By: Harry Crowther
Twenty one thousand nine hundred and five days ago, the Milwaukee Braves and the San Francisco Giants played one of the greatest baseball games ever. Hall-of-famers Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey played in that game on a windy and chilly night at Candlestick Park. Fifteen innings were in the books and neither team had plated a run. Warren Spahn pitched for the Braves; Juan Marichal, for the Giants. No relief was required.
Now, nearly 60 years to the day, Paul Skenes of LSU and Rhett Lowder of Wake Forest, the two best pitchers in college baseball and top prospects in this year’s MLB Draft, will (presumably) duel with a trip to the College World Series Finals on the line.
The Tigers beat the Demon Deacons 5-2 last night in Omaha to set up what might be the best pitching matchup in College World Series history.
Wake Forest took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning when Tommy Hawke singled up the middle with the bases loaded. LSU quickly responded with a run in the bottom half through a Brayden Jobert RBI double.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe big blow came in the bottom of the third. After Wake Forest right-hander Seth Keener dealt a wild pitch that allowed Dylan Crews to score the tying run, Cade Beloso smoked a ball into the bullpen beyond the right-field fence for a three-run homer.
The Demon Deacons had chances to make things interesting. One of the nation’s premier power hitters, Brock Wilken, struck out looking with men aboard in the seventh and ninth innings. LSU’s bullpen, led by four and a third innings from Griffin Herring, pitched seven and two thirds scoreless, and forced a decisive game.
In the game between the Braves and Giants on July 2, 1963, it was Willie Mays who finally broke the deadlock. In the bottom of the 16th, he hit a towering home run off Spahn, deep into the San Francisco night. The Giants won 1-0. It will be warmer tonight in Omaha, and 16 innings is a lot to ask in 2023.
