Kade Anderson's historic outing has LSU one win from MCWS title - ESPN

OMAHA, Neb. — After 61 days — a full two months — of undefeated baseball, it was beginning to feel like it would take something truly spectacular to end Coastal Carolina's impossible-to-do-these-days 26-game winning streak. Something rarely seen, produced by someone rarely seen.

That someone's name was LSU's Kade Anderson. And that something was actually a handful of somethings.

In the opening game of the best-of-three Men's College World Series finals Saturday, the 20-year-old threw only the second complete game of his collegiate career. He also threw just the third complete game shutout seen in the current 22-year era of the MCWS finals. It was also the first 1-0 victory for LSU in its prolific, nearly unparalleled Omaha history.

By the time Anderson had thrown the last of his 130 pitches, the Tigers had ended the Chanticleers' streak and extended LSU's own postseason run of seven consecutive wins, now a perfect 4-0 in Omaha and one victory away from the program's eighth national title.

«Kade is the best pitcher on the planet,» said LSU head coach Jay Johnson, openly assuming that the Washington Nationals will use the first pick of next month's MLB draft to make the Slidell, Louisiana, native a member of their organization. «Even with his struggles tonight, when I went out to talk to him, he looked at me and said, 'Don't worry about me. I got this.' I have never doubted him before. I wasn't going to start tonight.»

He did indeed struggle. Well, as much as a rubber-armed 98 mph thrower can struggle. He countered his 10 strikeouts with five walks and hit two batters — actually, the same batter twice — contributing to Coastal's nation-leading HBP tally.

Those relatively tiny struggle stats loomed large only because CCU