I found this by mistake - it's an article following the 1996 CWS. Skip was / is a master... Title affirms Bertman's status as game's top coach By Dutch Holland SportsLine USA College Baseball Writer June 8, 1996 OMAHA, Neb. -- Let there be no mistake: The guru of college baseball is LSU's Skip Bertman. Granted, it was Skip's players, more precisely Warren Morris, who stunned Miami with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to take the 50th College World Series, 9-8. But the field general behind LSU's third national championship has been working his magic since he began resurrecting the Tigers program in 1984. And after beating the very Miami program he helped win the CWS title in 1982, Bertman must feel as if his career has come full circle. The LSU thriller caps what certainly has to rank as one of the best CWS final games of all time. And it also ties a ribbon on one of the finest collegiate seasons in memory. There's only one thing that the collegians can do to top this moment -- go to Atlanta and take the 1996 Gold. And guess who's in charge of making that happen? None other than Skip Bertman. When Bertman took the LSU head coaching position, LSU averaged maybe 200 fans per game. This past spring, the Bayou Bengals set a school attendance record with a total paid attendance of 226,805 -- drawing an average of 5,816 to an old stadium on the banks of the Mississippi River. Then he helped LSU become the seventh school to win as many as three College World Series championships. ASK ANY BASEBALL COACH or marketing official in the NCAA one of these questions: Who is the best coach? Which program is run the best, overall? Where is the best place to see a game? The answers always lead back to Bertman and the atmosphere and excitement that is Tigers baseball at Alex Box Stadium, known affectionately as ''The Box.'' Full Article
I hope this Rice game has gotten some of our guys out of there hitting slumps. Like Will Harrirs. When he is on, he can slug the damn ball.
