Is Monday night’s College World Series battle between LSU and Wake Forest the most anticipated game of the college baseball season?
Wake Forest entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in the nation, while LSU has two of the nation’s brightest stars in Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes. They meet in Omaha with the stakes as high as they’ve been all year.
This won’t be a battle of aces, with Skenes and Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder having pitched over the weekend, but there is still an impressive amount of talent between the teams. Crews is the projected No. 1 pick in July’s MLB Draft and is batting .433 this season, while Demon Deacons slugger Brock Wilken is tied for the national lead in home runs with 31.
MORE: Updated 2023 MLB mock draft
One of these powerhouses will be assured of a spot in the College World Series semifinals with a win on Monday. The loser will face Tennessee in an elimination game on Tuesday.
Monday night’s winner will have the inside track to the College World Series finals, as that team will need to be beaten twice in the semifinals to be kept out of the championship round. That puts serious pressure on both LSU and Wake Forest after each team began its stay in Omaha with a victory.
MORE: Watch the College World Series with Fubo (free trial)
The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates and highlights from the College World Series game between LSU and Wake Forest. Follow along for all the key moments.
LSU vs. Wake Forest baseball score
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2
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5
6
7
8
9
F
LSU
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
–
–
–
Wake Forest
0
0
0
0
0
2
–
–
–
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LSU vs. Wake Forest live updates, highlights from College World Series
(All times Eastern)
9:13 p.m. — Hurd walks Houston to open the inning. That’s not what you want with the top of the order coming up, if you’re LSU.
9:09 p.m. — Wake Forest’s bullpen works around a two-out walk by Crews, holding LSU scoreless for the fourth consecutive inning. Do the Demon Deacons have another rally in them? The top of the lineup will be up again after No. 9 hitter Marek Houston.
8:58 p.m. — Exhale, LSU fans. Hurd strikes out Adam Cecere and preserves the tie. We’ve got an intense final three innings coming up.
8:56 p.m. — Bennett Lee walks to load the bases. Wake Forest’s patience at the plate has made all the difference in this inning.
8:54 p.m. — Now a hit-by-pitch to put runners on the corners…
8:54 p.m. LSU 2, Wake Forest 2 — Hurd gets a massive double play. This game is tied, but the Tigers will take the two outs and hope to avoid Wake Forest putting up a crooked number.
8:52 p.m. LSU 2, Wake Forest 1 — Wilken hits one up the middle and puts Wake Forest on the board! It’s just one run, but LSU has yet to record an out here in the sixth.
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 20, 2023
8:46 p.m. — Young has lost it. He walks Kurtz on five pitches and has now walked the bases loaded. Jay Johnson is coming out to make a pitching change. A dominant first five innings by Young could be completely upended by control issues in the sixth. Here comes Thatcher Hurd.
8:44 p.m. — Floyd with another walk, and Wake Forest has a prime opportunity here before even putting a ball in play. LSU has two arms warming up in the bullpen as Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken get ready to bat.
8:42 p.m. — An errant pickoff attempt allows Tommy Hawke to move up to 2nd base. Runner in scoring position for the Demon Deacons with nobody out.
8:41 p.m. — Floyd issues a leadoff walk, putting the heart of the order in line to bat for Wake Forest.
8:37 p.m. — Brayden Jobert hits one all the way to the warning track with two outs in the sixth, but that’s as far as it goes. Wake Forest gets the Tigers to put up another zero. The Demon Deacons have 12 outs to work with to make up their two-run deficit.
8:28 p.m. — Floyd gets through the fifth and is up to 10 strikeouts. Pure dominance, and he still has more in the tank after 79 pitches.
8:24 p.m. — Strikeout No. 9 for Floyd…but he allows Wake Forest’s second hit with one out in the fifth.
8:18 p.m. — It’s not a strikeout this time, but Hartle gets Crews to groundout. Crews is 0-3 for the Tigers tonight.
8:12 p.m. — Floyd responds very well to the Bennett single, with three strikeouts to quickly shut down any Wake Forest threat. Floyd is up to eight strikeouts through four innings.
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 20, 2023
8:05 p.m. — Pierce Bennett comes through with Wake Forest’s first hit of the night, a single to start the bottom of the fourth.
8:01 p.m. — This time, Hartle works around the walk. Pressure is on Wake Forest’s offense to show some signs of life.
