in the NCAA tournament and extended the life of the old Alex Box Stadium as Baton Rouge hosted a regional bracket of the NCAA tournament. LSU swept the series, defeating Texas Southern (12–1) and Southern Miss (twice, 13–4 and 11–4) to win the regional bracket. With the sweep of the Regional series, LSU extended their winning streak to a SEC-record 23 straight games. As a result of the Regional, LSU and Baton Rouge earned a spot in the Super-Regional series, hosting UC-Irvine in the last three games to be played in the old Alex Box Stadium. LSU lost the first game, 11–5, ending their streak of wins at 23. LSU recovered in the second game of the series, scoring six runs in the top of the ninth inning to force a third game with a dramatic come-from-behind win, 9–7. On Monday, June 9, 2008, in the final game to be played at the Alex Box Stadium, with a record-setting crowd of 8,173 watching, LSU dominated UC-Irvine with a 21–7 win to move to the 2008 College World Series. In the 2008 College World Series, No. 7 LSU faced the No. 2 North Carolina Tarheels in the first round, losing 8–4. The Tigers, facing elimination in a game against the Rice Owls, won in dramatic fashion, 6–5, continuing their string of come-from-behind victories. On June 20, 2008, after a rain delay of nearly 24 hours, UNC and LSU resumed their elimination game matchup, resulting in a 7–3 loss for LSU. The team was defeated after giving up the only grand slam in the 2008 CWS in the top of the ninth inning. During the 2008 regular and post-regulation baseball season, LSU's games have continuously featured both dramatic victories and controversial calls. 2009 National championship The 2009 season was the first for LSU playing at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. In the post-season, LSU traveled to Omaha after sweeping Southern University, Baylor University and the University of Minnesota in the regionals and Rice University in the super regionals. They started play at the College World Series and faced the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round, winning 9–5. In the winner's bracket game, LSU played the Arkansas Razorbacks and won by a score of 9–1. In a rematch, the Tigers beat the Razorbacks again by a score of 14–5, advancing to the CWS finals for the first time since 2000. They played