LSU tops No. 1 seed again, 6-1

Tigers reach best-of-3 final with Florida

OMAHA, Neb. — Nothing LSU encounters in the College World Series championship series will be any more daunting than the task the Tigers had to complete to get there.

The Tigers had to beat an Oregon State team that owned the most formidable record of any team in four decades, and they had to do it twice.

They did in dominating fashion.

Caleb Gilbert held the No. 1 national seed Beavers (56-6) to two hits in 7⅓ innings, Michael Papierski homered from both sides of the plate and LSU won, 6-1, Saturday a day after beating Oregon State, 31.

“To lose four games the entire season, and we beat them two days in a row, it’s hard to predict those things to happen, but that’s why you have to play the games,” Tigers coach Paul Mainieri said. “Our kids embraced the challenge.”

The Tigers (52-18) won their third consecutive elimination game to advance to the best- of- three final against Florida, which begins Monday at TD Ameritrade Park.

Gilbert allowed an infield single and walk before Michael Gretler homered in the seventh. He struck out a career-high seven in his longest outing in his two seasons at LSU. Zack Hess allowed one hit the rest of the way.

“It’s a surreal feeling to be able to pitch your team, when the back’s against the wall in an elimination game, into the College World Series final,” Gilbert said. “I just had all the faith in the world in my teammates and my coaching staff and just really went out there and pitched my game, tried to attack early with a heater and get ahead and trust my defense behind me.”

Papierski became the first player to homer twice in a CWS game since TCU’s Bryan Holaday in 2010. He went deep from the left side off Bryce Fehmel in the second and the right side off Brandon Eisert in the fourth.

“I put some good swings on fastballs today,” Papierski said, “and after that, the wind helped a little bit. But that wasn’t the highlight of the game. It was Caleb Gilbert.”

The Beavers had a season-low two hits Friday and three Saturday. They went the first 17 innings Friday and Saturday without having a leadoff batter reach base.

Fourth- seeded LSU bounced back from a 13-1 loss Monday to Oregon State and reached the championship round for the first time since winning the national title in 2009.

Other game

Florida 3, TCU 0: Alex Faedo pitched three-hit ball for 7⅓ shutout innings in a second consecutive strong performance against TCU, and Florida moved on to the final with a victory.

No. 3 national seed Florida (50-19) will play LSU in the best-of-three final. TCU (50-18) had beaten the Gators, 9-2, Friday to force the winner-take-all bracket final and the teams’ third meeting in a week.

Florida will be playing for its first national baseball championship.