With Sunday’s 12-5 victory over West Virginia to claim the NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional, the LSU Tigers punched their ticket to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After Anthony Eyanson struck out the side to start the game, LSU’s bats got on the scoreboard as Derek Curiel led off with a double to left centerfield. Curiel advanced to third on an Ethan Frey flyout, and then Steven Milam drew a walk. Curiel would score on a fielder’s choice by Jake Brown.
LSU appeared to have busted the game wide open in the bottom of the second, and did so with two outs. Chris Stanfield drew a two-out walk, and then Curiel and Frey were both walked to load the bases. Milam doubled down the right field line that bringing home three runs.
Brown hit a single into right field that plated Milam. Brown then advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Jared Jones. That gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
West Virginia sliced that lead in half in the fourth inning.
The Mountaineers led off the inning with a solo home run by Sam White, and moments later, Ben Lumsden hit a two-run home run.
West Virginia added another run in the fifth when Armani Guzman drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a throwing error, and then advanced to third on a fielder’s choice. White hit a single into left field that scored Guzman.
LSU led off the seventh inning with Daniel Dickinson leading off by reaching first base on a fielding error. Tanner Reaves drew a walk, and then Luis Hernandez was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Stanfield hit a single through the right side that scored two runs. Two batters later, Curiel reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second base, and advanced to third on a throwing error. Frey then reached on a throwing error that scored Curiel.
Milam then doubled to right field to score Frey, and Brown then blasted a two-run home run.
West Virginia scored a run in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run by Jace Rinehart. That wasn’t nearly enough as the Tigers easily picked up the victory to advance to Omaha.
BIG NUMBER: 20
With Sunday night’s victory over West Virginia, Jay Johnson’s team punched its ticket to the College World Series for the 20th time in program history. That is tied with Oklahoma State for the sixth-most appearances of any program in college baseball history.
BIG NUMBER II: 10
The LSU Tigers defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 16-9 and 12-5 in the NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional. It was the first time the Tigers had scored 10-plus runs in consecutive games in a Super Regional.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME: STEVEN MILAM & JAKE BROWN
Steven Milam went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI, and two walks. Brown, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, four RBI, and a home run.
UP NEXT: LSU (48-15) will take on SEC rival Arkansas in the first round of the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The game will be either on Friday or Saturday. Time TBD.