Advertisement

CWS: LSU tops Oregon State, TCU beats Florida

LSU’s Josh Smith celebrates as he reaches home plate after hitting a home run in the seventh inning of a College World Series game against Oregon State on June 23.
(Nati Harnik / Associated Press)
Share

Alex Lange limited top-seeded Oregon State to two hits over 7 1/3 innings, and LSU ended the Beavers’ 23-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory on Friday to set up a winner-take-all Bracket 1 final at the College World Series.

The teams will meet again Saturday, with the winner going to the best-of-three finals beginning Monday.

The Tigers (51-18), who avenged a 13-1 loss to the Beavers (56-5) on Monday, became the first team to knock off the Beavers since Southern California on April 29.

Advertisement

They did all of their scoring against national wins leader Jake Thompson (14-1). Max Engelbrekt relieved in the seventh after Josh Smith hit Thompson’s first pitch of the inning into the right-field seats for a two-run lead.

Lange (10-5), the Chicago Cubs’ first-round draft pick, ran into trouble in the third when he walked three batters and gave up a double. Only one more batter advanced past first against him, and he retired eight in a row before he turned the game over to closer Zack Hess with one out in the eighth. Hess retired the last five batters, four by strikeout, for his fourth save.

LSU opened the second inning with a double and two singles and led 2-0 when Beau Jordan’s safety-squeeze bunt scored Zach Watson.

The Beavers got a run back in the third on a bases-loaded walk. They should have had another run score earlier in the inning when, with runners on first and second, Steven Kwan sliced a ball down the left-field line that bounced off the wall and was ruled foul. TV replays indicated it was a fair ball.

Oregon State did not protest, but national coordinator of umpires George Drouches said through an NCAA spokesman that crew chief Danny Collins should have called for a video review. Collins, who was working third base, made the original foul call. Kwan ended up popping out to shortstop.

The Beavers’ two hits were their fewest since they had four in their season opener against Indiana.

Advertisement

TCU forces another game with Florida

Evan Skoug hit a bases-clearing double, four TCU pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and the Horned Frogs beat Florida 9-2 on Friday night to force a second Bracket 2 final at the College World Series.

The teams will meet again Saturday night, with the winner advancing to the best-of-three finals starting Monday.

Skoug was 2 for 13 in the CWS when he came up in the sixth inning with two outs and the bases loaded. He lined reliever Frank Rubio’s 2-2 pitch into the right-center gap for an 8-2 lead.

Charles King (1-3) pitched 3 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief after taking over for starter Mitchell Traver with two outs in the fourth.

Jackson Kowar (12-1) struck out seven of the first eight batters he faced on his way to a career-high 11 Ks, but the Horned Frogs (50-17) were able to get to him and he lost for the first time this season for Florida (49-19).

Advertisement

sports@latimes.com

Advertisement