The Reveille 7-3-23

National Championship Special Edition

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LATER GATORS

National Champions: LSU wins Game Three of CWS Finals over Florida

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

National. Champions. Those two words seemed distant and overwhelming to many LSU fans, but it was always something the team knew it could achieve. The season was an uphill battle, a long climb to the top. But it planted its flag on the top of the mountain and can now call itself national champion. LSU took down Florida 18-4 to claim the ultimate title a team can have in college baseball.

“I don’t know where to start,” Johnson said. “National Championship team, I think the most gratifying part of it is that they’re national championship people every day of it.”

It wasn’t about how LSU started, but about how it responded.

Wyatt Langford, who went five for five in Sunday’s game got the Gators started with a two-run home run to left field.

But rather than have flashbacks from Sunday’s game, LSU took matters into its own hands.

In the top of the second inning, the Tigers put up six runs. In the game, LSU scored 18 runs on 24 hits.

Brayden Jobert started the second inning with a single, moving Gavin Dugas to third, who walked to start the inning.

Jobert finished four for seven with a two-run home run, a double, two singles and three RBIs. He also singled later in the second inning. Jordan Thompson followed with an RBI single, allowing Dugas to score. Thompson finished two for six with a double, a single and three RBIs.

But much of the second inning was LSU taking advantage of Florida’s inaccuracy on the mound. In the second inning alone, three LSU hitters were walked and one was hit by a pitch. Two of those at-bats brought runs in. In the sixth inning, Hayden Travinski walked,and allowed Tre’ Morgan to score.

Tommy White had an RBI single in the second, and Tre’ Morgan flew out to center to bring another run in.

Jobert also got the four-run, fourth inning started with a double to right field. Thompson followed Jobert once again with a double of his own. But Josh Pearson brought Thompson in with a home run to right field to make the score 9-2. Pearson finished one for four with two RBIs.

Milazzo singled after Pearson, and Cade Beloso brought him in with a single. However, Milazzo had to jump over Florida’s catcher, B.T. Riopelle, to avoid potentially getting tagged. He took a nasty fall at the plate and appeared to hurt his ankle.

Cade Beloso and Dylan

Crews both singled in the sixth, and both finished their LSU careers with multi-hit games. Beloso went two for five with two singles and two RBIs, and Crews had a team-leading four hits with a triple, three singles and an RBI.

“To leave LSU a national champion is something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Beloso said. “We really enjoyed being around each other every day.”

Crews played the game anyone could want to close out their collegiate career. He capped off a legendary career with a triple in the eighth inning, where Tommy White hit him in with a single.

“Greatest feeling in the world,” Crews said. “Looking back, I wouldn’t trade anything for those moments. Because this is where we’re at right now.”

Crews singled again to start a four-run ninth inning, and Tommy White hit him in with a double to make the score 15-4. White finished four for seven on the game with a double, three singles and three RBIs. Tre’ Morgan then hit White in with a double of his own. Morgan went three for six with a double, two singles and two RBIs. Later in the ninth, Jobert capped off his impactful game with a two-run home run to deep right field to make the score 18-4.

LSU’s offense obviously excelled when it mattered most, but Thatcher Hurd was dominant on the mound. After giving up a two-run home run in the first inning, Hurd settled in and executed. In 6.0 innings pitched, he struck out seven and gave up two runs on just two hits.

“When offense is producing like that, my job is to get them back in the dugout as quick as possible,” Hurd said. “I was just telling myself ‘don’t give them an inch.’”

That being said, Florida’s offense was almost the complete opposite from how it was on Sunday. The Gators finished with four runs on five hits. After having two hits as a team in the first inning, Hurd held the Gators hitless. Cade Kurland started the game with a single, and Wyatt Langford hit a tworun home run to left field.

The Gators were hitless until Riley Cooper came in. Ty Evans homered to right field, his fifth home run of the tournament, to make the game 11-3. Kurland homered in the eighth inning to make the score 14-4, and he went two for four with a home run, a single and an RBI.

Cooper went an inning in relief and gave up a run on one hits. Gavin Guidry came in in the eighth and closed the game out. He went two innings, struck out two and gave up a run on two hits.

Jac Caglianone was the starter on the mound for Florida, and his outing ended sooner than expected, as he struggled to find the strike zone. In just 1.1 innings, Caglianone gave up six runs on just two hits. He walked three hitters.

The Gators’ bullpen didn’t have much success either. Cade Fisher went 1.1 innings and gave up four hits, Ryan Slater went 1.0 innings and gave up four runs on four hits, and Tyler Nesbitt went 3.0 innings and gave up a run on five hits. Nesbitt also struck out four but

walked two. Blake Purnell went 1.1 innings and gave up six runs on seven hits. Fisher Jameson came in last for the Gators, went an inning and gave up a run on two hits.

LSU has had its fair share of concerns throughout the season, but what mattered most was how it would play when the game mattered most.

More often than not, when one aspect of the game was on, the other was off; either the pitching would be on enough to win the game almost singlehandily, or the hitting would be on enough to win the game single-handily. There have been times when the Tigers have put together a complete game, and one of those times couldn’t have come at a better time.

Nights like Monday are nights LSU fans will remember for a long time. The season was a roller coaster. But for the players, coaches and fans, it would be one they ride again.

