OMAHA, Neb. — Tommy White broke an extra inning scoreless battle with a two-run walk off homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Tigers a 2-0 win over Wake Forest, sending them into the championship round against Florida starting this weekend.
“I’m at a loss for words,” White told ESPN after the game as Tiger faithful celebrated.
“That is one of the greatest moments in my entire life, what happened on the field tonight,” LSU's second-year coach Jay Johnson said after his team's 2-0, 11-inning victory over No. 1 national seed Wake Forest clinched a spot in the CWS finals.
Paul Skenes and Thatcher Hurd kept the Wake Forest batters silent over 11 innings, yielding only three hits and striking out 10 combined. Skenes again threw 120 pitches, this time over eight innings and Wake Forest only had one real threat when a runner got to third in the eighth with only one out but a key defensive play by Tre Morgan on an attempted squeeze bunt, got the runner at the plate.
“He showed everyone in the country he’s the most athletic first baseman out there. I saw him lay the bunt down, and Tre' came flying in to make the play and pick me up,” said Skenes, who got out of the inning when left fielder Josh Pearson, playing shallow, caught Tommy Hawke's liner.
Having to win twice against Wake Forest on Wednesday and Thursday, the Tigers responded. The Demon Deacons took a 2-0 lead over LSU Wednesday night in the second inning of the first game and then the Tigers didn't allow a run to Wake for 18 straight innings.