The key to LSU's sixth national baseball championship was the first game of the Tigers' best-of-three series with Texas, when LSU ace Louis Coleman, the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year, left in the sixth inning with the Tigers trailing 6-3 after he gave up five solo home runs to a Texas team that had relied on "small ball" throughout its NCAA playoff run.

If the Tigers had lost that game, they would've been in big trouble after coming up short with their ace on the mound. But they battled back to pull it out of the fire, 7-6, in the ninth inning.

After Texas evened the series 5-1 in Game 2, the Tigers took a quick 3-0 lead over the Longhorns Wednesday when Jared Mitchell, known more for his speed than his power, hit a three-run home run in the first inning of the national championship game.

LSU later stretched its lead to 4-0. But once again Texas bounced back with two runs in the third inning, and appeared to have momentum on its side when Kevin Keyes tied the score at 4-4 with a two-run home run in the fifth inning. LSU pitcher Anthony Ranaudo had thrown 113 pitches in five innings, and left the game in the sixth.

Offensively, LSU was struggling after the first inning. Later, when a television reporter asked him what the Tigers had to do to score runs, Coach Paul Mainieri said, "Be patient, and they will come."

Five of them came in the sixth inning, giving the Tigers a 9-4 lead. So much for Texas' momentum. That rally, which put LSU ahead to stay, started with Mitchell drawing a walk.

When Mitchell was picked in the first round of the major league baseball draft earlier this month, I wrote, "You can't steal first base." When they walk you, you don't have to steal first base.

After failing to get the ball down in fair territory on a couple of bunt attempts, Mikie Mahtook hit a double as Mitchell scored easily from second base. Then Micah Gibbs was safe at first on a throwing error on another bunt attempt. By that time, the wheels were coming off the Longhorns' Express.

Derek Helenihi drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in front of the left field fence. Austin Woods went to the mound for the Longhorns and hit the first two batters he faced: Ryan Schimpf and Blake Dean. Mitchell, who started the inning with a walk, ended it with a line drive to shortstop, but LSU had a five-run lead with three innings to play.

The Tigers continued to mess with Texas in the eighth and ninth innings, scoring one run in each for an 11-4 lead. Dean provided the final run with a home run barely inside the left field fair pole as it left the ballpark.

Coleman, who was lifted Monday after giving up his fifth homer of the game, deserved a better memory of the 2009 College World Series. Coach Paul Mainieri gave it to him, putting him in to pitch the eighth and ninth innings. He walked Russell Moldenhauer to lead off the ninth, but struck out the next three batters.

If LSU had not come from behind to pull the Monday game out of the fire in the ninth inning, the season would've ended with Texas' 5-1 victory Tuesday. But, as Don Meredith noted so often on Monday Night football, if "ifs" and "buts" were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.

They didn't need a ninth inning comeback Wednesday night to win their sixth national baseball championship, tying Texas for second place on the all-time list behind Southern California's 10 titles.

When Mainieri went to LSU as a player more than 30 years ago, baseball wasn't a big deal. The head coach was Jim Smith, whose primary job was Equipment Manager for the athletic department. A first-year assistant coach was Tommy Henry, who moved into college coaching after an impressive run at Bossier High in which the Bearkats did everything except win a state championship.

A few years later, Henry got out of coaching to join the Louisiana High School Athletic Assn. staff. A few years after that, Bob Brodhead lured Skip Bertman to LSU and the attitude toward baseball quickly changed.

Five national championships later, Bertman became the Athletic Director and the baseball program nose-dived again. Smoke Laval quickly learned how tough it is to follow a legend. Then Mainieri came along after guiding Notre Dame to the College World Series. It turned out that it's not that hard to follow the guy who followed a legend. The Tigers are back.

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