Until they get another shot at doing so, the Tigers find themselves in a pretty good position, with a lot to look back and be proud of. The title of national champion is a testament to the LSU team in that it fought through adversity and came out on the other side.

It showed that staying the course and working hard pays off in the end. Monday night, everything paid off for the Tigers.

“I really believe this team will go down as one of the best teams in college baseball history,” Johnson said.

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REBECCA S. GRATZ / AP Photo

LSU celebrates after defeating Florida in Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb. June 26. LSU won the national championship 18-4.

REBECCA S GRATZ / AP Photo Front page photo credits

@MIKETHETIGER

Meet the woman behind Mike VII’s social media

BY JOHN BUZBEE @thebuzzbuz

For over 10 years, part of Ginger Guttner’s job description has included impersonating a tiger on social media.

The tiger goes by Mike VII; he’s LSU’s living mascot.

Guttner is Mike’s spokesperson in addition to serving as the communications manager of LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine and an adjunct instructor with the Manship School of Mass Communication. She’s been with the Vet School for nearly 20 years and with Manship for over four.

She’s responsible for creating daily posts viewed by Mike’s 322,000 followers spread across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. On those platforms, she speaks as him in the first-person.

But she didn’t always speak as if she was Mike. She said she took a third-person, educational approach to managing his social media accounts at first.

“I cannot stress this enough, I did a terrible job for nine months. It was not fun,” Guttner said. “I didn’t really know what to do with it, representing the veterinary school on social media.”

She said at the time she felt it was unethical to act like Mike,

posting silly things that could tarnish the prestige of things like the Vet School’s hospital and research which she said improves the lives of both people and animals. Public relations professionals have a code of ethics to uphold, after all.

The first account was his Facebook, Guttner said, which the university seized around 2010 from someone trying to pose as the official Mike VI.

“It doesn’t seem that long ago,

but in social media years, it may as well be 100,” Guttner said.

She said the university thought if it held an official Mike the Tiger account, it wouldn’t have to constantly police the pretenders. Because Mike’s care falls under the jurisdiction of the Vet School, managing the accounts fell to Guttner. Twitter and Instagram accounts were created not long after.

Early on, she posted around once or twice a week and said cre -

ating content was tricky. It’s interesting to watch the apex predator in person, she said, but he doesn’t really do that much throughout the day, mainly sleeping and swimming which creates a challenge for crafting social media posts.

The change to first-person happened when Guttner was in a rush and quickly needed content, so she posted “Do these stripes make

ATHLETICS

LSU football vacates 37 wins

BY JAYDEN NGUYEN @jaydenguyen_

LSU’s football program must vacate 37 of its wins from 2012 to 2015 after committing Level I, Level II and Level III violations against the NCAA.

The NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel made the ruling on Thursday. Former men’s basketball head coach Will Wade also received 10 game suspensions and a two-year show-cause order from the IRP for multiple NCAA violations during his time at LSU.

The university’s football program must forfeit two bowl wins from the 2012 to 2015 season. The program was already given a three-year probation sentence from the NCAA, which is set to end in September 2023.

LSU’s Level I violation occurred when an LSU athletics representative paid a prospective athlete’s father $180,150 over five years in an embezzlement scheme. The athlete attended and played at the university from 2012 to 2016.

Hard seltzers or beer, which drink rules Baton Rouge bars?

BY COLIN FALCON @nestingnests

Young people and their seltzers. Since the sparkling beverage revolution of 2019, the two have been inseparable.

White Claw was undoubtedly the first drink of its kind to reach household name status. Its meteoric rise in popularity was largely due to the brand finding a perfect niche in its marketing and huge amounts of social media support.

Several factors came together to build White Claw’s image as the perfect fit for a younger demographic. The drink has a lower calorie count than the average beer, which struck a chord with more health-conscious millennials. A 12-ounce can of claw contains 100 calories, while the average 12-ounce beer has anywhere from 140 to 153.

Talk on social media about the new genre of drink also skyrocketed after the phrase “Ain’t no laws when you’re drinking claws” was popularized by comedian Trevor Wallace in a comedic sketch posted to his YouTube channel in summer 2019.

By the year’s end, the total market revenue for hard seltzers had

more than doubled, going from $2.36 billion in 2018 to $5.03 billion in 2019, according to Statista Market Insights. White Claw summer had left its mark.

From that moment, the White Claw brand was synonymous with the younger generation of drinkers, and no college function would be complete without it. After White Claw legitimized hard seltzers, brands like Truly and High Noon would reap the benefits, and many beer companies, like Bud Light and Corona, would capitalize on the popularity with seltzers of their own.

Hard seltzers found a road into the hearts of many younger drinkers because of their flavors. Callie Matas, a rising digital advertising junior and avid fan of fruity drinks, said it was never a question between seltzers or beers for her.

“I just like the taste more; I’m a tropical girl,” Matas said. “Plus, it might just be me, but beer makes me bloat.”

She added that many of her sorority sisters share the sentiment. According to her, most Greek life events only sell beers and seltzers. Between the two, Matas and her friends will always choose the ladder.

“It’s something tasty to sip on while you’re just talking. It goes down easy,” Matas said.

Matas also recalled seeing the rise of White Claws during her high school years. She said her first ever seltzer was a claw, but nowadays she mostly sticks with High Noons.

