LSU Loses Series to Stony Brook, Blocked from College World Series

It's a long trip to Omaha from Baton Rouge, but the Stony Brook Seawolves will be flying there -- likely on Cloud 9 after they handed the LSU Tigers their first-ever super regional defeat at home this past weekend.  Stony Brook will be heading to its first College World Series ever, and LSU will be going to the house.

It's been a Cinderella season for The Little New York Team That Could, and Stony Brook will face UCLA in Omaha, becoming only the second No. 4 seed to make it to the big dance.  (The other was Fresno State in 2008 -- and they won.)

Cinderella stories are great -- unless you're the team that loses to Cinderella, of course, and on that count, LSU spend most of the weekend unable to catch a break.  First off, the rains plagued the entire weekend series.  Game 1 started at 11 a.m. on Friday and didn't wrap up until the 12th inning on Saturday morning.  LSU came out on top 5-4, but that was about the end of it.  They fell on Saturday 3-1, and after a seven-hour rain delay on Sunday, LSU's bats went ice cold as the team fell 7-2 to Stony Brook.

"They outplayed us really in every phase of the game,'' LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "The people in the South haven't heard much about Stony Brook, but they know who they are now. They gained a lot of respect, besides winning a series. They gained an awful lot of respect not only down here but nationwide and I think you have to look at the leadership of their program and that's Matt (Senk). ... That team can play with anybody.''

...

While Stony Brook may have been a relative unknown before this riveting postseason run, pro baseball scouts were quite familiar with them. Seven Seawolves were selected in last week's Major League Baseball draft (compared to five from LSU). They have eight players with 168 or more at-bats hitting .300 or better.

--sportsillustrated.cnn.com

That's alright, though -- LSU has six national titles to their name, and while it's a tough loss, no one ever counts the Tigers out.  Stony Brook definitely earned their tickets to the College World Series, and here's to hoping that Cinderella takes the whole thing.