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TOP OF THE WORLD LMU AT THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES The 1986 LMU baseball team had the best season in program history. It was also one of the best overall seasons of all time for LMU Athletics. Following a 1985 season in which the Lions did not have a winning record at 27-28, the program performed one of the best turnarounds in LMU athletics history. They finished the season with a program-best 50 wins and wrapped up the season at 50-15, a 23game improvement from the previous year. The season started with the Lions winning their first eight games and 12 of their first 13. As the season progressed, LMU produced a 13-game winning streak from March 21 through April 11, and won 20 of 21 games in the middle of the season. With the winning streak came the nation’s top ranking by the ESPN/Collegiate Baseball National Poll. The Lions never looked back, finishing tied with Pepperdine for first place in the West Coast Athletic Conference at 19-5, setting up a one game playoff to determine the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. Played at Jackie Robinson Stadium on the campus of UCLA, the Lions defeated the Waves 14-9 to earn the bid to the NCAA West Regional.
Inside the Lions
LMU was placed with UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and the University of Hawaii in Los Angeles at UCLA. It looked as though it might be two-and-out for the Lions, as they dropped their first game to UC Santa Barbara 11-5 to move down to the elimination bracket. However, LMU would reel off its next four games, fighting through four separate elimination games to earn a bid to the school’s first appearance in the College World Series. In game two of the Regional, the Lions defeated UCLA 12-10, eliminating the Bruins and earning a rematch with UC Santa Barbara. LMU advanced past the Gauchos with a 14-6 win, and would then have to beat the University of Hawaii twice to compete in Omaha. After 10-6 and 12-5 victories, the Lions earned a trip to the 1986 College World Series. On May 30, the Lions opened up their first World Series trip with a 4-3 win over perennial power LSU, to earn a two-day rest and play in the winner’s bracket. The Lions played the University of Arizona on June 2 and lost a heartbreaker 75 to drop to the elimination bracket to face Oklahoma State. The Cowboys were too much for the Lions, as they went on to an 11-5 win.
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