While White Claw forged the path for hard seltzers, some of its protégés have taken its spot at the top of the food chain.

Jason Nay, a part-owner of Fred’s in Tigerland for 10 years, said White Claws have had a very hard fall off at the bar.

“This entire year’s worth of sales for White Claw is what we did in January, February and the first half of March in 2020,” Nay said.

The fall of White Claw’s popularity at Fred’s coincided with the rise of another seltzer. Nay said High Noons are the current king, with the watermelon and pineapple flavors leading the pack.

“The second most popular, out of anything ordered, is a High Noon,” Nay said.

In first place are vodka drinks, Nay said, and he doesn’t see that ever changing. Fred’s uses its own in-house brand of vodka, and Nay

said the term “vodka drinks” covers everything from lemon drop shots to screwdrivers to vodkaSprites.

Because of the ubiquity of Fred’s vodka, Nay said climbing to the number two spot is still no small feat.

According to him, High Noons started out as a niche order for

young college kids in November 2020, but by October 2021, they had already jumped to the number two spot and could regularly be seen in the hands of people as old as 50.

“It’s big now. You still have your hardcore beer drinkers that are

MATTHEW PERSCHALL/ The Reveille Adjunct instructor at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication and communications manager for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Ginger Guttner stands outside Mike the Tiger’s, LSU’s live mascot, habitat on June 23 on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La.

see MIKE, page 4 see FOOTBALL, page 4

MORGAN COOK/ The Reveille

Boxes of seltzers line refrigerated shelves June 22 at Walmart on Burbank Drive in Baton Rouge, La.

FOOTBALL, from page 3

Although the former representative has been disassociated for 10 years, the NCAA ruled that LSU must vacate its wins for this Level I violation.

The IRP did not enforce punishments for the program’s other two violations, as LSU already imposed its own punishments that the NCAA deemed acceptable.

LSU underwent a postseason ban during the 2020-21 season, a reduction in eight football scholarships from 2021 to 2022,

MIKE, from page 3

my butt look big?” The post was a smash and began the change she’d stick to when running Mike the Tiger’s accounts.

“I became comfortable with him being not for some grand purpose,” Guttner said. “It became easier and it’s amazing to me, the stuff that goes viral.”

Her approach was altered again whenever Mike VI was diagnosed with cancer. Nearly overnight, she said, the tiger’s number of followers doubled.

Guttner started posting more frequently so fans knew he was OK and she used third-person language, dropping any silliness anytime his health or the disease was brought up.

Mike VI was humanely euthanized on October 11, 2016. Flowers, notes and plushies piled at his habitat.

Mike VII arrived in a freshly renovated habitat on the first day of classes the next year and Guttner resumed posting to social media.

She took to posting every day to his social media accounts during the COVID-19 lockdown, again so the public knew the tiger was healthy. The same strand of the virus that could infect humans was also dangerous to tigers, she said.

“He was something you could get out of the house and go see, especially for those people trapped with small children in the house,” Guttner said. “We wanted people to know that even though the campus was officially closed, he was not closed.”

She continues posting every day of the year, mainly because the public has come to expect it and wants to know whenever he’s active.

To create a post, Guttner said, the help of the two veterinarian student-caretakers is crucial; they supply her with all of the photo and video content she posts. Erin

SELTZERS, from page 3 skeptical, but you even see some of them start to come around,” Nay said.

Despite the runaway success of hard seltzers, Nay said beer isn’t going anywhere in terms of popularity. He said Michelob Ultra is currently the bar’s third most popular drink and that as long as sports are on TV, beer will have its place at a bar.

“I think a lot of people just like to drink beer during a game and sip on it, you know?” Nay said.

a $5,000 fine including 0.5% of its average football budget and vacated any wins that ineligible athletes competed in from 2012 to 2016.

Former LSU wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s viral cash handouts to LSU players at the 2020 National Championship resulted in a Level II violation. Beckham gave four players around $2,000, and a video of the act was shared all over social media.

LSU banned Beckham from all non-public areas of its facili-

ties for two years after reporting the incident.

The Level III violation involves former head coach Ed Orgeron. Orgeron had impermissible contact with a prospective athlete during a 2019 evaluation period.

The loss of LSU’s previous wins affects former football head coach Les Miles, who held a 11434 record during his time at LSU. His record drops to 77-34 after the NCAA ruling, and Miles is no longer eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame.

weighs around 420 pounds and the tradition of bringing tigers into the stadium goes against the university’s mission to act as a habitat and home.

He’s usually prowling his habitat no later than 8 a.m. and will usually stay out until sunset, Guttner said. The exception is Thursday because that’s when the habitat’s yard work is done. On Thursdays, Mike usually stays inside until anywhere from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. She didn’t clarify anything regarding a girlfriend.

Guttner is an LSU graduate. She earned a bachelor’s in English and later earned a master’s in mass communication after trying law school for a year “back when you could smoke in the building during testing, but you had to bring your own ashtray.”

Guillory, one of the caretakers and a veterinary medicine graduate student, said they send Guttner content via a group text message every day of the year because Mike’s accounts post every day of the year.

From there, Guttner comes up with a caption and broadcasts the post then and there. She said she never schedules posts in advance.

