Left-hander Kade Anderson delivered the second complete-game shutout in LSU’s College World Series history Saturday night, pitching the Tigers to a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the CWS Finals.
LSU, which won its seventh straight game, improved to 52-15 on the year, and is one win away from claiming the eighth national championship in school history.
The victory marked the first time LSU won a postseason game – in the SEC or NCAA Tournaments – by a score of 1-0.
Coastal Carolina dropped to 56-12, as the Chanticleers saw their nearly two-month-long winning streak end at 26 games.
The teams will meet in Game 2 of the series at 1:30 p.m. CT Sunday in a contest that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised by ABC.
If LSU wins Sunday’s game, the Tigers claim the College World Series title for the eighth time. If Coastal Carolina wins Sunday’s game, the teams meet again at 6:30 p.m. CT Monday to determine the national champion.
Anderson (12-1) fired his second complete-game shutout of the season, as he also accomplished the feat at Oklahoma on April 4. He limited Coastal Carolina to just three hits while recording five walks and 10 strikeouts over 130 pitches.
“I was just really focusing on the next pitch throughout the night,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t pretty, but got the job done. Just putting the team in a situation to win was my goal. Sometimes with the staff we have, all you need is one run. And Coach (Jay) Johnson prepares us to be one-run ready.”
Anderson’s outing marked the second complete-game shutout by an LSU pitcher in College World Series history, as right-hander Brett Laxton blanked Wichita State, 8-0, in the 1993 National Championship Game.
“A great performance tonight by our team, especially Kade,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “A special performance. Not taking it for granted; that’s what we’ve seen all year. He’s the best pitcher in the country, and he showed it again tonight.
“That’s been on the regular, every Game 1 of the entire season. So I’m glad he did that tonight, so everybody got to see what we’ve seen and known for an entire season.”
Coastal Carolina starting pitcher Cameron Flukey (8-2) was charged with the loss, as he allowed one run on four hits in 6.0 innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.
LSU scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as leftfielder Derek Curiel led off with a walk, moved to second on designated hitter Ethan Frey’s groundout and scored when shortstop Steven Milam lined an RBI single.
“In the first inning, Derek Curiel, after an 0-2 count, draws the walk,” Johnson recounted. “Ethan Frey moves the ball against a tough pitcher. Steven gets down to two strikes and hits a ball hard and low through the middle of the field; he’s better at that than everybody else in the country.”
READ MORE:FULL INTERVIEWS: Anderson fires shutout as LSU claims game 1 of CWS Finals over Coastal Carolina
