OMAHA, Neb. — Junior pitcher Alex Lange missed out on one more opportunity to pitch in the purple and gold.
Lange was scheduled to pitch in Game 3 of the College World Series, but that was thrown to the wayside as Florida captured the national championship.
The first round pick was not available until Wednesday after pitching a gem against Oregon State on Friday. Lange went 7⅓ innings, and only gave up two hits and one run with eight strikeouts.
“I just really wanted an opportunity to go out there and pitch,” Lange said. “It just wasn’t in the cards this time. We knew we needed a Game 3 for me to pitch, and we weren’t able to do that.”
The outing against Oregon State will most likely be his last as a Tiger. He finished his career with three appearances on the mound in the College World Series, two of which were wins.
“It’s tough knowing that my college career might be over,” Lange said. “That’s the most difficult part, knowing that everything this university has given to me. I hurt for the guys in this locker room because it is not just me who put the time in. It’s extremely difficult to see.”
Lange will go down as one of the best pitchers in LSU history with the body of work he has put together over the past three seasons.
He finished his career with 30 wins and a sub-three ERA. He also is second all-time on the Tigers career strikeout list with 406, which is three shy of Scott Schultz’s record of 409.
This season Lange battled through adversity with the rest of the team, and said it is one he will remember forever.
“These guys in this locker room, how close we have gotten, the adversity we were put through, and what people said we couldn’t do. Coming out of here with five championships is pretty special.”
But for Lange, the final game and the way the season ended will leave a bitter taste in his mouth.
“It’s definitely difficult whenever you don’t win the last game of the season,” Lange said. “You’re going to have that taste, and it just sucks. You put all the hours in and spend so much time with the guys, and it all gets taken out in a moment.”
The taste in his mouth may get a little worse when he hears how much Florida and their coaching staff feared Lange. The reputation he has developed over the past three years was certainly not lost on Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan put all his chips on the table in Game 2 when he brought sophomore pitcher Jackson Kovar, who was set to be the Gator’s starter in Game 3, for relief.
“The biggest factor is I didn’t want to see Alex Lange tomorrow, to be honest with you,” O’Sullivan said. “That was the situation that was not going to probably work in our favor to be honest with you. He’s very competitive.”
Coach Paul Mainieri obviously felt a little bit different about seeing Lange in a potential Game 3 on Wednesday.
“I would have loved to see him pitch,” Mainieri said. “We knew we needed to win one of the first two games and we didn’t do that. So now Lange will go off, and start his professional career as well.”
