COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : From Beginning to End, LSU Becomes National Champion

Louisiana State opened the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, inspiring Coach Skip Bertman to print T-shirts emblazoned with “Wire To Wire.”

Bertman thought twice and never distributed the shirts to his players.

“The pressure would have been too great,” he said. “I didn’t want them to have that.”

LSU displayed its immunity to pressure Saturday with an 8-0 victory over Wichita State in the College World Series championship game before 20,286 at Rosenblatt Stadium.

The victory gave LSU its second national title in three years. The Tigers also defeated Wichita State for the 1991 championship.

Freshman right-hander Brett Laxton gave up three hits and struck out 16, breaking the series championship-game record set by Tom Burgess of Arizona State in 1967. Laxton also became the first to pitch a complete-game shutout in the final since Jim Withers of USC beat Oklahoma State, 1-0, in 1961.

“I had visualized myself throwing strikes, getting guys out and, in the end, having the team pile up on me on the mound,” Laxton said. “And it came true today.”

In a World Series that featured 10 late-inning comeback victories in 14 games, LSU became the first team to score first and hold its lead.

Wichita State (58-17), which entered the game batting .213 in three World Series victories, had not played since Thursday, when the Shockers eliminated Oklahoma State.

LSU (53-17) was coming off Friday’s emotional 6-5 victory over Cal State Long Beach, during which the Tigers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“A lot of people had said that the emotion of the Long Beach victory would drain us,” said second baseman Todd Walker, who had the game-winning hit against the 49ers. “But I think it helped us. Once we won that game, it just carried into today.”

Walker, a sophomore, was selected as the tournament’s outstanding player after going seven for 20 with three homers and 12 RBIs in five games.

Walker gave LSU a first-inning lead against Wichita State with a two-run home run against Travis Wyckoff (5-3). Walker also had a run-scoring single during LSU’s three-run second inning. Armando Rios, who had a game-tying two- run double against Long Beach, drove in four runs against Wichita State, two with a single against reliever Darren Dreifort in the third inning.

That was more than enough for Laxton (12-1)--the son of former major league pitcher Bill Laxton--who was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the 1992 amateur draft. Laxton walked five, but did not allow a runner past second base.

His dominance, combined with the Tigers’ early run production, completely neutralized Wichita State.

“Our greatest fears were realized,” Wichita State Coach Gene Stephenson said. “We let the game get out of hand from a pitching standpoint, and we did absolutely nothing offensively.”

Dreifort, the Dodgers’ No. 1 draft pick, gave up two runs and four hits and struck out two in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Bertman, who has brought six teams to the World Series in his eight seasons coaching the Tigers, won the national championship with a team that set a school record for most errors, 123 in 70 games.

LSU came out of the loser’s bracket to win the Southeastern Conference tournament and the South Regional. After defeating Long Beach and Texas A&M; in their first two World Series games, the Tigers lost to Long Beach, then defeated the 49ers again before finishing with the shutout against Wichita State.

“These guys are not nearly as talented as the 1991 team,” Bertman said. “but these guys have great heart.”

Honor Roll

A look at the all-tournament team at the College World Series: * First base--Hunter Triplett, Oklahoma State * Second base--Todd Walker, LSU * Third base--Casey Blake, Wichita State * Shortstop--Jason Adams, Wichita State * Outfielders--Jim Greely, LSU; Armondo Rios, LSU; Jason Heath, Oklahoma State * Catcher--Adrian Antonini, LSU * Designated hitter--Jeff Liefer, CS Long Beach * Pitcher--Brett Laxton, LSU; Mike Sirotka, LSU