ss - Anthony Renaudo, p	1 Michael Torres, 3b 2 Travis Tucker, 2b 3 Brandon Belt, 1b 4 Russell Moldenhauer, dh 5 Cameron Rupp, c 6 Kevin Keyes, rf 7 Connor Rowe, cf 8 Preston Clark, lf 9 Brandon Loy, ss - Cole Green, p

Same line-up for the Horns as Game 2 of the Championship Series.

Here's how things played out:

• 1st inning, LSU
• Cole Green (rhp) on the mound for Texas.
• LeMahieu flew out to the rf corner...just foul.
• Schimpf struck out swinging. Rupp couldn't hold onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Dean was hit by the second pitch (off his foot).
• Ochinko singled off ss and through the left side (first pitch), moving Dean to 2b.
• Mitchell, sadly, hit a homerun down the rf line...just fair.
• Mahtook grounded out (high chopper) to 3b.
• 17 pitches.
• Texas down 0-3.
• 1st inning, Texas
• Anthony Renaudo (rhp) on the mound for LSU.
• Torres singled (2nd pitch) up the middle.
• Tucker, after failing to get the bunt down, struck out looking.
• Belt flew out to cf.
• Moldenhauer singled through the right side, moving Torres to 2b.
• Rupp drew a 5-pitch walk to load the bases.
• After Keyes took a big swing on the second pitch, Coach Garrido took a quick offensive time out to have a quick conversation with Keyes.
• Keyes then fouled off a pitch and struck out swinging at a pitch that was high and out of the zone. Shucks.
• 23 pitches.
• 2nd inning, LSU
• Gibbs singled over 2b into rf (1st pitch).
• Helenihi grounded out (high chopper) to 3b, moving Gibbs (hit and run) to 2b. The throw from 3b was a bit off-line but Belt did a good job to stay with it and tag the batter out before he reached 1b.
• Nola flew out to rf. Gibbs did not tag up.
• LeMahieu reached on an infield single to 2b. Tucker fielded the ball headed into cf with his bare hand and almost got LeMahieu out. Nice play.
• Skip Johnson made a trip to the mound.
• Schimpf singled into cf, scoring Gibbs and moving LeMahieu to 3b.
• Dean popped out to 2b.
• 17 pitches (34 on the day).
• Texas down 0-4.
• 2nd inning, Texas
• Rowe reached on an infield single to ss. The shortstop had a slim chance at getting Rowe out but it would've taken a perfect throw...which didn't happen.
• Clark popped out to 3b near the mound.
• Loy flew out to cf.
• Torres popped out to 2b in shallow rf.
• 11 pitches (34 on the day).
• 3rd inning, LSU
• Texas went ahead and sent Brandon Workman (rhp) to the mound, replacing Green.
• Ochinko singled into cf (toward the lf gap). Rowe did a good job to cut the ball off, keeping Ochinko from moving to 2b with a double.
• Mitchell flew out to lf (in the corner at the warning track).
• Mahtook struck out swinging.
• Gibbs struck out swinging. He tried to check his swing on a very high pitch but couldn't do it.
• 15 pitches.
• 3rd inning, Texas
• Tucker doubled into the lf corner!
• Belt drew a full-count walk.
• Moldenhauer lined out to cf (toward the lf gap). The center fielder made a last minute stab to catch the ball and rob Moldenhauer of a hit. And, since the ball was lined so hard, Tucker could not advance.
• Tucker and Belt completed a double steal on the first pitch to Rupp!
• Rupp grounded out to ss, scoring Tucker and moving Belt to 3b.
• Keyes reached on a full-count 9-pitch walk.
• Rowe drew a 4-pitch walk.
• The LSU pitching coach made a trip to the mound.
• Clark drew a full-count 10-pitch (!) walk, scoring Belt, and keeping the bases loaded.
• Loy grounded into a 6-unassisted fielder's choice. The shortstop fielded, ran toward 2b, and then dove to tag the bag before Clark could get there. Weird. Shrug.
• 43 pitches (77 on the day).
• Texas down 2-4.
• 4th inning, LSU
• Helenihi grounded out to ss.
• Nola grounded out to the pitcher. The ball bounced hard and right at Workman's head. Nice reaction to yank his head back and glove hand up to catch the ball. Yikes!
• LeMahieu flew out to rf.
• 3-up/3-down. Nice.
• 12 pitches (27 on the day).
• 4th inning, Texas
• Torres lined out to cf (1st pitch). Damn.
• Tucker singled into rf.
• Belt struck out swinging (0-2 count, 5 pitches).
• Moldenhauer grounded out to 2b.
• 11 pitches (88 on the day).
• 5th inning, LSU
• Schimpf grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Dean also grounded out to 1b (unassisted).
• Ochinko popped out to the catcher behind home plate at the screen. I don't think I've ever seen a pop up fall that close to the screen and be caught. It was less than a foot off the screen. Wow. Also: 1st pitch.
• 7 pitches (34 on the day).
• 5th inning, Texas
• Rupp singled off the mound and up the middle.
• Keyes homered over the lf fence (power alley) to score 2! 1st pitch. Yeah!
• Rowe struck out swinging. The catcher couldn't hold onto the ball so had to throw down to 1b to complete the out.
• Clark fouled off 4 pitches, watched a ball, and hit the 6th pitch into lf for a single.
• Loy flew out to rf in foul territory (full count, 8 pitches).
• Torres flew out to lf.
• 25 pitches (113 on the day).
• Game tied 4-4.
• 6th inning, LSU
