Jay Johnson and the LSU Tigers are now one win away from capturing a 2025 National Championship after taking down Coastal Carolina 1-0 on Saturday night.
LSU left-handed pitcher Kade Anderson propelled the Tigers to a Game 1 win after a historic performance at Charles Schwab Field.
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.”
Now, all focus is on Game 2 with the Tigers looking to earn the program's second College World Series Finals win in the last three seasons.
A look into the game information and Jay Johnson's thoughts on his ace pitcher.
The Preview: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (56-12) vs. LSU Tigers (52-15)
DATES/TIMES
• Sunday, June 22 at 1:30 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 www.LSUstats.com
TELEVISION
• Sunday's game will be televised on ABC.
Kade Anderson, take a bow.#LSU’s ace with a heroic performance on Saturday night to give the Tigers a 1-0 series lead in the College World Series Final.
— Zack Nagy (@znagy20) June 22, 2025
9.0 IP
3 hits allowed
0 earned runs
10 strikeouts
130 total pitches
82 strikes thrown
LSU is one win away from a title. pic.twitter.com/pj3QLffaDE
"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. I felt like Kade's had a very similar season to that.
"And that's how you get here. 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 really 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 -- Paul Skenes, Joe Burrow, that type of deal."
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