Yesterday I made the statement that the strike zone Lange was facing was ridiculous - and it was - but today the strike zone was even more absurd in my opinion... with one major difference. It was consistent. The strike zone can literally be anything the umpire wants it to be as long as its consistent... its then incumbent on the pitchers and the hitters of both teams to figure it out and adjust. After Gilbert's first strike out, it was sent through the Beaver dug-out that the strike zone would be wider today, so they were all well aware of the situation.
I think that was the key difference between LSU and OSU in this series. LSU had the veteran experience and had faced adversity already throughout the season. They knew how to suck it up when something didn't go the way they wanted to, had the intestinal fortitude to just deal with it, make adjustments and keep soldiering on. This OSU team was young and never really had to face adversity even once this season. When things started to go awry for them, they got frustrated, aggravated and it got in their head. Nobody really knew how to reach down deep and find what they needed, nobody really knew how to adjust their game... they seemed to expect the game to come to them, as it had all season, and when it didn't, they threw up their arms and gave up rather than find a way. And that was the difference imo.
Obviously, not enough can be said about Gilbert coming up huge for us, or Pap, for that matter. LSU earned their way into the finals, beating the best team in college baseball back-to-back, I'm sure Oregon state fans will gripe about strike zones or foul balls, but at the end of the day the ONLY way you win a title is by overcoming adversity, and their young team simply couldn't do it.
Well done, Tigers. Well done players, coaches and the fans that made it up there to support them. Team effort all the way.
Also - anyone seen @LSUTiger87 ? I'm getting worried about him...
I think that was the key difference between LSU and OSU in this series. LSU had the veteran experience and had faced adversity already throughout the season. They knew how to suck it up when something didn't go the way they wanted to, had the intestinal fortitude to just deal with it, make adjustments and keep soldiering on. This OSU team was young and never really had to face adversity even once this season. When things started to go awry for them, they got frustrated, aggravated and it got in their head. Nobody really knew how to reach down deep and find what they needed, nobody really knew how to adjust their game... they seemed to expect the game to come to them, as it had all season, and when it didn't, they threw up their arms and gave up rather than find a way. And that was the difference imo.
Obviously, not enough can be said about Gilbert coming up huge for us, or Pap, for that matter. LSU earned their way into the finals, beating the best team in college baseball back-to-back, I'm sure Oregon state fans will gripe about strike zones or foul balls, but at the end of the day the ONLY way you win a title is by overcoming adversity, and their young team simply couldn't do it.
Well done, Tigers. Well done players, coaches and the fans that made it up there to support them. Team effort all the way.
Also - anyone seen @LSUTiger87 ? I'm getting worried about him...
