Paul Mainieri, LSU Geaux the Distance

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Mainieri household went 45 years without a national title. Bouday (a Cajun term for sorrow) -- that was plenty long enough.

Paul Mainieri's LSU Tigers powered past Texas 11-4 Wednesday night to win the College World Series. When the final out was made -- fittingly on a swinging strike out that ignited a mad sprint and player pile in front of the mound -- Mainieri's emotions almost immediately began to overwhelm him in the Tigers dugout.

It was a hugfest.

"It's so great to have something happen in your professional life that you can share on a personal level with the people you love the most," Mainieri said.

Mainieri's entire family was in the Rosenblatt Stadium stands, including his father, Demie, who coached Miami-Dade North Community College to 1,018 wins and a national title in 1964 in his 30-year career.

Dear friend Jim Hendry, vice president/general manager of the Chicago Cubs, and Skip Bertman, LSU's former legendary baseball coach turned athletics director who hired Mainieri in 2006, corralled Mainieri as fireworks exploded behind the right-field bleachers and purple and gold streamers fell from the sky.

Somewhere, Tommy Lasorda, who telephoned Mainieri on Tuesday and reminded him not to be afraid to pressure the Longhorns, probably lifted a glass of wine in salute.

Of course, that's only one side of Mainieri's extended family.

Mainieri, a genuine soul who can disarm people with his smile, also grew emotional when he talked about the state of Louisiana, LSU and, of course, his players. The fellas immediately slipped on CWS champions T-shirts and party beads, mugged for the cameras and jogged near the stands and high-fived fans who are known as the most fanatical in the country.

The real celebration had begun, and just think of it:

LSU baseball is back on top, two years after not being even good enough to gain entry into its own SEC Tournament.

"It's an unbelievable feeling to be put in the position where you're remembered forever in Baton Rouge now," said outfielder Jared Mitchell, voted the CWS Most Outstanding Player. "To be in that company with the players who won championships, to put LSU baseball on top where it belongs, to be a part of that is special."

It was certainly a special finish.



The Tigers closed out the season by winning 15 of their final 16 games dating back to the SEC Tournament. They beat Texas in Game 1 of the best-of-three national series, rallying from a pair of two-run deficits to win 7-6 in 11 innings; they were out-played in a Game 2 defeat; and they squandered an early lead only to bury the Longhorns with a furious, final onslaught in Game 3.

"They've done everything they need to do to become champions," Mainieri said. "Had we not gotten this one, it would have left a little bit of an empty feeling."

The Road To Omaha actually starts in Baton Rouge, La., for the year.

"We punched them and they punched back harder," Texas outfielder Preston Clark said. "They took it to another level and we couldn't get another rally going."

Across the field, Texas coach Augie Garrido consoled his team, which rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game at 4-4 after five innings. The Longhorns, however, were ground beef after the Tigers exploded for five runs in the sixth. Texas was limited to one hit the rest of the way and its quest to win the program's seventh national title -- and third this decade -- ended.

But it's not the end.

Garrido, who refused to criticize his team and said there was enough respect to be shared by both teams, also stressed to the Longhorns that their future in Texas is big and bright. In fact, the Zen Master, as Garrido is affectionately called by his players, believes this is the beginning of a new era of Texas baseball in the CWS.

"We didn't have a player who played in the College World Series before, and they finished second," Garrido pointed out.

And, in case your wondering, the 70-year-old Garrido plans to stick around to coach the Longhorns. He calls coaching a lifestyle, not a job. Garrido figures as long as he's healthy and he connects with players and he can be effective, there's nothing else he'd rather do.

"I don't know if it's a chronological number," Garrido said.

"It's about health, it's about attitude. You're going to get older, but you can stay immature forever."

Of course, forever seemed to be the length of time for the Mainieri family between national titles.

That all changed Wednesday for Paul Mainieri, who played his freshman year at LSU in 1976 and returned to the school after coaching stops at St. Thomas (Fla.), Air Force and Notre Dame. And the best part for Mainieri is that he shared the moment with the people closest to him.

It was a Bayou win-win.