The 2008 LSU Tigers baseball team represented

Louisiana State University 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 nea ...

in 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 ...

Division I

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

season of 2008. This was the final year for the team in the original

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 visibl ...

. A new stadium was built during the season and opened on opening day of the 2009 season. The team was coached by

Paul Mainieri Paul Mainieri (born August 29, 1957) is a former baseball coach and second baseman. He played college baseball at LSU, Miami-Dade CC and New Orleans before pursuing a professional baseball career. He then served as the head coach of the St. Tho ...

who was in his second season at LSU. In his first year at LSU, Mainieri's

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

posted a 29–26–1 record and failed to make the

SEC Tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

or the NCAA Tournament. In a dramatic turnaround, Mainieri led the Tigers to an unexpected appearance in the

2008 College World Series The 2008 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was held from May 30 through June 25, 2008 and was part of the 2008 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 NCAA Division I college baseball teams were selected out of an eligible 286 teams on May 26, ...

Pre-Season

In September 2007,

Collegiate Baseball ''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...

newspaper ranked LSU's recruiting class as the top ranked class in the nation. LSU's recruiting class included 9 players that were drafted by

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

clubs, eight High School All-Americans and three first team junior college All-Americans among the 19 players the Tigers brought in.

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

ranked LSU's recruiting as the #2 ranked class in the nation, behind

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. In February 2008, the SEC baseball coaches picked LSU to finish 5th (out 6 teams) in the SEC Western Division in the 17th annual preseason SEC coaches poll. Also, starting pitcher Jared Bradford was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason third-team All-America squad. Bradford was also named to the watchlist for the 2008

Brooks Wallace Award The Brooks Wallace Award is an award given by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) to the best college baseball shortstop of the year. The award has been given annually since 2004. Until 2008 the award was presented to the nation's most outstandi ...

, which is presented to the nation’s top collegiate baseball player in conjunction with the

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collecti ...

’s annual induction festivities. During the offseason, former LSU baseball head coach

Jack Lamabe John Alexander Lamabe (October 3, 1936 – December 21, 2007) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a member of the 1967 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. Following his playing career, Lamabe became a min ...

died. Lamabe coached the Tigers for five seasons from 1979 until 1983.

Regular season

LSU entered the regular season ranked #30 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and #34 in the

NCBWA The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the nati ...

poll. They dropped from the ranking after the first weekend of play which saw the team win 2 out of 3 games against Indiana. The Tigers then rebounded and went on a 9-game winning streak before losing the last two games before

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 ...

play began. In its first conference series of the year, LSU traveled to

Knoxville, TN Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

to face the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

. The Tigers were swept 3 games to none but were competitive in all games. LSU then defeated their rival

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

in a midweek game at home before playing host to the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

in another conference series. The Tigers won the series 2 games to 1. After splitting two midweek games, including a tough loss to the

University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans (UNO) is a public research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High rese ...

, LSU headed to

Gainesville, FL Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2 ...

for a conference series again

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 ...

. The Tigers lost the first two games of the series but salvaged the last one and rode a 4-game winning streak until finally losing to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in game two of their series. But the Tigers won the third game of the series and improved to a 5–7 record in SEC games. Next on the schedule was rival Ole Miss. The Tigers lost the first game 2–1 in a close matchup and then proceeded to lose the next game as well. LSU managed an 8–2 win on Sunday to avoid the sweep. After a midweek game against Nicholls State, the Tigers traveled to

Maestri Field Maestri Field at Privateer Park is a baseball stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana more commonly known as Maestri Field. It is the home field of the University of New Orleans (UNO) Privateers baseball team. The facility is located on UNO's east ca ...

for their second of three games again the

. New Orleans again pulled away late and won the game by a score of 6-5.

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

then came into Alex Box Stadium for a conference series. At the time Georgia led the SEC and would eventually go on to be the SEC champions. The Tigers played the Bulldogs tough but Georgia managed to win the first two games. In the Sunday game, LSU blew a lead and allowed Georgia to tie the game and send it into extra innings. After 12 innings of play the travel curfew rule came into effect and a tie was declared. After the Georgia debacle the Tigers had a 6-11-1 conference record and looked to be on the outside looking in for the SEC baseball tournament. The Tigers were able to turn things around, however, as they began a winning streak that they rode all the way to the end of the regular season and into the postseason. They started the streak in New Orleans against bitter rival

. They then continued it into their conference series again South Carolina, who was at that time a top-10 team. LSU managed an improbable sweep against the Gamecocks and then moved on to a series against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

Cliff Hagan Stadium Cliff Hagan Stadium (Officially named Shively Field at Cliff Hagan Stadium) is a baseball stadium located in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Cliff Hagan Stadium or better known to Kentucky Wildcat baseball fans as “The Cliff” is on the So ...

. At that time the Wildcats had only lost 2 games all season in their home stadium. The Tigers again pulled off the improbably sweep and they were now sitting at 12-11-1 in conference, the first time all season that they had been over .500 in conference games.

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

came into Alex Box Stadium for the final 3 regular season games ever to be held in that stadium. The fans showed up in droves to see the Tigers sweep their third straight conference foe and send "the Box" out in style. Next up for the Tigers was their final regular season game against the

in the annual Wally Pontiff Jr. Classic at

Zephyr Field Gold Mine on Airline, formerly Shrine on Airline, is a 10,000-seat stadium in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. It is home field for the New Orleans Gold team in Major League Rugby. Known as Zephyr Field when built in 1997 as the h ...

Metairie, LA Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was ( ...