• Keyes was being helped in the outfield with apparent cramps as ESPN came back from commercial. Interestingly, Craig and Keith did not say anything about it. They must not have seen it. Keyes stayed in the game but was limping quite a bit.
• Mitchell drew a full-count 7-pitch walk. The last pitch was way inside and almost hit Mitchell. First walk of the day for Texas pitching.
• Mitchell advanced to 2b on a passed ball as Mahtook squared to bunt and did not offer at a high pitch. The ball ricocheted off Rupp's glove and toward the Texas dugout.
• Mahtook squared to bunt at the first two pitches (both balls) and then LSU took the bunt off. Workman threw another ball and then worked the count full. Mahtook fouled off a pitch and then lined a double into cf (toward the rf gap), scoring Mitchell.
• Texas sent Austin Dicharry (rhp) to the mound, replacing Workman (48 pitches on the day).
• Gibbs hit a sac bunt down the 3b line toward the mound. Dicharry fielded and then threw high to 1b. Runners at the corners.
• Helenihi hit a sac fly to lf, scoring Mahtook (1st pitch).
• Nola grounded out to 2b (1st pitch). With the hit and run on, Gibbs moved up to 2b.
• The 3rd pitch to LeMahieu was in the dirt and bounced away from Rupp, allowing Gibbs to take 3b on the wild pitch.
• LeMahieu drew a 4 pitch walk. Runners at the corners.
• Texas sent Austin Wood (lhp) to the mound, replacing Dicharry (8 pitches).
• Schimpf was hit by a pitch. The high inside pitch might have just grazed his arm.
• Mainieri took a quick offensive time-out.
• Dean was also grazed by a pitch to load the bases.
• Ochinko singled through the left side, scoring LeMahieu and Schimpf, and moving Dean to 2b. 1st pitch.
• Mitchell lined out to ss. 1st pitch.
• 10 pitches.
• Texas down 4-9. Sigh.
• 6th inning, Texas
• Tucker flew out to cf.
• LSU sent Chad Jones (lhp) to the mound, replacing Renaudo (119 pitches on the day).
• Belt struck out looking. Ouch.
• Moldenhauer also struck out looking. Wow. Those were some fierce pitches. Ouch.
• 9 pitches.
• 7th inning, LSU
• Mahtook popped out to 2b (foul down the rf line). 1st pitch.
• Gibbs flew out to cf.
• Helenihi flew out to rf. 1st pitch.
• 5 pitches. 3-up/3-down. Very nice.
• 7th inning, Texas
• Rupp flew out to rf.
• Keyes (who looked uncomfortable at the plate as though he might still be suffering a bit from the earlier cramps) reached 1b after being hit on the ankle (ouch) by a pitch.
• After the 1st pitch to Rowe, the trainer went out to talk to Keyes (clearly in pain). Keyes stretched his ankle a bit and stayed in the game.
• Rowe popped out to 1b.
• Clark flew out to lf near the line.
• 15 pitches (24 on the day).
• 8th inning, LSU
• Nola doubled down the rf line (1-2 count).
• LeMahieu singled off the front of Austin Wood's leg just below his knee. The ball ricocheted off his left leg into foul territory in front of the LSU dugout. Belt gathered it up in time to keep Nola from advancing past 3b.
• Keith Shinaberry (lhp) went to the mound, replacing the injured Wood (24 pitches on the day). Note that Wood was limping but probably isn't hurt too badly. A bad bruise, likely. Ouch.
• Schimpf hit a sac fly (full count, 9 pitches) to cf, scoring Nola.
• Dean grounded into a patented Shinaberry double play! This one of the 3-6-1 variety.
• 14 pitches. I said it was a patented double play. But, usually, Shinaberry only has to throw 2 or 3 pitches to get the double play. Heh.
• Texas down 4-10.
• 8th inning, Texas
• LSU sent Louis Coleman (rhp) to the mound, replacing Jones.
• Loy struck out swinging.
• Torres doubled into the cf/rf gap!
• Tucker grounded out to 3b. Great play by Helenihi to dive and rob Tucker of a single into lf. Too bad. Torres had no chance to advance.
• Belt grounded out to 1b (unassisted). Another nice play by the LSU infield.
• 15 pitches.
• 9th inning, LSU
• Ochinko hit a homerun over the lf fence...just fair.
• Mitchell grounded out to the pitcher.
• After the first pitch to Mahtook (a ball), Texas sent Chance Ruffin (rhp) to the mound for Shinaberry (22 pitches on the day with his sore arm). Tip o' the hat to Mr. Shinaberry. I hope he does well on his Teach for America stint up there in South Dakota. I suspect those kids he'll be teaching are very lucky kids.
• Mahtook went on to ground out to 3b (2-2 count).
• Gibbs singled into rf.
• Helenihi struck out swinging. The 3rd strikeout of the day for Texas pitching. Shucks.
• 12 pitches.
• Texas down 4-11.
• 9th inning, Texas
• LSU made several substitutions: Nicholas Pontiff to rf, replacing Mitchell; Buzzy Haydel to 1b, replacing Ochinko; Chris McGhee to 2b, replacing LeMahieu. The new fielders are all seniors on the LSU team. Nice thing for Mainieri to do. We can only hope it comes back to bite him! Heh.
• Moldenhauer drew a 4-pitch walk.
• Kyle Lusson went in to pinch-run for Moldenhauer.
• Rupp struck out looking.
• Keyes (clearly still in pain) struck out looking.
• Rowe struck out swinging to end the game and the season.
• 16 pitches (31 on the day).
• Texas loses 4-11. So sad.

