What they said: “I saw him at OR, and he was on a pitch count, but he was electric – 93-96 (mph) with a really good slider and a changeup that was better than it had been in the past”.
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Something for LSU fans to chew on before the winner-take-all bracket final: Since losing five straight games from May 6-13, 2016, Oregon State is 62-6 and has not lost consecutive games.
LSU made it worse by finally getting its offense cranked up after scuffling through two games.
They did that in a very convincing fashion as they defeated OSU 3-1 in front of a largely purple and gold clad crowd at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
LSU righthander Alex Lange knew he put his team in position to keep their national title hopes alive.
Zach Watson and Josh Smith singled up the middle on back-to-back at-bats, the latter scoring Deichmann.
In my opinion, the game completely changed in the bottom of the 3rd.
Had this play gone to review AND was ruled fair by replay, the replay officials would have placed the runners on the bases they think they would [sic] of received had the ball been ruled fair. The junior right-hander issued three free passes in the third, including a bases-loaded walk to Trevor Larnach that forced in Michael Gretler.
Hess, who has earned the nickname of Psycho, came back out for the ninth and struck out the first batter he faced on three straight fastballs.
OMAHA-On a night when Louisiana State needed a victory most, lefthander Jared Poche’ did what he has done more often in his career than anyone in the program’s storied history: win.
The Beavers got a run back in the third on a bases-loaded walk.
A home run to right field by Smith to lead off the top of the seventh inning made it 3-1 Tigers.
From there, the Tigers’ pitching kept the Beavers quiet.
Was this Lange’s best game as a Tiger? He retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced, navigating the unsafe top of the OSU batting order again in the 5th with no damage done. By the time Casey heard from someone who had seen the replay, another pitch had been thrown. Lange fired 7 ⅓ innings of two-hit work for his 10th win and second elimination-game gem in three years at the CWS.
Like Thompson, Lange settled in after that.
The inning could’ve been bigger for Oregon State, but Steven Kwan’s line drive off the wall with two on was ruled foul by the third-base umpire.
In the bottom bracket, the Florida Gators await the victor of Thursday’s Louisville vs. TCU elimination game. Closing the books on this season, FSU has much to look forward to, as it continues to attract one of the greatest recruiting classes in the coming years. “He pitched a attractive ball game”. Gilbert has been used mostly in relief but is being pressed into the starter’s role because of a forearm injury to Eric Walker. He is arguably OSU’s most polished arm and was their highest drafted arm as he went to the Rays in the first round last week. Their other sister, Karlie, has been LSU’s bat girl for the past three years. The Tigers must win that game to force a winner-take-all game Saturday with a trip to the final series on the line.
Even though the Beavers dropped Friday’s game to LSU, I still think the advantage is on the side of the orange and black. They love the game. OSU’s 1-5 hitters combined for 0 hits on Friday.
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When WOWT 6 News met the players, we found out Kylie may have let out a little secret about her sis! “Lange and (Zack) Hess came in and shut it down after that”. Instead, the Beavers must wait another day for a rubber match with the team that dealt them their fifth loss in four months.
