'Worth the wait': LSU baseball fans never wavered, now they relish NCAA championship
Since LSU baseball avenged its early College World Series loss to Wake Forest with back-to-backs wins in Omaha to advance to a spot in the NCAA championship series, Derek Canchola hasn’t exchanged any messages with his longtime friend, Ben Clayton.
Canchola, 41, is a lifelong LSU baseball fan. Clayton pitched at Wake Forest.
“I’ve sent him one,” Canchola chuckled as he and his 8-year-old tossed the baseball around outside of Alex Box Stadium on Wednesday night awaiting the celebration for the Tigers’ seventh national title. “But he hasn’t really responded.
“We’re really close and good friends but between those games? It might be football season before we really talk again.”
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The two will surely pick back up like nothing happened long before August arrives. But in the meantime, much like Canchola and Quinn, who watched every LSU College World Series game together, LSU fans are going to relish the program’s first NCAA championship since 2009 after defeating SEC rival Florida, 18-4, to cap a three-game championship series Monday at Charles Schwab Field.o
That much was evident as a line of purple-and-gold clad fans snaked along the sidewalk entrance more than 90 minutes before festivities were set to begin at The Box.
By the start of the event, fans completely filled the portion of the stands that wraps around the infield and down the baselines, and spilled over into Left Field Landing and a few others in the Diamond Deck beyond the right-field fence.
“This team was so fun to watch,” said Vernon Webb, who’s been an LSU baseball season ticket holder for more than 30 years. He’s seen a few of these Tiger national championships. And has a keen eye for championship-caliber baseball.
“It usually takes two lockdown pitchers. And this (team) had it in Paul Skenes, who I think was the best player in America, and Ty Floyd.”
Webb’s son Sam, who mentioned that his father used to carry him into the stadium for baseball games when he was an infant, was quick to mention stars Dylan Crews, Cade Beloso, Tre Morgan and Tommy White as well.
“The offense was just so fun to watch. You knew there was a good chance every game that a lot of balls were going to go out of the yard,” Sam Webb said.
Proven by those willing to wait in near 100-degree temperatures just to see the team sit on a stage and talk a few minutes about winning the national championship, the 14-year wait for the another title was a long one for Tiger fans.
But as both the Webbs and Canchola said, confidence in this season’s team that opened the year No. 1 never wavered. Not even after the Tigers lost in Omaha early to Wake Forest.
“Emotions were certainly up-and-down during the College World Series,” Canchola said. “But I knew they were going to win.
“With LSU baseball, it feels like they should win every year. But them winning it this year, it was worth the wait.”
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers and Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU/UL athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball celebrates national title. Fans say it's worth the wait