Guillory said sending Guttner photos and videos falls outside of her job description as a caretaker. She said she didn’t mind, adding that the “meat art” the LSU community has grown to expect also isn’t something that’s in their job description but something her and the other caretaker take passion in creating.

Guttner said Mike’s voice on his social media accounts is really her own. She said she tries to make it relatively convincing and takes special effort to ensure that “he sounds like a boy tiger.”

Nay said he enjoys both drinks but finds himself leaning towards seltzers.

“It just goes down smooth, and I don’t have to worry about burping,” he said. “I like a good beer, but if I drink one too fast, I’ll just be burping.”

According to him, the perfect ice chest for a beach day, game day or any other day full of socializing is a 50-50 split of High Noons and whichever beer he’s been enjoying the most.

The generally younger demographic of Fred’s makes for a peep -

Guillory confirmed this. She, who’s worked with Mike every day for nearly two years, described Mike as dramatic, goofy, a little sarcastic and much smarter than he’s often credited. (Mike can recognize the cars of both caretakers and one of their fiancés, for example.)

She described Guttner as someone who was sarcastic, always with a harmless joke but inoffensive, quick witted and warm.

As Mike’s spokesperson, Guttner’s duties include collecting and sometimes responding to Mike’s mail (his habitat, it turns out, doesn’t have an address so certain items are sent directly to her office), interacting with news organizations from Tiger TV to ESPN as his press secretary and attending various types of conferences to talk about him.

Over her 10 years as spokesperson, she’s hardly had any problems with internet trolls or critics. She

hole into the current state of the seltzer swing.

On the other hand, bars such as the one in the Lod Cook Alumni Center don’t even carry seltzers.

“I think it’s a young people thing,” said William Quinlan, a bartender for the alumni center.

Quinlan said the bar’s demographic ranges from middle-aged people all the way to seniors. He said beer is by far the bar’s most popular option and that seltzers weren’t even on the radar.

“I feel like if older people aren’t already drinking something better

said she’s only had to block around five people on Facebook, for example. She said organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals don’t usually target Mike the Tiger when they protest on LSU’s campus. Mike’s internet following is relatively infomed, she said, and sticks up for him on the rare occasion someone throws him shade.

Occasionally she has to redirect a fan seeking the suited mascot, who’s entirely separate from the live tiger.

“Is Mike outside?” is far and away Guttner’s most frequently asked question, followed by “How much does he weigh and how old is he?”, “Why doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” and “Why doesn’t he go to football games?”

She’s created a list of the 10 most asked questions and their answers for the media out of convenience but knows most answers by memory. Mike VII is six years old,

than beer, the carbonation and hyper-focus on youth advertising of seltzers isn’t going to make them switch,” Quinlan said.

He feels seltzers often try to force an element of coolness to their advertising that can often fall flat.

“I don’t even really think it works on young people, but that just means it’d work even less on older people,” Quinlan said. “It’s just sort of tacky.”

Quinlan himself is a self-described beer man, mostly because he simply prefers the taste. He

She was originally from Fort Novosel, Alabama and grew up in various towns across Texas. Now 52, she said she’s basically from Baton Rouge having lived in the city since 1987.

Guttner made a point that she was a “lowly, lowly instructor” of visual communication, not a professor, at Manship. She tells her students to merely call her Ginger, or Ms. Ginger if the disparity in age is discomforting. She said that students interested in any aspect of her communications-based job need only ask and she’ll talk about what that entails.

Guttner has multiple awards in public relations and has given a TEDx talk about being Mike’s voice.

She can tell when the university chooses to use photos of Mike for promotional material versus a generic picture of a tiger.

And Mike recognizes Guttner when she visits his enclosure. He approaches the fence and rubs his side against it as if to wave. After that, Guttner said, he usually resumes to doing his own, tiger things.

also thinks the fruity flavors that seltzers are known for combined with the carbonation makes them harsher on the stomach.

Quinlan doesn’t see himself ever becoming a “seltzer head,” but he thinks the drinks have carved out a permanent place in the market.

“Some people just don’t like the taste of beer, so they’re never really going away,” Quinlan said. “But I don’t think it ever was or will be a competition between the two, more just companies figuring out another thing they can sell.”

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille

Mike the Tiger, LSU’s live mascot, rests in the shade on June 23 inside his habitat on North Stadium Drive in Baton Rouge, La..

SPORTS

Beyond the plate: A deep dive into LSU baseball’s signature looks

BY JAYDEN NGUYEN & MOLLY TERRELL @jaydenguyen_ & @keenryanti

Several LSU baseball players have become known for their iconic looks. Hayden Travinski’s became so popular that his teammates and fans have

T-shirts dedicated to his facial hair and sunglasses.

What are the most standout looks from this season’s players and what’s the story behind them? Here’s a deep dive into the signature slays of each LSU baseball player:

Paul Skenes’ Stache

Pitcher Paul Skenes has become well-known for his signature mustache, which he’s referred to as his “magic mustache.”

But the former Air Force player hasn’t always sported the look.

Skenes didn’t know he could grow a mustache and stopped shaving when LSU played Ole Miss earlier in the season, according to an interview he did with the NCAA.

“I ran out of razors,” Skenes said, “and I just decided to keep the mustache.”

Although it came to be accidentally, Skenes now feels that the mustache is good luck.

