BATON ROUGE — The last LSU team that brought home the ultimate hardware from Omaha will be honored this weekend.
LSU will recognize the 2009 national championship baseball team as it celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the Tigers’ last College World Series title.
According to a release by LSU, members of the championship team will be recognized prior to Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. game versus Ole Miss at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU coach Paul Mainieri directed the 2009 Tigers to the College World Series title, posting a 56-17 overall record, including an impressive 10-1 mark in NCAA Tournament competition.
LSU defeated Texas in the CWS Championship Finals to win the program’s sixth national title.
“Obviously, the 2009 team will always be very special to me,” Mainieri said in a statement. “When you win it all, it’s an amazing feeling, and it’s going to be great to see those players again this weekend. Winning a college baseball national championship is something that is very difficult to accomplish, and that team met every challenge in order to hold up the trophy at the end.”
Three members of that title team are currently on Mainieri’s current staff – assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Nolan Cain (pitcher), hitting coach Sean Ochinko (first baseman/catcher) and director of player development Micah Gibbs (catcher).
“It’s going to be a great time seeing everybody again this weekend,” Gibbs said in a statement. “The ’09 team featured great camaraderie and tremendous leadership. The older guys on the team made sure that we brought our best effort to the field every day. We had each other’s backs, and we were all working toward the same goal.”
That 2009 title team featured five players that eventually reached the Major Leagues – infielder DJ LeMahieu, outfielder Mikie Mahtook, infielder/outfielder Ryan Schimpf and pitchers Louis Coleman and Anthony Ranaudo.
Coleman, Ranaudo and Matty Ott earned 2009 All-America recognition.
“It was an incredible run and an amazing team,” Mainieri said. “They joined the prestigious fraternity of College World Series championship teams at LSU that will always be remembered.”