It was a scene several Tigers dreamt about as they watched the College World Series from home as children.
Player after player runs into a stacking dogpile as a squad celebrates a national title amid the crowd at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
“It’s real right now,” said freshman outfielder Andrew Stevenson. “As a kid growing up and watching the College World Series, you tell yourself that’s where you want to go. You want to be there. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but I think it will when we pull up and see [TD Ameritrade Park].”
The 2013 LSU baseball team proved to be a force throughout the regular season, setting a program record in Southeastern Conference victories and winning 48 games prior to the start of the SEC Tournament on May 22.
The squad recently had a few days to breathe after defeating the likes of Jackson State, Sam Houston State and University of Louisiana-Lafayette in the Regional round and downing Oklahoma in the Super Regional.
Following their victory Saturday, the LSU players began the celebrations.
“The music was as loud as it could be, and everyone was celebrating and having a good time,” said freshman shortstop Alex Bregman. “We know that it’s a great accomplishment that we’re going, but we also know there’s a long way to go.”
Junior designated hitter Sean McMullen had a different interpretation of the team’s postgame reaction.
“The locker room was just the same as every series almost,” he said. “It’s not like we were throwing stuff around. It was really pretty normal, almost as though it didn’t sink in for any of us.”
That being said, McMullen noted that the idea of going to Omaha hasn’t hit him just yet.
“I don’t think it will sink in until I start packing my bags,” McMullen said. “I was thinking about it today and was like, ‘Wow, I’m actually going to Omaha.’”
Senior Mason Katz humbled, but not yet satisfied.
The Omaha-bound LSU baseball squad may have already formed its dogpile, but by no means is it ready to call the 2013 campaign a success.
When the Tigers travel to Omaha for the annual College World Series, there’s only one goal in mind: win or bust, at least according to senior infielder Mason Katz.
“Our goal was not just to get to Omaha and just hold that as our accomplishment,” Katz said. “We want to win the whole thing. Our goal was to go to Omaha and win a National Championship, and that will not change.”
The stage has now been set at TD Ameritrade Park, as LSU takes on UCLA in its first contest Saturday. The attention of the Tigers shifted to the coming weekend immediately following their on-field jubilation.
“We were very happy, but the first thing we said after we got up from the dogpile was ‘We’re not done,’” Katz said. “That was the first mindset of everybody. It’s an accomplishment, but it’s not the accomplishment.”
McMullen’s injury not a cause for concern
Junior leadoff hitter Sean McMullen has been nursing a hamstring injury since he strained it on June 1 against Sam Houston State, but he’s confident that he’ll be fine for Omaha.
“It’s feeling a lot better than it did this weekend,” he said. “I’m extremely excited about how I think it’s going to feel for Omaha.”
McMullen has batted .317 with two home runs and 30 RBIs in 2013.
“The healing process is coming along very well, and I’m getting all the best treatment for it,” he said.
