LSU Reaches World Series Finals By Hog Tying Arkansas Again With 3-Run Rally In 9th For 6-5 Win

GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

OMAHA, Nebraska – In Cajun Latin, Omaha must mean Magic.

And the Arkansas curse continues.

LSU blew a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth and fell behind by 5-3 in the top of the ninth.

But you know what happened next.

The Tigers scored three runs after two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win it, 6-5, and advance to the championship round at the College World Series in front of 25,740 Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Field.

And yes, it happened with another walk-off – not quite Warren Morris’ in 1996, but you’ll remember this one, too.

First, Luis Hernandez – batting with runners on first and second and two outs – drove a screaming and sinking line drive to left field that Charles Davalan was about to dive for. But he slipped at the last second. Imagine that? And the ball bounced off his shoulder to the left field corner, allowing both runs to score for a 5-5 tie as Hernandez got to second with a double.

“Whenever he didn’t grab it, I started running,” Hernandez said.

LSU is flying high in Omaha … with a layover until Monday or Tuesday.https://t.co/1nekuovyKw

— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) June 19, 2025

Then Jared Jones delivered the walk-off single just off second baseman Cam Kozeal’s glove. Imagine that? And it was over. The Tigers rushed to center field to celebrate, tackling Jones.

“I thought he had caught it, honestly, ” Jones said. “But once I saw the ball hit the grass, I just blacked out in the moment, just celebrating with my teammates. Super grateful.”

LSU (51-15) will play Coastal Carolina (56-11) at 6 p.m. Saturday in the first game of a best-of-three championship series. Coastal Carolina eliminated Louisville, 11-3, Wednesday afternoon with its 26th straight win.

Arkansas ends its season at 50-15 and 1-4 against LSU – 1-2 in the regular season with a one-run loss and 0-2 at this World Series with another one-run loss when it was an out away. And Arkansas and coach Dave Van Horn were a caught pop up away from winning their only national title in 2018.

“What a game,” an emotionally drained LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “That was like ESPN Classic. Is that still on. They should play that game on a loop for a week.”

LSU’s HISTORY OF WALK-OFF HITS IN OMAHA

Put it next to these five in LSU Legend as the Tigers just won their sixth College World Series game with a walk-off hit:

… 2023 – Tommy White hits a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th to beat No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest, 2-0, and put the Tigers in the national championship series against Florida, which LSU won two games to one for its seventh national title.

… 2008 – Blake Dean hits a walk-off, three-run RBI double in the ninth to beat Rice, 6-5, in an elimination game to snap a five-game Omaha losing streak and set up the 2009 national crown.

… 2000 – Brad Cresse’s walk-off RBI single in the ninth scores Ryan Theriot from second base for a 6-5 win over Stanford for coach Skip Bertman’s final national championship and fifth in 10 years a year before he retires.

… 1996 – Warren Morris’ two-out, two-run home run in the ninth beats Miami, 9-8, in one of the greatest moments in all of sports history.

… 1993 – Todd Walker’s walk-off RBI single gives the Tigers a 6-5 win over Long Beach State in an elimination game to put LSU in the national championship game, where it beats Wichita State, 8-0, for Bertman’s second national title.

And there could be more this weekend.

Jones made up for a critical, two-run error in the top of the eighth inning that had allowed Arkansas to take a 3-2 lead by slamming a two-out, solo home run 400 feet to right-center tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth. It was his 22nd home run of the season and second in two games as he hit a three-run shot Monday in the win over UCLA that ended on Tuesday.

LSU and reliever Chase Shores were about about to get out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth with a 2-1 lead on a 5-4-3 double play on Ryder Helfrick’s grounder to third. But Jones dropped the second part of the would-be twin killing at first base for an error. That allowed Davalan to score from third on the play, and Wehiwa Aloy came around from second on the error to score the second run for a 3-2 lead.

Arkansas then apparently put the game away in the top of the ninth with two runs for a 5-3 lead. After one out, Reese Robinett singled and Brent Iredale doubled to put runners on second and third and chase Shores. Jacob Mayers came on and gave up a two-run single to Justin Thomas Jr.

LSU took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Ethan Frey doubled and scored on Jake Brown’s two-out, two-run, pinch-hit single.

Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on the 15th home run of the season from Helfrick and the only run of the game off LSU starter Zac Cowan, who went five and a third innings. He allowed four hits with zero walks and six strikeouts through 84 pitches with 54 strikeouts. Shores relieved Cowan in the sixth.

“I said this literally probably two years ago,” Johnson said. “On the walk-off homer by Tommy White against Wake Forest, I felt something in my body I’ve never felt before. Greatest moment in my life. It now has been tied for first with Jared Jones’ line drive over the second baseman’s head. And Luis Hernandez hustling around second base. I didn’t know you could run like that.”

It’s LSU’s Omaha Magic.

“I would coach this team forever,” Johnson said.

That would take some more magic.