Hayden Travinski’s Sunnies

Travinski decided to keep his sunglasses on when he was told by Jay Johnson that he would pinch hit in the ninth inning of their game against Ole Miss on April 23. He hit a walk-off three-run home run to win the game, and the sunglasses have continued to be a staple for Travinski as he made his way into the regular lineup for the Tigers. When you think of Travinksi’s sunglasses, you think of him hitting a home run, so it’s no wonder they stuck around.

A simple design that consisted of sunnies, a mustache and a soul patch that started with just a few LSU players has expanded to fans. Upon seeing his face on shirts and hats in Omaha, Travinksi said it was “so weird, but it’s cool.”

Team Uniforms

The LSU baseball team switches out its jerseys often, sporting purple, white and gold variations of the uniform.

The gold uniforms have often been referred to as “championship golds.” The first LSU players to wear the gold were on the 1996 baseball team. The team won its College World Series in a 9-8 game.

Since then, the “golds” have become a staple part of the team’s rotation of looks and LSU lore.

The 2023 baseball team also wore the gold uniforms during its final game against Florida, before securing its national championship win.

This just further proves that, when it comes to LSU baseball, what the

wears matters.

Tre’ Morgan’s Hair

Tre’ Morgan is easily recognizable in the LSU lineup, and it’s not just because of his hitting skills or his splits on first base. His dyed blonde hair has become his staple look throughout the season.

Morgan’s sister is a cosmetologist, and she helped Morgan dye his hair the iconic bright blonde. He experimented with reddish hair in his second year before deciding to stick with the blonde. His sister continues to help Morgan with maintaining his look.

In an interview with WAFB, Morgan’s father recalled his reaction to his son’s hair when he first got the dye job.

“When you look like that and you have blonde hair,” John Morgan said, “you better know how to play, man. You better be good.”

GRAPHIC BY JAYDEN NGUYEN

MATTHEW PERSCHALL / The Reveille LSU baseball junior pitcher Paul Skenes answers interview questions on June 28 at the Champions Celebration at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille LSU baseball sophomore first baseman Tre Morgan III (18) gives sophomore right-handed pitcher Blake Money a high five April 19 during the game against University of Louisiana Lafayette at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

FRANCIS DINH / The Reveille LSU baseball junior catcher Hayden Travinski (25) celebrates a home run May 13 during LSU’s 9-4 loss to Mississippi State at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

REBECCA S GRATZ / AP Photo

LSU celebrates after defeating Florida in Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb. June 26. LSU won the national championship 18-4.

team

ROAD TO THE RECORD

Every strikeout from Paul Skenes’ history making season

23 strikeouts vs. Kansas State

Skenes’ season started against Western Michigan in LSU’s opening game of the season. He didn’t have to wait long for his first strikeout. Senior shortstop Jimmy Allen was the first player to fall victim to Skenes’ pitching prowess. Allen took a big swing at Skenes’ 86 MPH breaking ball on an 0-2 count, but came up with nothing.

Skenes would finish game one with 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER and 12 K. He also recorded a victory in LSU’s 10-0 season opener.

Skenes’ final appearance of the season would come in the most anticipated game of the season. LSU had beaten No. 1 Wake Forest the day before to set up a do or die game for both teams. Both teams used their ace, with Wake Forest throwing Rhett Lowder. The winner would move on to the CWS Finals. The loser would go home. Though he wasn’t given the win, Skenes had maybe his best and undeniably his most important game of the season. Skenes finished the game with 8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER and 9 K in LSU’s 2-0 win over Wake Forest. Skenes’ strikeout tally was now higher than any SEC pitcher’s ever was.

The record-breaking pitch came at the end of the top of the second inning. With his 24th pitch of the game, Skenes struck out Justin Johnson with an 88 MPH pitch. He finished the season with 209 strikeouts on 122.2 IP with a 1.69 ERA, a 12-2 record and a national championship.

Dynamic Duo: Similarities between the two national champs

BY TYLER HARDEN @ttjharden8

Two years ago, LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward made two hires that he and the rest of LSU knew were special. But little did anyone know how quickly it would be to see how special those hires would be.

In April, LSU women’s basketball won its first national championship in program history in just the second season under profound head coach, Kim Mulkey. About two and a half months later, Jay Johnson led LSU to a national title in his second season.

Not only did these coaches help their respective teams win national championships, but they allowed LSU fans to rally around their teams along the way.

For Mulkey, she accomplished what she said was the primary reason she took the job at LSU, which was to resurrect the women’s basketball program at the school. Many saw a NCAA Tournament appearance in her first season as a major step forward, but her second season called for much more.

Her 2022-23 team had some of the biggest names in women’s college basketball in Angel Reese, Alexis Morris and Flau’jae Johnson. While Mulkey’s first team at LSU had stars like Khayla Pointer and Jailin Cherry, the

momentum going into her next season called for a deeper postseason run.

Throughout the regular season, the team set multiple records for fan attendance for a single game at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and had arguably the largest following the program has ever had. This following continued into the postseason. In the national champi-

onship game against Iowa, the game broke a record for the most viewed women’s college basketball game ever with 9 million viewers on ESPN.

For Johnson, however, the path was more visible, but it was just about piecing everything together at the same times and the right times.

