Perfection achieved for the LSU Shreveport baseball program.
The Pilots completed a perfect 59-0 season with a 13-7 win over Southeastern (Fla.) at Harris Field in Lewiston, Idaho, in the NAIA national championship game on May 30. LSU Shreveport ended the season with a perfect 59-0 record to win the first national title in school history.
LSUS is the first NAIA baseball team to complete an unbeaten season. The Pilots’ 59-game win streak topped the previous college baseball record of 57 straight wins achieved by junior college Howard College of Texas, which ended up finishing its 2009 season with a 63-1 record and winning a national title.
Despite the perfect record, the path to baseball immortality and the championship was not always a smooth one. The Pilots faced 4-0 and 7-5 deficits in the championship game. However, back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning by Jackson Syring and Ian Montz helped them overcome a season-high deficit of four runs.
LSUS set the college baseball record for winning streak with its 58th straight win a day earlier with a 14-4 victory over Hope International (Calif.). LSU Shreveport achieved a 30-0 record in Red River Athletic Conference games and won 28 games by 10 runs or more.
Brad Neffendorf, who is in his sixth year as the coach, has posted a 270-49 record with the Pilots.
“It’s the most unbelievable thing we may ever see in college baseball,” Neffendorf told the SBC Advocate. “They deserve to be applauded like there is no tomorrow. They haven’t done anything but continue to put their foot on the gas pedal to keep getting better.”