The motto for Stony Brook baseball during this postseason has been “shock the world.” Mission accomplished. Exploiting a putrid LSU offense using three starting pitchers – who surrendered nine hits over 25 innings – Stony Brook rolled through the Baton Rouge super regional to reach the College World Series for the first time in program history with a 7-2 win Sunday. “I am a little overwhelmed because I think I do know the magnitude of this,” said Stony Brook coach Matt Senk. “It’s just an overwhelming feeling.” Seawolves reliever Frankie Vanderka threw a complete game three-hitter, while Travis Jankowski and William Carmona continued their abuse of LSU pitching with a combined seven hits to ensure Sunday night’s victory. Junior Mason Katz showed the only sign of offensive life for LSU with a towering solo home run in the bottom of the first to even the score at one and rile up the Tiger faithful. The crowd would fall silent for the remainder of the evening as sophomore starter Ryan Eades was chased after only 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. Vanderka continued to befuddle Tiger hitters, striking out junior Alex Edward to end the game, sending the Seawolves into a dogpile behind the pitcher’s mound as stunned Tiger fans looked on. “The suddenness is just awful,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “I am sure that in time we will look back on the season and dwell on the positives.” The Southeastern Conference champion Tigers (47-18) only mustered six hits in the final two games and never led a full inning through all three games as the Seawolves dominated to continue their Cinderella run. Mainieri said he had every expectation of getting his team back to Omaha, but his team was simply outplayed. “They came down here and played great baseball, and they deserved to win this super regional,” Mainieri said. “It’s hard for me to find weaknesses in their team.” The Seawolves wasted no time asserting themselves in Baton Rouge, flying out to a 2-0 lead in Friday’s first game, and bringing a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning. A steady dose of “Alex Box magic” resurrected LSU’s anemic offense as sophomore outfielder JaCoby Jones launched a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at two. After Stony Brook reclaimed the lead in the tenth, freshman infielder Tyler Moore, down to his final strike, sent another tying solo shot to right field, sending Tiger fans into a frenzy. Stony Brook answered once again in the eleventh to take a 5-4 lead. Then, Katz cranked an improbable third solo home run into the left field bleachers to tie the score at five, again shocking the Seawolf faithful. Torrential downpours forced the game to be resumed at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday. After sophomore ace Kevin Gausman sat the Seawolves down in order, Katz singled home Moore in the bottom of the twelfth to put LSU in the driver’s seat with a 5-4 win. Gausman would return for game two less than an hour later, but would be trumped by Seawolves ace Tyler Johnson, who scattered only three hits and one run in a complete-game performance to spur a 3-1 Seawolves victory to even the series. Stony Brook is only the second No. 4 regional seed to advance to the College World Series, and the first team to beat LSU in a super regional at home since the current playoff format was adopted in 1999. LSU is now 5-1 in super regional series at home and 5-4 overall. The loss also ends the career of five Tiger seniors – Austin Nola, Tyler Hanover, Beau Didier, Grant Dozar and Jordy Snikeris. “We left everything out on the field, and we have no regrets about the year,” Nola said. “I enjoyed every bit of it.” 
 
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