For over 70 years, the Men's College World Series has provided baseball fans with iconic moments and ballgames year after year.
When it's come to the final hurdle, whether a single game or best-of-three series, sometimes the best drama has been saved for last. Here are eight of the greatest title deciders in MCWS history.
Greatest championship games (1947-2002)
1996: LSU shocks Miami (FL) 9-8 with a walk-off homer
There's no better place to start than this. Many consider it the greatest moment in college baseball history. It was a stellar game from start to finish, with Miami taking an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth.
In the bottom of the frame, LSU's Warren Morris comes to bat with a runner on second base. Less than a month after returning from wrist surgery and without a single home run to his name in 1996, the former All-American turned on the first pitch from Miami's star closer Robbie Morrison.
The line shot just cleared the left field fence at the old Rosenblatt Stadium, clinching the Tigers' third national title of the 1990s under legendary coach Skip Bertman.
1998: Southern Cal outraces Arizona State, 21-14
This final game of the 1998 series may not have provided the ninth-inning drama that Morris' homer did, but for what it lacked in suspense, it more than made up for in entertainment.
Tied for the highest-scoring game in MCWS history, this all-Pac-12 championship featured over four hours of high-octane baseball, a microcosm of the ultra-offensive era of the late 90s.
Among the dozens of championship game records set in this one were: total runs (35), hits (39), home runs (9), pitchers used (10), and longest nine-inning game. Safe to say the then-record attendance of 24,456 got its money's worth.
2000: LSU walks off Stanford 6-5
Just a few short years after Morris' heroics, the Tigers were back at it, defeating Stanford on the final swing of the season, this time courtesy of Brad Cresse.
HISTORY: Every MCWS winner since 1947
Down 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, LSU tied it with two long balls from Blair Barbier and Jeremy Witten. In the ninth, the Cardinal couldn't even record a single out.
A leadoff base hit was followed by a walk on a full count. Cresse singled to left field on the second pitch he saw to drive home Ryan Theriot, securing a fifth national title for LSU in 10 seasons.
Greatest championship series (2003-present)
2004: Cal State Fullerton sweeps Texas 2-0
Just under a decade after winning its third and final national title under coach Augie Garrido, Cal State Fullerton returned to the mountaintop with George Horton in the dugout.
It didn't come down to a tense third game, but both of the Titans' wins came with 7th-inning rallies. Down 4-3 at the beginning of the frame in the opening game, the Titans scored three runs with two outs to take a two-run lead over Texas, then closed out the Longhorns in the 9th with the tying run on base.
Through six innings in Game 2, Cal State Fullerton had been held scoreless. Texas once again held a two-run lead. The Titans finally got on the board with a first-pitch pinch-hit triple from Brett Pill. Later, Kurt Suzuki drove in what would be the championship-winning run on an RBI single.
2006: Oregon State comes from behind to beat North Carolina
In 2006, the Beavers became the first team to win the MCWS after being down 1-0 in the final series since the format was adopted.
Down 5-0 in the 4th inning, Oregon State was staring a runners-up finish in the face. That was until a seven-run bottom of the inning and four more runs in the 7th to force a Game 3.
MCWS: Winningest coaches | Most titles | Most appearances | Conferences most represented
The decisive clash went into the 8th inning tied at two. North Carolina loaded the bases with just one out, poised to take a late lead. OSU pitcher Dallas Buck responded by striking out the next two batters on just seven pitches.
The Beavers then capitalized in the bottom of the 8th, getting two runners on base and scoring the winning run on a UNC throwing error for the program's first title.
2008: Fresno State completes Cinderella run vs. Georgia
The first 4-seed to reach the MCWS and the only to date to go all the way. The Bulldogs (Fresno, that is) blew a three-run lead in Game 1. How did they respond? By setting records the next day.
Fresno State's offensive explosion set new marks for most runs in a single championship series game (19) with all but one hitter in the lineup recording a base hit. Georgia scored 10 runs to its credit and led 5-0 in the 3rd, but allowed 15 runs over the next three innings.
In the final game, Fresno starter Justin Wilson brought his best stuff of the year. He allowed just one run and five hits while striking out nine Georgia hitters in eight innings of work, leading the WAC hopefuls to an unprecedented national title.
2014: Relief pitching leads Vanderbilt over Virginia
The Commodores' bats woke up early in this championship series, rocking the Virginia pitching staff for nine runs in the top of the 3rd inning. The Cavaliers would chip away at the deficit, even bringing the tying run to third base in the 8th. Vandy closer Adam Ravenelle entered in the ninth and shut down the Hoos in eight pitches.
After dropping Game 2, the title came down to winner-take-all baseball. Tied at 2 entering the 8th, John Norwood launched a homer to take the lead. Ravenelle was called in again for the six-out save, but made it more dramatic than he would have liked.
Virginia loaded the bases with one out in the 8th, but Ravanelle preserved the lead. When he came back out for the final frame, Ravanelle capped off a national title season with a clean bottom of the ninth.
2016: Coastal Carolina defeats Arizona twice by one run
The Wildcats took Game 1 of this series 3-0 and took the lead in Game 2. In response, the Chanticleers scored three crucial runs in the 8th inning to go up 5-2. The pitching bent but did not break in the bottom half, allowing two runs before stranding two runners on base. Coastal would go on to win 5-4.
In Game 3, the Chanticleers scored all four of their runs in the sixth and once again held on just barely under late pressure. Arizona closed the gap to one in the bottom of the ninth and put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. On a full count, Alex Cunningham punched out Ryan Haug to close out the national championship.
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