The LSU baseball team was competing for four players that returned for one more season to win it all.
But with their backs against the wall, they fell short.
Florida captured its first national championship in school history with a 6-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 2 of the College World Series finals.
“Even though we came up a little bit short,” coach Paul Mainieri said, “two victories short, I think we did a lot of things this year to make the people in our community proud and our state proud.”
LSU was 3-0 in elimination games previously in the NCAA tournament, keeping the Tiger’s hopes alive of a College World Series title.
Freshman pitcher Tyler Dyson (4-0) earned the win for the Gators in his second career start.
Florida opened up the bottom of the first inning with an error on junior first baseman Nick Coomes and two singles that resulted in an early 1-0 lead for the Gators.
Coomes had been in and out of the lineup since the beginning of the NCAA tournament, but hadn’t played since the first game against Oregon State that the Tigers eventually lost 13-1.
With two runners on base and no outs, junior outfielder Greg Deichmann channelled his inner Odell Beckham Jr. reaching backwards in the air to make a catch that could have potentially saved the game and minimized a lot of damage.
However, errors continued to cost the Tigers.
Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second after a throwing error on Coomes.
Freshman third baseman Josh Smith picked up an error of his own, and Poche worked the batters on his end forcing Florida’s JJ Shwarz to ground out for the third out.
Before the bottom of the third inning began, Mainieri pulled Coomes and sent freshman first baseman Jake Slaughter in the game.
Two back-to-back singles from the Gators put Poche in a jam and he intentionally walked Rivera, a 7-hole hitter batting .238.
Luckily, Poché’s strategy worked out as he ended the inning on the strikeout and a pop up leaving three Gators stranded.
A “Vintage Poché” performance.
Poché meant business for the fourth and fifth innings retiring all six batters, making it eight straight before a single in the sixth would break up the steak.
With two outs and one runner on base in the bottom of the sixth inning, freshman pitcher Zack Hess came on in relief.
LSU’s winningest pitcher walked off the mound. But before he could make it to the dugout, he stopped and looked around at a crowd of 26, 607.
Four years and 39 wins later, Poché has solidified his legacy for LSU baseball.
Poché pitched for 5.2 innings with three strikeouts on 98 pitches in his final game as an LSU Tiger.
“As a pitcher,” Poché said, “The only thing you can control is once you let go of the baseball, you can’t control anything that happens after that. So, you know, I just stuck with that. And guys have been making plays for me all year, my entire career.”
Something sparked the Tigers in the top of the seventh when an RBI single from Smith pulled the Tigers within one run. Watson stole second base uncontested before Smith’s at-bat, which ended up costing the Gators.
Things looked bright for LSU, but it ended quickly.
With no outs, Slaughter singled through the left side advancing Smith to third base. Junior catcher Michael Papierski had runners on the corners and the Tiger’s needed something big.
Typically in moments like that, Papierski delivers.
Slaughter was called with an interference on the play which automatically ruled him out, resulting in a double play and forcing Smith go back to third base.“From my vantage point,” Mainieri said, “when the play happened, I didn’t think there was anything wrong. It was a slow-developing double play and there was some contact there.”
The scenario LSU was hoping for was two outs on Slaughter and Papierski, but a run for Smith to tie the game.
Junior designated hitter Beau Jordan ended the inning on a line out, to put a hold on LSU’s chance to make a comeback.
Senior shortstop Kramer Robertson stepped up to the plate for the fourth time in the game in the top of the eighth inning.
He was sent back to the dugout in his previous three at bats, but this one changed that.
Robertson singled to right field, giving the Tigers much needed momentum from their leadoff hitter.
He advanced to second on a wild pitch and senior second baseman Cole Freeman singled to put runners on the corners.
It was deja vu with runners on the corners with no outs.
But just when the Tigers were about to catch up to the Gators, they were stopped short.
Robertson was unable to beat the throw to home plate while Deichmann’s hit allowed him to reach first base.
Once again, the Tiger’s fell short.
Things escalated quickly for Florida in the bottom of the eighth inning, as, in the blink of an eye, the Gators pulled away with a 6-1 lead.
“Things got out of hand there in the bottom of the eighth inning,” Mainieri said. “And the score is not indicative of the kind of game that it was, I don’t think, at all. I think the two teams were very evenly matched.”
It started with a double down the left field line from Florida’s Jonathan India, and the team never looked back.
Their first national championship in school history was closer than ever.
While the “Fab Four” weren’t able to capture the College World Series title, Robertson and his teammates can only look back and be proud of what they accomplished during their years in an LSU uniform.
“I’m at peace with my career,” Robertson said. “I gave everything I had to this university and to this team. It’s tough to think it’s over. But like I said, I’m at peace with everything. I gave everything I had. Poché gave everything he had, and we just didn’t win the national championship. We got second place, but it was a special group of guys in there, and we made relationships that will last forever.”

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Haskell Whittington III

LSU senior infielder Cole Freeman (8) puts his hands on his knees after being called out during the Tigers' 6-1 loss against Florida on Tuesday June 27, 2017, at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska.