Tigers suffer late heartbreaking one-run CWS loss to Wake Forest

Wake Forest catcher Bennett Lee first blocked LSU’s road to a College World Series victory and moments later cleared a path for his team to secure a win.

Lee, a former Tulane starting catcher who transferred to WFU this season, tagged out LSU first baseman Tre’ Morgan trying to score the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth and then provided the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the inning for a 3-2 victory Monday night in Omaha.

“We were in red situation so go on contact,” said Morgan, who began sprinting towards home plate as soon as LSU designated hitter Cade Beloso nubbed a spinning grounder to WFU third baseman Brock Wilken. “As soon as the ball was hit I took off. I knew he (Wilken) would have an awkward throw, so I tried to get a bit over to get in the way but he made a great play.”

Deacons’ closer Camden Minacci retired three straight LSU batters, two by strikeouts, in the top of the ninth to send the fifth-seeded Tigers (49-16) into a Tuesday night 6 p.m. losers’ bracket elimination game vs. Tennessee (44-21). The Vols, who lost to LSU 6-3 Saturday, came back from a 4-0 deficit for a 6-4 win that eliminated Stanford earlier Monday.

“It would be very easy to crawl in the hole with disappointment,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “That's a great college baseball game that we came up on the short end of the stick.”

Top-seed WFU (54-10), needing just one win to advance into the best two-of-three championship finals series, moves to a Wednesday 6 p.m. date vs. the LSU-Tennessee winner.

“We've got some toughness to us,” WFU head coach Tom Walters said. “I said to the guys in the huddle before the game `They (LSU) don't know how tough we are. We're a tough team, a tough-minded team. We don't quit. We don't give up.'”

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a pair of two-out RBIs with third baseman Tommy White's single and Morgan's triple after WFU left fielder Adam Cecere lost Morgan's liner in the sun.

But WFU starting pitcher Josh Hartle and three relievers held LSU scoreless in the last six innings, allowing just three hits. The four WFU arms on a pitching staff that leads the nation in earned run average combined for 13 strikeouts, nine by Hartle in his six innings.

The Deacons managed but five hits vs. two Tigers’ pitchers, two off starter Ty Floyd and three off reliever Thatcher Hurd. That duo combined for 15 strikeouts, a career-high tying 10 by Floyd in his five innings and five by Hurd in his three innings.

“The biggest thing for me this outing was to locate my off-speed pitches early in the counts, my changeup and slider and curveball,” Floyd said. “But I know my fastball is my best pitch, so late in the count I know I can throw the ball on the top of the zone and get strikeouts”.

Floyd walked the bases full with no outs in the WFU sixth. Hurd then entered and immediately gave up an RBI single to Wilken. Second baseman Justin Johnson tied the game at 2-2 on a double play ground ball.

After LSU left a runner on base in the top of the seventh and WFU stranded two runners in the bottom of the seventh, Morgan led off the Tigers’ eighth with a double.

He advanced to third when WFU’s Johnson failed to field a grounder by LSU catcher Hayden Travinski.

Beloso then chopped a grounder to a charging Wilken who had trouble getting the ball out of his glove as he crossed left to right into foul territory. He bounced a short throw to Lee, who scooped and tagged out Morgan on a bang-bang play at home plate for the first out.

The Tigers asked for a replay review which they lost.

“Beloso hits a little squibber,” Lee said. “Brock said the ball was literally still spinning in his glove when he went to throw it. So just an unbelievable play to get the ball to me. And from my perspective, I've done millions of picks in my life. I got good hands and it just took over.”

LSU came away empty-handed when WFU closer Minacci entered the game and induced Tigers’ second baseman Gavin Dugas into an inning-ending double play ground ball.

Hurd struck out Johnson to open the WFU eighth and had an 0-2 count on designated hitter Danny Corona before he doubled down the right-field line.

Lee, facing a 1-2 count, cracked a Hurd pitch into left field for an RBI single scoring Corona and breaking a 2-2 tie.

Though Hurd struck out the next two batters, the timely damage was done.

Minacci needed just 12 pitches in the LSU ninth to nail down the WFU win.

“We all do a lot of visualization work and we believe,” Minacci said. “I've seen this a hundred times. I knew there would be a one-run save in Omaha. And we've gotten two.”

He struck out Tigers’ right fielder Brayden Jobert looking and shortstop Jordan Thompson swinging before left fielder Josh Pearson grounded out to Minacci to end a superbly played game from both teams.

The Tigers now must win three games – Tennessee once and Wake Forest twice – to advance to Saturday’s opener of the championship finals series.

Johnson said he told his team after the game he’s been in this position before coaching for Arizona in the 2016 CWS.

“Lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Oklahoma State and then won three consecutive games to play for a national championship,” Johnson said.

“Then the very next year (in 2017) this program (LSU) did the same thing. And they beat probably one of the best teams in modern college baseball history (Oregon State) twice to get that opportunity.

“I have all the faith in the world in our team that we can do that. So, let's stick to what we do. And if we do that well, then we'll be in a good spot.”

The Tigers will be at a definite disadvantage in the pitching department vs. the Vols.

Riley Cooper, who started in LSU’s 13-7 win over Oregon State in the Baton Rouge Regional, might be available as a starter. He threw 22 pitches, closing the last 1.1 innings in Saturday’s win over Tennessee.

Hurd, who has the third most starts (10) on the team behind Paul Skenes and Floyd, won’t be available after Monday’s 65-pitch relief appearance.

Johnson said he’ll have nine pitchers available to face the Vols.

“We'll choose one of them,” Johnson said. “And he'll get guys out for as long as he can. And then we'll go to the next guy and we'll go to the next guy and we'll go to the next guy until we figure out how to get 27 outs against a really good team.”

Tennessee will likely start Drew Beam, who’s 9-4 in 16 starts, 78.2 innings pitched, and with a 3.78 ERA that ranks second on a staff that’s second in the nation in ERA behind Wake Forest.

Beam was the starter in the Vols’ 14-7 win in game three of the LSU series in April in Baton Rouge. He allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings in a contest Tennessee led 10-2 through 3½ innings.

“Our little theme we've had all year long, because of tough times, is just keep moving forward,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said after his team’s comeback win over Stanford earlier Monday. “This is one more day we get to keep moving forward. And a win is nice but you need more than one win at this place to get too excited about wins. It's more about this group getting to be together another day or two and hopefully even more than that.”