. New Orleans had already won the previous two meeting and they were riding a 13-game win streak coming into this one. It was the longest winning streak in college baseball. LSU's streak was in second place at 12 games. It looked like New Orleans might extend their winning streak but the Tigers pulled ahead late in the game and won it. Their final 3 regular season games came against a slumping

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

team in

Auburn, AL Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population ...

. LSU swept their 4th straight conference series and finished the regular season with a 39-16-1 record and an 18-11-1 conference record. Georgia won the outright SEC title but LSU was able to win the SEC West division title. The Tigers headed into the SEC Baseball Tournament as the #2 seed in to tournament.

SEC tournament

The Tigers entered the 2008 SEC baseball tournament on an NCAA-best 16-game winning streak. In Game 1 of the tournament, LSU faced South Carolina, a team they had swept earlier in the season. The Gamecocks took a 4–0 lead into the bottom of the 9th inning but LSU rallied to tie the game and take it into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th inning, LSU's Blake Dean hit a walk-off home run to end the game at a score of 5-4. In their second game of the SEC Tournament, LSU defeated defending tournament champion Vanderbilt by a score of 8-2. The Tigers extended their winning streak to 18 games and earned a day off before having to play their next game. In LSU's third game in the tournament they faced Alabama. The Crimson Tide took an early lead but the Tigers came back to tie the game at six runs and then LSU's Blake Dean padded his tournament MVP resume by hitting a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

to break the tie. The Tigers went on to win the game by a score of 12–8 and moved onto the championship game. The Tigers faced Ole Miss in the championship game, and like many of their games this season, they fell behind early only to rally back to win the game. LSU won the game by a score of 8–2 and claimed the

title for the first time since the 2000 season.

NCAA Tournament: Regionals

On Sunday May 25 it was announced that LSU was selected as a host site for the 2008 NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in the history of the program and for the first time since the 2005 season. When the full NCAA Tournament bracket was released the next day, LSU was awarded the #7 national seed in the tournament, guaranteeing them home field advantage throughout the Super Regionals as long as they won the Regional round. It was the third time LSU earned a national seed since the advent of them in 1999. In 2000 the Tigers were the #2 national seed and went on to win the College World Series. In 2003, LSU again earned the #2 national seed. They made the College World Series that year but went 0–2 and were eliminated quickly. In the Baton Rouge Regional, LSU was designated the #1 seed,

Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

earned the #2 seed, the

, who beat LSU two out of three times during the regular season, earned the #3 seed and

Texas Southern Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

earned the #4 seed. LSU opened the Regional against Texas Southern in an afternoon game on Friday, May 30. LSU grabbed a quick lead in the 1st inning and cruised to a 12–1 victory. The Tigers then awaited the results of the night game between New Orleans and Southern Mississippi to find out who their next opponent would be. Southern Mississippi beat New Orleans and moved on to face LSU in the night game on Saturday. The Tigers defeated the Golden Eagles by a score of 13–4 to advance to the championship round of the Regional. Southern Mississippi climbed back through the losers bracket to make the championship round and face LSU again. But the Tigers again put the Golden Eagles away by winning 11–4 and moving on to the Super Regionals. The win brought LSU's winning streak to 23 consecutive games and set a new SEC record. The previous record was 22 games set by South Carolina in 2000.

NCAA Tournament: Super Regionals

UC-Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and pr ...

won the

Lincoln, NE Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

regional and moved on to the Super Regional to face LSU in

Baton Rouge, LA Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties in ...

. UC-Irvine won the first game 11–5 based on a strong performance by their ace pitcher, Scott Gorgen. The Anteaters looked to be on their way to a second straight trip to the College World Series as they took a lead into the 9th inning of game 2, however the Tigers fought back and won the game in comeback fashion by a score of 9-7. LSU wasted no time in game 3 cruising to a 6–0 lead with three consecutive home runs in the 1st inning and eventually winning the game 21-7. The Tigers celebrated the school's 14th trip to the College World Series in what was the last game in the 70-year history of

NCAA Tournament: College World Series

Prior to the start of the CWS, LSU's pitching coach, Terry Rooney, was named the new head coach of the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

baseball team. Rooney stayed with LSU until the end of the CWS.Rooney to be named UCF baseball coach
/ref> LSU faced

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the first game of the

. The Tar Heels defeated the Tigers by a score of 8-4, giving LSU its 5th consecutive CWS loss and sending them to the losers bracket. The Tigers faced the

Rice Owls Rice University athletic teams are known as the Rice Owls. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of Conference USA, Rice sponsors teams in seven men's and seven women's NCAA sanctio ...

next and looked to be headed home with an 0–2 CWS record again after trailing by a score of 5-0, however, in typical Tiger fashion, LSU rallied in the bottom of the 9th inning and won the game on a 3-run double by All-American Blake Dean. The Tigers then had to face North Carolina again, who had lost to

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

. The game started on June 19 but was delayed by weather and completed on June 20. The game went into the top of the 9th inning tied 3–3 but a

grand slam home run In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with bases loaded, all three bases occupied by baserunners ("bases loaded"), thereby scoring four run (baseball), runs—the most possible in one play. According to ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', t ...

, the first in the College World Series since 2001, gave North Carolina a 7–3 lead. LSU was unable to rally in the bottom of the 9th, and their season was ended.

Roster

Coaches

Players

Schedule/Results

Rankings

*^ The NCBWA ranked 35 teams in their preseason poll but only 30 teams during the season.

Awards and honors

LSU Tigers in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft

The following members of the 2008 LSU Tigers baseball team were drafted in the

2008 MLB Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 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 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 ...