College World Series : McDonald Is Beaten by Texas

Ben McDonald said goodbye to college baseball Thursday night but stopped short of saying good riddance to Rosenblatt Stadium, where he continued to experience nothing but misery as a pitcher for Louisiana State.

McDonald, a 6-foot-7 junior right-hander who was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as the first player taken in the free-agent draft, absorbed his fourth loss in College World Series play as Texas defeated LSU, 12-7, before a crowd of 16,072.

Texas (54-17) advanced to Saturday’s national championship game, in which the Longhorns will meet the winner of tonight’s game between top-seeded Florida State (54-17) and Wichita State (66-15).

LSU (55-17) finished its season having tied the school record for wins in a season.

“It’s been tough here for me,” said McDonald, who as a freshman in 1987 gave up a 10th-inning grand slam to Stanford’s Paul Carey that eliminated LSU from the tournament. “I haven’t had a whole lot of luck.

“Maybe, I’ll have a chance to come back here in pro ball and get a chance to win a game.”

McDonald is now the losingest pitching in College World Series history. He lost two games in ’87 and two more this year to become the first pitcher ever to lose four College World Series games in a career.

McDonald (14-4), nursing an open blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand, gave up 11 runs--all earned--in just 3 1/3 innings against Texas. He allowed nine hits, walked three and struck out six.

“I don’t think he (McDonald) had his good stuff today,” said Scott Bryant, Texas’ designated hitter, who drove in three runs. “A lot of the pitches he made were up.”

Texas scored all of its runs in the first four innings, including a four-run first inning highlighted by Bryant’s two-run triple, and a four-run fourth.

College Series Notes

Texas, which won its fourth national title in 1983, is making its eighth appearance in the championship game. The last time Texas was in the championship game was 1985, when the Longhorns lost to Miami, 10-6. . . . Texas third baseman Craig Newkirk is seven for 13 and has driven in seven runs in three games. . . . Senior right-hander Clyde Keller (13-0) will start tonight for Florida State against Wichita State senior right-hander Pat Cedeno (12-4). . . . LSU second baseman Tookie Johnson went hitless against Texas, snapping a 25-game hitting streak.