The LSU baseball team came into the regular season as the

No. 1 team in the country, and held that title for 11 weeks before falling below Wake Forest. While the team never fell out of the Top 10 this season, it hit bumps in the road and parts of the team started to break.

It was most evident during the SEC Tournament, when the Tigers dropped two straight games to Arkansas and Texas A&M after winning their tour-

nament opener against South Carolina. Much of this had to do with consistency in pitching and, besides Paul Skenes, many LSU fans struggled to have faith that the pitching can get them far enough in the NCAA Tournament.

But LSU started playing its best baseball in the NCAA Tour-

LSU’s College World Series win vs Florida avenged 2017 team

BY WILL NICKEL @WilNickel

As Florida recorded the last out of the 2017 College World Series, Chris Reid dropped to a crouch.

He watched as Beau Jordan ground out, watched as Florida formed a dog pile and watched as LSU’s season ended.

He walked back to the locker room, listened to Paul Maineri’s brief postgame talk and rode the bus back to the team hotel in silence.

That was the last time Reid would play in Omaha. But it wouldn’t be the last time baseball would bring him to Omaha.

Reid is one of several players from LSU baseball’s 2017 team that made their way to Omaha to see if 2023’s team could do what they couldn’t: beat Florida in the CWS and bring a national championship back to Baton Rouge.

“It’s still a dark cloud for many of the guys on that team,” Reid said. “Just knowing we were so close to bringing a national championship back to LSU and really cementing our legacy as one of the great squads in the lineage of LSU national championship history.”

Reid grew up a Baton Rouge native and fan of the Tigers. His father studied business at LSU and his grandfather earned his master’s and became a professor

at the school, according to his LSU baseball bio.

“My time at LSU, it was a dream come true,” Reid said. “The experience was everything I thought it was since I was a young kid.”

For Reid, the 2017 loss to Florida in the CWS was both a low point and a high point in his LSU playing career. Beating Oregon State, considered one of the best college baseball teams ever, in consecutive games after losing the first game against Oregon State will always be a fond memory.

LSU’s 2023 squad has done something similar. It beat Wake Forest, the top team in the country, twice in a row after dropping the first game against it.

However, making it to the championship is not the goal. Winning it is.

Just like in 2017, the 2023 Tigers had to go through the Gators to accomplish that goal. Reid said coming up short still hurts, no matter how special of an accomplishment making it to the finals is.

“Obviously there’s a sense of accomplishment because I think all athletes agree that it takes an incredible team and an incredible ability to play to even make it the College World Series and then the national championship,” Reid said.

Despite being proud of their

accomplishments in 2017, Reid said many of the players from that team still “felt burned” at coming up short so close to the prize.

The team was given runner’s up trophies for its accomplishments, but Reid couldn’t stand to look at it.

“Mine is still in a box somewhere,” Reid said. “I haven’t seen it since I got back to Baton Rouge from Omaha that year. Just because, it serves a reminder. We didn’t get the job done. I keep the memories from the actual game and things like that fresh in my mind, but I didn’t need that trophy staring me down throughout my life.”

LSU needed to bounce back from a blowout 24-4 loss against Florida in Game Two of the CWS Finals to secure a championship. The 2017 team had a similar experience against Oregon State. Before LSU beat it in two straight games to make the finals, it lost 13-1 to the Beavers.

Reid said while the initial reactions from the players after the 20-run loss were probably similar to those of most LSU fans, he knew the players would have short memories.

“It doesn’t last but maybe five minutes,” Reid said. “I think mentally the players are very, very knowledgeable about how they handle the situation. Completely

see DYNAMIC DUO, page 10 see AVENGED, page 10

GRAPHIC BY MADDIE FITZMORRIS

MITCHELL SCAGLIONE / The Reveille LSU senior infielder Chris Reid (17) celebrates during the Tigers’ 2-1 victory over Kentucky on March 16, 2019, in Alex Box Stadium.

DYNAMIC DUO, from page 9 nament, especially in Omaha for the College World Series. In Omaha, the Tigers’ pitching was at an all-time high. In 15.2 innings, Skenes struck out 21 and gave up two runs on seven hits.

While this was expected, what wasn’t expected was Ty Floyd pitching a 17-strikeout gem against Florida in Game One of the CWS Finals, Nate Ackenhausen impressing in his first start of the season and the bullpen coming through in crucial situations led by Riley Cooper, Thatcher Hurd and Gavin Guidry.

The parallels between these two teams extend beyond the trophies, the accolades and the recognition; getting to the top required a similar journey and dynamic. One of those dynamics was using the transfer portal to their advantage.

For both the women’s basketball team and the baseball team,

AVENGED, from page 9 forget about it. I think the boys will be ready to go. It’s a new day.”

Just like it’s a new day for the 2023 squad, it’s a new day for the 2017 squad. Before game three, Reid said that a win against Florida in 2023 would feel almost like

some of their best players came from the transfer portal.

Angel Reese was a top-ranked transfer in all of women’s basketball, LaDazhia Williams provided valuable experience after playing at South Carolina and Missouri and Jasmine Carson was one of the team’s best perimeter shooters after transferring from West Virginia.

Paul Skenes transferred to LSU a year ago from Air Force. He did so to be eligible for the MLB Draft, as at Air Force, service is required going into your third year. Thatcher Hurd transferred in from UCLA to provide more pitching depth, and Tommy White made himself into one of LSU’s most powerful hitters after transferring from NC State.