Here's the line (from GameTracker):

Post-game press conference comments: In his opening statement, Coach Garrido said that the CWS is a fabulous event and they appreciate being a part of it. LSU is a fine college baseball team. They have a lot of talent and character. He thinks it was more that LSU won the tournament than that Texas lost it. They came back from adversity, got good pitching when they needed it, and good defense. A well-deserved win for LSU. Asked about "leaving meat on the bone" in the early part of the game, Garrido said he's not willing to pick his team apart. LSU beat Texas twice and deserved to win the championship. Travis, when asked about Keyes' homerun, said they were all excited and thought they'd keep on rolling but... (He got choked up and didn't continue.) Asked another question, he agreed that it was deflating when LSU came right back after Texas tied the game. In hind sight, Garrido said taking Workman out doesn't look so good but they played their cards and it didn't work out. Give credit to the opponent, though: they are the best team Texas has played this year. By far. Clark said this was the best team he's ever been a part of. It was a great run but they just came up short today. LSU took it to another level and the Horns couldn't get another rally going. It was a great run for the team. Garrido said his players are not losers, they lost the game, and if you think about it, they accomplished a lot more than they were expected to this year...it's pretty cool. He thinks this is the start of a new era for Texas baseball. This is the best team he's ever brought to the CWS with no experience...it's amazing that they made it to the finish. He thinks it's important how the players react to the loss and said that his teams that have finished 2nd in the CWS have gone on to higher personal success after college baseball than his teams that won championships. As a teacher on a personal level, he gets to enjoy all of their careers...not just the players that stay in professional baseball. Travis reiterated Preston's comments that they love each other, they've made life-long friends, and that is a big part of why they did so well this year. When asked how much longer he wants to do this, Augie asked if the reporter was asking about the press conference. Heh. He said that for him, it's a lifestyle...not a job. As long as he's healthy, feels the way he does about the players, and it's working, he plans to keep coaching.

I hope y'all don't mind but I don't think I'll cover the LSU side of the press conference tonight.

I sure wish it had gone the other way.

Hook 'em!

Posted by Joanna at 10:34 PM