LSU baseball has its 7th national championship. Here’s how the Tigers beat Florida.

OMAHA, Neb. — LSU beat Florida in Game 3 of the College World Series finals 18-4 to win its first national championship since 2009. Here’s how the Tigers topped the Gators.

1. Timely hits

LSU had stranded 30 runners and gone 0 for 6 with the bases loaded in the first two finals games. The Tigers were batting .216 in the College World Series. Then the second inning happened Monday. They sent 12 batters to the plate and scored six runs through a string of walks and timely hits to take a lead they never surrendered. After missing chances to score the past seven games, LSU came through over and over.

2. Never needed Skenes

For all the pregame talk about Paul Skenes’ availability, LSU didn’t need its ace to pitch on short rest. Thatcher Hurd tossed five hitless innings after allowing a home run in the first. Riley Cooper and Gavin Guidry combined for three innings. Skenes waited, pacing and lurking the entire time, but LSU never needed his heroics. The Tigers would not have gotten here without Skenes. But they won a three-game series without him throwing a pitch.

3. Champs, once again

For the first time since 2009, LSU baseball won the national championship. The Tigers had other teams with enough talent over the last decade, but they had gone 14 years without winning the final game. This group, a combination of homegrown stars and key transfers, handled lofty expectations and adversity to get here. They came through the CWS losers bracket. They lost Game 2 of the finals. And they won the program’s seventh title.