7:59 p.m. — Hartle issues his fourth walk of the night. LSU hasn’t hit the ball too hard, but walks and defensive lapses have hurt Wake Forest.
7:54 p.m. — Ty Floyd makes quick work of the Demon Deacons again, and suddenly Wake Forest’s offense has posted three hitless innings.
7:47 p.m. LSU 2, Wake Forest 0 — Chaos in Omaha! Tre’ Morgan drives in another run and ends up at third after the sun causes Adam Cecere to completely miss the ball in the outfield. Cecere had sunglasses on his head, but he needed them in front of his eyes for that one.
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 19, 2023
7:45 p.m. LSU 1, Wake Forest 0 — LSU strikes first! Tommy White drives in a run on a single and moves to second after the ball was misplayed in the outfield.
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 19, 2023
7:42 p.m. — Hartle gets Crews to strike out again! That’s two Ks for the LSU phenom, and Hartle is one out away from working around a walk.
7:35 p.m. — We don’t have Paul Skenes or Rhett Lowder on the hill tonight, but the pitching has been impressive. Floyd strikes out two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the second. We’re scoreless through two.
7:30 p.m. — Brayden Jobert grounds into a double play, so Hartle escapes a jam of his own making and keeps LSU scoreless through two.
7:26 p.m. — Hartle has worked into some trouble in the top of the second inning, issuing back-to-back walks after a strikeout. LSU has a rally opportunity here.
7:20 p.m. — Ty Floyd strikes out Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken, getting through the heart of the order unscathed after an early walk. Pitching is winning the day so far!
7:17 p.m. — Pierce Bennett works a four-pitch walk, bringing up Nick Kurtk for the Demon Deacons with one out.
7:12 p.m. — A 1-2-3 first inning for Josh Hartle, who gets Dylan Crews to strike out. That’s all Wake Forest could’ve asked for out of the gate.
7:05 p.m. — First pitch is approaching as one of these powerhouses gets ready to move one giant step closer to the College World Series finals.
6:40 p.m. — Wake Forest had a strong sendoff as well. A win tonight would put the Demon Deacons in much better position to win its first College World Series since 1955.
Send-off vibes. ✅
Let’s go Deacs! pic.twitter.com/y9DVbgNLV5
— Wake Forest Alumni (@WFUAlumni) June 19, 2023
6:28 p.m. — LSU fans are making their presence felt in Omaha. Will it make a difference tonight?
Tiger fans do it best#ThePowerhouse pic.twitter.com/SsMl0bOijI
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) June 19, 2023
How to watch LSU vs. Wake Forest
Start time: 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT)
TV channel: ESPN
Live stream: ESPN+, Fubo
LSU vs. Wake Forest will be broadcast on ESPN. Viewers can also follow the action on ESPN+ or Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Karl Ravech will be on the play-by-play call, with Eduardo Perez and Ben McDonald in the booth as analysts. Reporter Dani Wexelman will round out ESPN’s coverage.
How to watch 2023 College World Series
Date: June 16-25 or 26
Location: Charles Schwab Field Omaha, Omaha, Neb.
TV channels: ESPN, ESPN2
Live stream: ESPN+, Fubo
ESPN will continue its coverage of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament with the 2023 College World Series. Games will be shown on ESPN and ESPN2.
Fans will also be able to stream the games on ESPN+ or on Fubo, which offers a free trial.
College World Series schedule
Monday, June 19
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Game 7: Tennessee 6, Stanford 4
Game 8: Wake Forest vs. LSU
7 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Tuesday, June 20
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Game 9: TCU vs. Oral Roberts
2 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Game 10: Tennessee vs. Game 8 loser
7 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Wednesday, June 21
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Game 11: Florida vs. Game 9 winner
2 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner
7 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Thursday, June 22
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Game 11 rematch (if Game 6 winner loses)
2 p.m.
ESPN or ESPN2, Fubo
Game 12 rematch (if Game 8 winner loses)
7 p.m.
ESPN2, Fubo
Saturday, June 24: College World Series finals Game 1
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Bracket 1 winner vs. Bracket 2 winner
7 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Sunday, June 25: College World Series finals Game 2
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Bracket 1 winner vs. Bracket 2 winner
3 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
Monday, June 27: College World Series finals Game 3*
Game
Time (ET)
Channel
Bracket 1 winner vs. Bracket 2 winner
7 p.m.
ESPN, Fubo
* – If necessary
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