How to Watch: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU in CWS Finals Game 2

The LSU Baseball team is one win away from adding another College World Series Championship Trophy to the program’s storied history – and a second CWS title in the past three seasons.

LSU ace Kade Anderson pitched a nine-inning shutout on Saturday to give the Tigers the Game 1 win on a night when just one run was scored. That run came in the first inning when Derek Milam’s single drove in Derek Curiel from second base.

From there, a pitching duel ensued that led to LSU holding on to the 1-0 lead and securing the Game 1 win.

Can the Tigers take home the title on Sunday?

Here’s how to watch, stream, and listen to LSU Baseball’s Game 2 matchup against Coastal Carolina as a win would give the Tigers another CWS Championship.

Stay tuned to The Bengal Tiger for updates throughout the day!

NCAA College World Series Finals – Game 2
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (56-12) vs. LSU Tigers (52-15)

DATES/TIMES
• Sunday, June 22 @ 1:30 p.m. CT (ABC)
• Monday, June 23 (if necessary) @ 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN)

STADIUM
• Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. (24,500)

RANKINGS
• LSU – No. 6 NCAA Tournament National Seed
• CCU – No. 13 NCAA Tournament National Seed

RADIO
• LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
• Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at ncaa.com

Here’s everything Johnson said at the postgame press conference for the night.

Opening comments…

“Great performance by our team tonight, especially Kade — special performance. Not taking it for granted. That’s what we’ve seen all year. He’s the best pitcher in the country and did it again tonight. That’s been on the regular every Game 1 of the entire season. So I’m glad he did it tonight so everyone could see what we’ve seen and known for an entire season. Other things that I thought were great: In the first inning, Derek Curiel 0-2, draws the walk, Ethan Frey moves the ball against a very difficult pitcher, Steven (Milam) 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, and that’s all he needed. A couple other things that I’d like to point out tonight were Luis Hernandez behind the plate tonight was spectacular. I mean, (Anderson) was striking out a lot of guys, and some of ’em were on chase pitches. The blocks, the recovery, the tag or throw down to first base — to not let any weird plays kinda happen. And then Michael Braswell’s defense at third base was a difference-maker in the game tonight. So good all-around effort by our team, and get ready to go for tomorrow.”

On interaction with umpire following Daniel Dickinson HBP-turned-out…

“As far as after, you’re not supposed to go out there after a review, so the umpire was correct, and I know that and I knew that. I just wanted a clarification for, I mean, the ball was clearly in the batter’s box. I’m not sure what he was supposed to do. And it’s a tough rule where you’re rewarding the pitcher for throwing a ball in that case. And I thought he did make attempt to roll, but at that point my team needs me to stay poised and focused and calm and, as they said, get to the next pitch. And that was that. So, after a review, you’re not allowed to go back out to the umpire.”

On watching as Kade Anderson work out of jams…

“As far as pitching with traffic, I think I heard (UCLA) coach (John) Savage say earlier this week, like, ‘It’s the College World Series, you’re gonna pitch with runners on base.” This is the best teams in the country, and that’s one of the best teams in the country. And they do a great job of finding their way on base, and they did a few times tonight. And (Anderson) told me in the third inning — I just went down to say a little something to him, and he’s like, ‘I’ll settle in.’ And I was like, ‘Nobody knows that better than me.’ And he had an outing very similar to this, and I saw some commonalities in that. You know, when we were in Oklahoma, we had a 10-pitch inning in the seventh and then two quick outs — like really quick outs, maybe within two or three pitches — in the eighth. And, so, I felt like they weren’t seeing him, I felt like they weren’t picking him up, and I know the human being. And that’s who you want on the mound in the ninth.”

On likely Kade Anderson’s final college outing and overall impact…

“Yeah, I mean, that was a lot, so I think I’ll try to go back and sort it out. He’s the best pitcher in college baseball. I mean, we had the best pitcher on the planet two years ago in a similar situation, and I felt like Kade’s had a very similar season to that. And that’s how you get here. And I’m really proud of him. And I think the commonality between the two is the person: the character, the toughness, the team-first attitude. And you’re probably right: I mean, his next pitch should be for someplace in the Washington Nationals’ organization. It’s not close. And they usually draft pretty well, and he’s the best player in the country. There’s nobody closer to the Major Leagues than that right now. But I don’t think you can quantify it. Just Paul Skenes, Joe Burrow, that type of deal.”

On whether heavy winds changed any approach…

“For sure. I wouldn’t say concerned. I would say aware. I think when we showed up for BP (batting practice), it was obviously going to play in the game. And it was odd. It switched direction during batting practice. I don’t know if you call it a swirling wind. I was a P.E. major, and so I leave it to the staff to tell me. They start talking about northeast-southwest, I have no idea what they’re talking about. And so I just go out to left, out to right, in from all directions — we just need to know what the deal is. And you had to pay attention tonight, because it actually switched in about the third inning. And it definitely impacted the game, and again it’s something you can’t control and just try to be alert for it. I thought (left fielder) Derek (Curiel) made two really nice plays, and they were in the same inning. I’ve seen a lot of plays get muffed in left field here because of the sun — both for and against my teams. And then the one running back I think that (Colby) Thorndyke hit on the screws, really good plays. So just part of the deal. Sounds like it’s gonna be part of the deal tomorrow as well.

On the importance of winning Game 1, but knowing Coastal is capable of coming back…

“I think you could look at any two-out-of-three, like any Super Regional, and they’re not over until you win two, and there’s not anybody that doesn’t really understand that — at least not in our locker room. And we have a different way that we look at things. Caution’s not really a word that this group would really use. Focused, determined, task at hand, execution, preparation is kind of a little more where our head’s at.”

On building a roster that can win LSU’s first-ever 1-0 College World Series game…

“There’s not a lot of emotion. I just don’t think that helps you when you’re in battle both as a player and as a coach and decision-maker. You’re just trying to stay focused on what your team needs. And (Coastal Carolina pitcher Cameron) Flukey, I mean, hat’s off to him. I’d heard really good things about him and obviously prepared for him over the last couple days, and he was better than the reputation, and the reputation was really good. It’s hard to imagine that he’s probably not a first-round pick next year. I mean, we’ve seen a lot of good arms this year, and he’s right there at the top. You know, I thought our guys battled. Anytime we had a chance for momentum, it was either the next at-bat didn’t go the way we needed it to go to capitalize and create some space in the game. And thankfully we had the best pitcher in the world going tonight and played great defense behind him.”

On Michael Braswell’s excellent defense despite hitting struggles…

“There’s a lot of ways to impact your team’s ability to win the game other than just hitting. I think when you hand out these box scores, it has to do with offense mostly, and that’s what grabs the attention. But you’re playing one of the best teams in the country that they don’t give you a whole lot, you have to win the game. Like I said, if you give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile. And his defensive stopped some potential momentum for them tonight. And I’m glad you brought that up. It’s one of the first things that I brought up with the team was the two-strike at-bats in the first inning, Luis Hernandez’s catching, the outfield between Derek, (Chris) Stanfield and Jake Brown and then obviously Michael had a huge impact on the game tonight.”