While LSU has received criticism for using the transfer portal in many situations, many teams resort to the portal for additions they couldn’t find otherwise. In these cases, LSU felt it was best to resort to the portal not only

a win in 2017.

“We’re kind of living vicariously though this 2023 team,” Reid said. “A win for them would feel exactly like we’re winning the national championship right there with them and will make up for all that heartbreak. I’ve had a few guys even talk about probably crying tears of joy. It’s defi-

for talent, but for experience. And it obviously served them well.

But both teams didn’t rely solely on the portal, as they both had leaders that had been on the team already. And these players served as valuable leaders.

Alexis Morris was the heart and soul of the women’s basketball team. With her past, her story and her vibrant personality, Morris was a big reason why many fans loved watching the team.

For the baseball team, Dylan Crews, Tre’ Morgan, Cade Beloso and Gavin Dugas gave the team the leadership and experience they needed. It’s easy to come into a program wanting to win a national championship, but having been there for the times before gives players that much motivation.

The LSU women’s basketball and baseball teams both had seasons that will definitely go down in history. From the play-

nitely a different feeling being a fan, but it’s going to be just like we went back in time to 2017.”

Reid was confident LSU could get the job done against Florida this time around. He said if he could have told them anything going into the final game, it’d be to not let the moment get to them.

“You can’t be nervous,” Reid

ers and the coaches to the records and the passionate fans, they were two teams that many people outside LSU will recognize the school for.

But the winning might not

said. “You can’t let that overtake you and affect your ability because the players are just too good. So go out there, have fun and relax.”

This time around, things were different for LSU and Reid.

He watched as Gavin Guidry struck out the final Florida batter, watched as LSU formed a dog-

stop there at LSU. Because there’s one other coach entering his second season at LSU: Brian Kelly. And if the trend stays true, the football team could see some accolades coming its way, too.

pile and watched as LSU’s season ended.

He walked down onto the filed, wiped tears from his eyes and hugged his former teammate Cade Beloso.

As they embraced, Beloso said exactly what Reid was thinking: “We finally did it. We finally did it. We got number seven.”

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille LSU women’s basketball head coach Kim Mulkey lifts their tropy into the air.

N ATIONAL CHAMP S

Photos by Matthew Perschall, Francis Dinh, Morgan Cook, Erin Barker and Reagan Cotten

Head coach Jay Johnson celebrates on June 11 after LSU’s 8-3 win against Kentucky.

Cade Beloso (24) celebrates on June 11 after scoring multiple runs against Kentucky.

Dylan Crews (3) connects with the ball on June 4 against Oregon State.

Head coach Jay Johnson watches the team warmup.

LSU baseball players huddle up around head coach Jay Johnson May 13.

Tommy White (47) celebrates a run to second base from bat on May 13.

Ty Floyd (9) celebrates a successful inning with his teammates on May 13.

Tre’ Morgan (18) prepares to receive the ball on Feb. 18.

The LSU baseball team celebrates on the field June 11.

Gavin Dugas (8) celebrates on Feb. 18.

Paul Skenes (20) pitches the ball on April 28.

Hayden Travinski (25) celebrates a home run May 13.

Cade Beloso (24) celebrates a home run with teammates on June 5.

Column: Where will LSU players land in the 2023 MLB draft?

BY SAM SEDILO @samsedilo

After coming out on top in Omaha, all eyes are on the Tigers and where they will land in the 2023 MLB Draft on July 17.

The team went 54-17 overall and 19-10 in the SEC. Ranked fifth going into the Men’s College World Series, it would eventually find glory, beating Florida 18-4 in the final game in a best-of-three, avenging LSU’s loss in 2017 to Florida in the finals.

With a stacked lineup that dominated in the regular season and in the postseason, there are definitely going to be some familiar names being called up.

Here are some predictions for where some of LSU baseball will be drafted.

There is no doubt that Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews are at the top of the draft class, but I think Paul Skenes will get picked first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

While both Skenes and Crews had spectacular seasons, Crews

has shown very little interest in being drafted by the Pirates. If he ultimately chooses to continue college baseball, the value he can go for could potentially go down as he wants face value pay, while the Pirates can not afford to mess up their first pick.

Looking for a turn around in the club, the Pirates can add depth in its pitching rotation with the addition of Skenes. His fastball reached high 90s, while working a mid 80s slider that made for an impressive chase rate.

Skenes posted his best season transferring to LSU from Air Force with a 13-2 record, 1.69 ERA, starting 19 games and posting two complete games. The Pirates can have a star building in their farm clubs and ultimately gaining a first or second rotation starter with the addition of Skenes.

Crews will most likely be drafted second to the Washington Nationals. There’s no doubt that Crews was the best player in all of college baseball this sea-

son. Playing all 71 games both regular season and postseason combined a .426/.567/.713 batting line. He also won the Golden Spikes Award and won SEC player of the year for the second year in a row.

Crews can give Nationals fans déjà vu posting similar style, speed and hitting power as former National Bryce Harper, the Nationals have the chance to add another star outfielder to their roster.

Tommy White was a continuing factor for power hitting in the lineup this year alongside Crews, coveting the nickname Tommy ‘Tanks’ White.

