Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — The dominance Oregon State has shown all season was on full display Monday night.
Bryce Fehmel limited LSU to two hits in eight innings, KJ Harrison hit the first College World Series grand slam at TD Ameritrade Park, and Oregon State beat the Tigers 13-1 for its 23rd straight win.
The Beavers (56-4), who matched the school-record win streak they set earlier this season, took control of Bracket 1. They don’t play again until Friday, and need one more win to advance to next week’s best-of-three finals.
“We just talked before the game about this is our time, this is our opportunity,” Oregon State coach Pat Casey said. “This is what we came here for. Let’s not miss that moment. So the guys played great.”
The matchup between the teams with the two longest active win streaks in the country was one of the most anticipated at the CWS in years. It turned out to be a dud. The 12-run margin tied the largest in a CWS game in the seven years it’s been played at TD Ameritrade.
LSU (49-18) had its 17-game win streak end with its most lopsided loss in Omaha since a 20-6 rout by Cal State Fullerton in 1994.
“It wasn’t what we expected or hoped for, obviously,” Tigers coach Paul Mainieri said. “Heck of a way for a 17-game winning streak to end. Right from the start things didn’t go well for us.”
Starter Eric Walker (8-2) left the game after throwing four pitches in the third inning because of forearm tightness. Caleb Gilbert held the Beavers for a couple of innings, but they capitalized on a couple of LSU misplays to go up 3-0 in the fifth.
“They’re definitely a scrappy offense,” Gilbert said. “I thought I was making some good pitches. They would just foul it off, and I’d have to go right back at it, do it again. Just couldn’t get that put-away when it was crunch time.”
Oregon State broke the game open in the sixth.
Harrison hammered Hunter Newman’s first pitch to him over the left-center fence for the first CWS grand slam since 2010, the last year the event was played at Rosenblatt Stadium.
Harrison has four home runs and 14 RBIs in seven NCAA Tournament games.
“That’s the stuff you dream of doing,” Harrison said, “and for it to come true on such a big stage is an amazing feeling.”
Florida State 6, Cal State Fullerton 4
OMAHA, Neb. — Florida State converted three walks, two infield singles and a double into three runs to take the lead in the seventh inning, and the Seminoles knocked Cal State Fullerton out of the College World Series with a win.
The Seminoles (46-22) will play another elimination game Wednesday against the loser of the Oregon State-LSU game Monday night. Fullerton (39-24) has gone two games and out in four straight CWS appearances and has lost nine games in a row in Omaha.
The Seminoles went ahead against three Fullerton pitchers, with the tying and go-ahead runs scoring on back-to-back walks by Blake Workman.
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