Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn summed up his team's 14-5 loss to LSU. Said Van Horn, "they have baseball players, they have football players, (media laughs) and they probably have basketball players, too."
Baseball is a game of hitting, pitching, and fielding, but in Omaha the Tigers have used athleticism to dominate opponents.
In eliminating Arkansas, the Tigers did it all. Blake Dean stroked a home run to right, Jared Mitchell homered to the opposite field (left). Austin Nola played shortstop like a major leaguer. And, Ryan Schmipf blasted a home run 20 rows into the seats down the right field line. Meantime, starter Ryan Schmipf was mowing down the Hogs, throwing six scoreless innings.
LSU hitting its stride at the plate is very bad news for either Texas or Arizona State. The Tigers have the best and deepest pitching staff in college baseball, and now they have a hot offensive club, too.
If Texas or Arizona State can beat LSU twice next week, they will have earned their national championship. LSU is that good.
Ed Daniels
Omaha, NE