By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kade Anderson made his final start in an LSU uniform on Saturday night, and it was a masterpiece that put the Tigers on the cusp of their second national championship in three years.
Anderson pitched a three-hitter and struck out 10 in a 1-0 victory over Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the College World Series finals, his second straight dominant performance in Omaha.
“That’s what we’ve seen all year,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “He’s the best pitcher in the country. And did it again tonight. That’s been on the regular every game one of the entire season. Everybody got to see what we’ve seen and known for an entire season.”
The Chanticleers (56-12) lost for the first time in 27 games and must win Sunday to force a third and deciding game Monday night.
LSU (52-15) made Steven Milam’s RBI single in the first inning stand up with Anderson getting stronger as the game progressed against a Coastal Carolina team that had won its first three CWS games by a combined 24-9.
“If it was going to be easy, there would be more than one national champion,” Chanticleers coach Kevin Schnall said. “We’ve got to regroup. We’ve won 26 in a row. Let’s just call it is what it is — the odds were not in our favor to go 28-0 and win this national championship.”
Anderson, a lefty projected to be a top-three pick in next month’s MLB amateur draft, threw 130 pitches and was just as good as he was in LSU’s CWS opener against Arkansas last weekend. He has allowed one run and six hits and struck out 17 in 16 innings in Omaha.
Anderson grew up in Madisonville, Louisiana, as a big fan of LSU baseball. Asked how often he dreamed of a CWS performance like Saturday’s and winning a title, he said, “Probably every night.”
“That wasn’t necessarily to end the College World Series,” he said. “We’ve got one more that we’re preparing for. We’ll go back to the hotel and start preparing for that one as well.”
Against the Chanticleers he had to deal with traffic on the basepaths after issuing three of his five walks in the first two innings and hitting two batters. He was up to the challenge. The Chanticleers were 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s the College World Series. You’re going to pitch with runners on base,” Johnson said. “It’s the best teams in the country, and that’s one of the best teams in the country. They do a great job of finding their way on base. And they did a few times tonight.”
Anderson (12-1) walked pinch-hitter Domenico Tozzi with two outs in the ninth, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Nate Yeskie. Anderson then got Wells Sykes to fly out to end the game. Anderson and catcher Luis Hernandez embraced, and then their teammates mobbed them behind the mound to celebrate the first complete-game shutout in the CWS since 2022.
Anderson worked around two walks in the first inning, got out of the third when Sebastian Alexander was caught stealing third base, and he struck out three in a row after Blagen Pado’s double leading off the fourth.
After he gave up LSU’s early run, Coastal Carolina’s Cameron Flukey (8-2) matched zeroes with Anderson from the second to sixth inning. Flukey limited the Tigers to four hits, walked two and struck out nine before turning the ball over to Dominick Carbone to start the seventh.
The Tigers are 16-0 when they have a lead at any point when Anderson is pitching. It was Anderson’s second shutout of the season. He threw 135 pitches in a 2-0 win over Oklahoma on April 3.
Anderson said he wasn’t bothered by the conditions. The temperature was 97 degrees at first pitch with a gusty wind blowing out to left.
“I think that’s the real benefit of playing in Louisiana,” he said. “Growing up there, this was honestly not nearly as bad as it was in the super regional.”
LSU will try to lock up its eighth national title Sunday.
Coastal Carolina won the championship in its first trip to Omaha in 2016 and is seeking to become the fifth school to win the title in each of its first two trips to the CWS, but the first since Michigan in 1962.
Schnall reminded reporters that in 2016, Arizona left-hander JC Cloney threw a shutout in Game 1 of the finals and Coastal Carolina came back to win the next two.
“Again, we’ve got to respond, rebound, regroup,” Schnall said. “We’ve got Jacob Morrison pitching tomorrow. Answer the bell.”