The 1996 LSU Tigers baseball team won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

national championship in one of the most memorable

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

games in history. The Tigers, coached by

Skip Bertman Stanley "Skip" Bertman (born May 23, 1938) is a former college baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University (LSU). He led the LSU Tigers baseball team to five College World Series championships and seven Southeastern Confere ...

, had already established themselves as a premier

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

program, having won two previous national championships in 1991 and 1993. The 1996 version built on this reputation by compiling a 52–15 record, including going 20–10 in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

, winning the SEC championship as well.

Regular season

The Tigers regular season record was 43–13 with notable losses coming against conference rivals Alabama and a 3-game sweep at the hands of Florida.

SEC tournament

LSU defeated Tennessee in the first game of the 1996 SEC baseball tournament but then lost to Florida (their fourth loss to them in as many games) and Kentucky and were eliminated.

NCAA Tournament Regional

LSU cruised through the ''regional'' round (hosted by LSU at

Alex Box Stadium Alex Box Stadium, pronounced Alec Box Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It was the home field of the LSU Tigers baseball team. The stadium was located across the street from Tiger Stadium, which is visible ...

) of the NCAA Tournament defeating

Austin Peay Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...

9-3,

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

7-6, UNO 17–4 and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

29-13.

College World Series

The Tigers opened the College World Series by defeating

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

9-8, the same team they beat in the championship games of 1991 and 1993. LSU then moved on to play conference rival

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(who had beaten the Tigers in all four games played earlier in the season). LSU won 9-4. Florida then came back through the losers bracket to face LSU again. The Tigers won the second game 2–1 to move onto the championship game. The championship game featured a match-up of two college baseball powers in LSU and Miami (Florida). Both teams had previously won 2 national championships (Miami: 1982 & 1985) and were vying for their third. Miami featured future major leaguers

Alex Cora Jose Alexander Cora (born October 18, 1975) is a Puerto Rican baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 14 seasons with the Red Sox, Los Angele ...

and

Pat Burrell Patrick Brian Burrell (born October 10, 1976), nicknamed "Pat the Bat", is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, and San Francisco Giants. Bur ...

, who helped the Hurricanes to establish a 7–3 lead in the game. However, the Tigers would fight back to tie the game. Cora then reclaimed the lead for Miami with an

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

single and the Hurricanes then led 8–7 heading into the 9th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

. With 2 outs and a runner on third base LSU only needed a base hit or a

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

to tie the game. An unlikely hero emerged from the LSU dugout in

Warren Morris Warren Randall Morris (born January 11, 1974) is an American former college and Major League Baseball player. He is most remembered for his two-out, 9th inning walk-off home run that won the 1996 College World Series for the Louisiana State U ...

, who had been hurt most of the year. He stepped to the plate and faced pitcher Robbie Morrison. Morris swung on Morrison's first pitch and lined the ball just inches over the right field fence for a 2 out, game winning

walk off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

. This was his first home run of the season.

Aftermath

Morris' home run would later win the 1997

Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award The Showstopper of the Year ESPY Award was presented annually from 1993 to 1999. List of winners See also * Best Moment ESPY Award *Best Play ESPY Award *GMC Professional Grade Play ESPY Award GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar ...

. The Tigers won their third national championship and would follow it up with three more in 1997, 2000 and 2009. Miami would recover and go on to win two more national championships as well in 1999 and 2001.

Schedule/Results

Roster

Jim Schwanke Assistant Coach

Coaches

Players

References

External links

USAToday.com: LSU dramatics trigger memory
{{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Lsu Tigers Baseball Team

Lsu Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

LSU Tigers baseball seasons NCAA Division I Baseball Championship seasons College World Series seasons Southeastern Conference baseball champion seasons

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...