College Sports
live
Updated 4m ago
The LSU Tigers won Game 1 of the College World Series behind a dominant performance from pitcher Kade Anderson. Will they claim the title today, or will the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers force Game 3?
Join us for live coverage of Game 2 of the best-of-three series, with the first pitch set for 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
LSU's Kade Anderson wasn't the only dominant pitcher on the mound Saturday. Coastal Carolina's Cameron Flukey was strong as well. He allowed one run and struck out nine in six innings.
💬 "I think everything was going well," Flukey said. "To go through a lineup, you've got to have everything. Everything was working, trusting what Coach (Matt) Williams was calling and just pounding the strike zone."
Advertisement
Saturday was likely Kade Anderson's final appearance for LSU. So what will his impact be on the Tigers' program?
💬 "He's the best pitcher in college baseball," LSU coach Jay Johnson said. "I mean, we had the best pitcher on the planet two years ago in a similar situation. I felt like Kade's had a very similar season to that. And that's how you get here. I'm really proud of him. And I think the commonality between the two is the person, the character, the toughness, the team-first attitude.
"And you're probably right. I mean, his next pitch should be for someplace in the Washington Nationals organization. It's not close. And they usually draft really well. And he's the best player in the country. There's nobody closer to the major leagues than that right now."
Kade Anderson struck out 10 in a complete-game shutout for LSU on Saturday. How many nights has he dreamed of that kind of performance?
💬 "Probably every night," Anderson said. "And really just putting my team in the situation to win. I mean, we got a loaded bullpen now. That necessarily wasn't to end the College World Series. We've got one more that we're preparing for. We'll go back to the hotel and start preparing for that one as well."
Steven Milam went 2-for-3 and drove in the only run in Game 1. What was working for him against Coastal Carolina starting pitcher Cameron Flukey?
💬 "He made a couple of mistakes to me in my at-bats. First at-bat, he got three heaters, and I was to get one down and put a swing at it," Milam said. "Second at-bat, he hung three spinners, and I was able to put another good swing on it.
"He walked me the last at-bat. I just saw him well. Just stuck to my plan and was able to execute it."
Coastal Carolina won 26 games in a row before losing to LSU on Saturday. Will the Chanticleers be able to bounce back from that loss?
Coach Kevin Schnall didn't seem worried.
💬 "I don't think so," Schnall said when he was asked if he was concerned. "We won 26 in a row. We're in a good space. We're in a good place. We lost to a really good team today to a really good pitcher. You've just got to tip your hat to a guy that made some, executed some big pitches.
"But ultimately, I thought we played very well. We had runners on. We just weren't able to get that big hit with runners in scoring position. Like I said, we were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position tonight."
The heat may have been a factor in Game 1, but it didn't bother LSU starting pitcher Kade Anderson.
💬 "I think that's the real benefit in playing in Louisiana," Anderson said. "Growing up there, this was honestly not nearly as bad as it was in the Super Regional. And it wasn't even comparable, honestly. And just like Coach (Jay) Johnson does, he prepares you for every element. Preparation is a key to our success, and it really showed today."
Advertisement
Steven Milam was the offensive star of Game 1. He was the only player to have multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, reaching base three times.
He also drove in the game's only run with a single in the first inning.
Coastal Carolina had won 26 straight games before its 1-0 loss to LSU on Saturday. The last loss before the streak began came on April 22 against College of Charleston (4-2).
Coastal Carolina has been shut out four times this season after Game 1. The Chanticleers were shut out during the regular season by East Carolina, Texas State and Arkansas State.
The two teams combined to leave 15 runners on base in Game 1, eight for Coastal Carolina and seven for LSU.
The two teams combined for nine hits in Game 1, six from LSU and three from Coastal Carolina.
They were 9-for-58 combined (a .155 average).
Advertisement
Coastal must bounce back quickly from its first loss since April 22. The Chants have the pitching to get it done and will send out Jacob Morrison, their usual Friday night starter, this afternoon. Master of the obvious here, but the Chants must get back to what got them to this point — converting with runners in scoring position. Coastal was 0-for-9 in those situations in Game 1 and failed to take advantage of a great opportunity in the top of the third when it had runners on first and second and no outs.
That Game 1 win for LSU was its first ever in the NCAA postseason by a score of 1-0. Also, it was the first 1-0 game at the College World Series since NC State beat Vanderbilt (and pitcher Jack Leiter) in 2021.
LSU moved within one victory of its eighth national championship in baseball with a 1-0 victory against Coastal Carolina on Saturday night.
Ace pitcher Kade Anderson, No. 3 in Keith Law’s latest MLB mock draft, bettered his previous gem at this College World Series with a complete-game masterpiece on the mound before a purple- and yellow-clad overflow crowd in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series.
The 6-foot-2 lefty allowed three hits and struck out 10, throwing 130 pitches. He won his 12th game in 13 decisions this year as a draft-eligible sophomore and snapped the Chanticleers’ school-record 26-game winning streak.
GO FURTHER
LSU takes College World Series Game 1 vs. Coastal Carolina behind ace Kade Anderson’s pitching
The LSU Tigers have one of the most successful collegiate baseball programs in the country. This is LSU's 20th appearance in the College World Series.
The Tigers have seven College World Series championships. Their last was in 2023, when current Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was named the Most Outstanding Player. LSU also finished as the runner-up in 2017.
Coastal Carolina has an accomplished history in college baseball. Led by former coach Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina had 19 NCAA Regional appearances and three Super Regional berths. Five times, the Chanticleers have won 50-plus games.
This year is Coastal Carolina’s 21st NCAA Tournament appearance. It has one College World Series championship in 2016 when it beat Arizona in three games.
Advertisement
A reminder — we’d love to hear from you before we get into the action later today.
You can get in touch with us by emailing live@theathletic.com.
How the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers got to Game 2 of the championship series:
Regional
Super Regional
CWS
CWS title series
How the LSU Tigers got to Game 2 of the championship series:
Regional
Super Regional
CWS
CWS title series