The NC State transfer who already had great power hitting ended up having an even better season at the plate batting .374/.432/.725. White’s power played big, batting 105 RBI’s compared to his 74 RBI’s at NC State.

White and Crews are the best hitting duo in college baseball, becoming the first teammates in SEC history with 100 runs and

100 RBI in a season. While White can make a statement in the big leagues, he still has time being only a sophomore and has one more year of eligibility.

Ty Floyd set an impressive stat line for himself this season. Floyd finished with a 7-0 record out of 19 games started. The righthander threw a record-tying 17 strikeouts through eight innings in game one of the Men’s College World Series finals.

Talks that the Chicago Cubs are interested in his ability could land him in a second or third round pick and for good reason. His arm velocity explodes with power as his fastball reaches lowto-mid 90s. Floyd has worked to sustain reliable off-speed pitches like a low 80s slider. His clean low 80s changeup and low 70s curveball can make him dangerous.

Tre’ Morgan could find himself drafted in the second or third round of this year’s draft. Morgan batted .316/.418/.502. While it might have not been his best season at LSU, he continues to flash

some impressive glove work at first base making tight plays look easy.

Morgan covers a lot of ground around first base making slick plays. His plays at first make him a signature tool within LSU’s success this season.

Morgan can easily be a Golden Glove contender for future teams, but working on his swing power can make him lethal in the lineup of any team.

Jordan Thompson is also on the radar for being drafted in the second round. The shortstop doubled his runs batted in count this season with a career high 53 RBI. Though he had a shaky game in the second game of the MCWS finals, he came clutch in game three for the Tigers to claim the championship.

Thompson could possibly be drafted in the third round of the draft, most projections saying the Baltimore Orioles have their eyes on him. He can make an impact in the Orioles farm system that is already ranked as the best in the league.

LSU fans are one of a kind, loyal to their teams like no other

MADDEN’S MADNESS

About 954 miles separate Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge and Charles Schwab Field in Omaha. That is a 14-hour drive, or a fivehour flight. It is a distance many Tigers fans had to “geaux” to watch the College World Series in-person.

If you were not bleeding purple and gold in Omaha, you were likely one of the 3.586 million viewers that helped make it the most watched game in history.

According to ESPN, Monday’s championship-deciding game was the most-watched College World Series game ever.

Fans also shattered the CWS Jell-O Shot Challenge, purchasing 68,888 Jell-O shots at $5 a piece. LSU fans spent nearly $344,440 on jiggly alcohol. The grand total spent on non-jiggly alcohol likely exceeds this.

But this information should not come as a surprise, LSU fans are one of a kind. The good kind.

Whether it’s baseball, basketball or football, LSU fans will be

EDITORIAL BOARD

Will Nickel Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor Jayden Nguyen

John Buzbee News Editor

Lauren Madden

there cheering on the team. The amount of energy and loyalty that is seen in the fans during football season continues into the other sports programs the school has. Winners or losers, LSU fans remain.

Maybe our fanbase is different from the others because it does not start with a rivalry within the state first. We have one SEC team. We do not have to choose to root for Auburn or Alabama if we live in Alabama. Ole Miss or Mississippi State if we live in Mississippi.

Louisiana has LSU. Rooting for LSU is one of the few times people unite and agree on one thing. Religion, politics and other worldly views are forgotten because in these moments the only thing we pay attention to is the score of the game.

A loss for the team impacts the fanbase just as much as it does the players. When the team wins, the fans win too, and being from Louisiana, we know how to celebrate.

The brutal 24-4 loss in the second game of the series should have shattered any hope of victory, yet LSU fans still showed up believing in their team.

Hundreds of fans welcomed the baseball team home as they cheered outside of Alex Box Stadium upon the teams return. Many more continued the celebration the next day.

When the women’s basketball team won its national championship earlier this year, LSU hosted a parade on campus that was followed by a celebratory event inside the PMAC.

The same celebratory style was seen in 2019, when the football team won the national championship.

In every national championship LSU has played, there were millions of fans watching and hundreds to thousands of fans traveling to cheer on the team inperson.

Even when the LSU teams are doubted by others and deemed the underdog, the fanbase unshakeably believes in what the other fanbases do not. They believe in victory despite how challenging it may seem.

Everyone thinks their own fanbase is the best, meaning the “best” fanbase can never accurately be measured. We all have different definitions for what is best.

The loyalty of LSU fans, however, has been proven time and time again. It is what makes us one of a kind.

There is only one thing that could make this fanbase better

than it already is...

Let the band play “Neck.”

Editorial Policies and Procedures Quote of the Week

Opinion Columnist

The Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Reveille is an independent entity of the Office of Student Media within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, The Reveille or the university. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to editor@lsu.edu or delivered to B-39 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must provide a contact phone number for verification purposes, which will not be printed. The Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration while preserving the original intent. The Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Reveille’s editor in chief, hired every semester by the LSU Student Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

“There are three things you can do in a baseball game. You can win, or you can lose, or it can rain.”

Casey Stengel

Lauren Madden is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville.

REAGAN COTTEN / The Reveille

An LSU women’s basketball fan holds up a sign reading “SLAY” on March 31 during LSU’s 79-72 victory over Virginia Tech in the NCAA Final Four in the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.