With his proud father looking on, Dylan Crews shows why he chose to come to LSU

Dylan Crews and his parents have answered the question before. Quite a few times, in fact, his father George said.

But words can go only so far to describe why Dylan decided to come to LSU three years ago.

Even in big moments, Dylan is usually stoic. Calm and collected. But since the Tigers’ NCAA tournament run began at Alex Box Stadium, he’s flashed more of his fiery side. Like in the regionals, when he roared across first base during a home run trot. Or on Saturday night in the super regionals, when Tommy White blasted a two-run homer that sent Dylan home, where he yelled and clapped at White as he rounded third.

Dylan has answered the question without saying a word this postseason.

This is why he skipped the MLB draft to move to Baton Rouge out of high school. To play in these environments. To help return a storied program to the top of the college baseball world.

That’s what George said, sitting atop his perch along the ballpark’s concourse, behind the home dugout. That’s where he’s watched all of his son’s home games.

Sunday evening — a hot, humid day at Alex Box — was no different. LSU beat Kentucky 8-3, which means the Tigers are headed to the College World Series for the first time since 2017.

It also means the Crews family has watched Dylan’s final game in Baton Rouge.

“You can’t put a price on all of this,” said Dylan's father, making a circular motion around the stadium with his finger. “This is unbelievable. This is what he came here for.”

George, who played two years of college baseball as a pitcher for Memphis State, outfitted his tall, burly frame with a gold LSU fishing shirt. A camouflage LSU hat rested atop his long, wispy hair.

He took out his phone during pregame player intros, opened the camera, flipped it horizontally and rested his hands on the railing in front of his seat. After the national anthem, he shared a fist bump with Cade Beloso’s father Rodney.

“Last ride, baby,” Beloso said.

Then George stood up and took a second video, this one a slow pan across the field. After that, it was Dylan’s first appearance at the plate and time for George to pull out his phone again.

Another video. This is how he watches all of Dylan’s at-bats.

It’s a ritual, he said, one that he started when Dylan was 10. Dylan usually will ask his father to send him the clips, and sometimes the two will go back and watch them. George has thousands of recordings.

“He wants to see it through my eyes,” George said.

Dylan’s first trip to the plate was a five-pitch walk, his 62nd of the year. On his second, he hit a chopper to first base, a fielder’s choice that scored LSU’s first run of the game.

In between those appearances, George reflected on his son’s growth as a player since he began his LSU career. Those strides are perhaps most evident in his plate discipline. This season, Dylan’s walks are up and his strikeouts down.

So far, he’s walked 23 more times in his junior year than he did in his sophomore year, and he has trimmed last season’s strikeout total from 56 to 40 despite playing in one more game.

“He’s always had a really good eye for balls and strikes,” George said. “He’s really made an effort on professional at-bats and gotten his strikeouts down.”

Dennis Burchill, Dylan’s high school coach, stood behind George. The Crews invited him to Baton Rouge for the weekend, and it was his first time watching his former star play college ball in-person.

He agreed with George — citing Dylan’s patience, maturity and confidence — to explain his improvement as a hitter. All he needs is one pitch, and Dylan is willing to wait for it.

After walking in his third at-bat, Dylan fell into an 0-2 hole during his fourth, then took four straight balls and walked again.

“That’s him,” Burchill said afterward. “He’s so confident. He probably could’ve hit one of those balls, but he didn’t.”

In Dylan’s next trip to the plate, George sat down quietly, learned forward, rubbed his hands together and pulled out his phone, opening his camera and zooming in. The sun set above the third-base stands, and George made sure to snap a few photos to pair with the video.

Dylan hit a foul ball. George grimaced. Two pitches later, another foul ball. Another grimace from George. Then Dylan worked himself into a full count before drawing another walk, his fourth of the game.

That was in the eighth inning. Dylan had reached base every time he had stepped to the plate, but he had yet to record a hit. LSU clung to a 5-3 lead, and it was no certainty he'd every step to the plate in The Box again.

But in the ninth, Gavin Dugas was hit by a pitch. Brayden Jobert hit a single, and Josh Pearson walked. The bases were loaded with only one out as Dylan stepped to the plate.

George already had the camera out. He opened it during Pearson’s at-bat. The crowd stood up, and so did George, as Hayden Travinski’s father, Jason, wrapped his right arm around his shoulder. He held the phone out in front of him and angled it toward the batter’s box.

Crews worked a 3-1 count and caught a pitch he liked, pulling it into shallow left field for a line-drive double. Two runs scored. Tears welled up in George’s eyes, and his lip quivered.

But he kept the camera rolling. George filmed until the crowd settled, until White stepped into the batter’s box, and until the moment had sunk in.

With that hit, Crews answered the question. That was why he came to Baton Rouge — to step into the box with a trip to Omaha on the line.

George could muster only two words.

“Wow,” he said. “Wow."