LSU defeats UVA 9-5 in College World Series opener

OMAHA, NE - UVA couldn’t seem to shake-off its first College World Series game jitters in Omaha on Saturday, as LSU defeated the Cavs 9-5 in the opener for both teams.

UVA sent freshmen all-American pitcher Danny Hultzen to the mound, and LSU rocked him early, scoring three runs in the first three innings.

But the Cavs fought back, finally taking the lead in the top of the 5th inning after a home run and trio of singles.

But LSU then rallied in the bottom of the 5th to recapture the lead.  The Tigers added three more runs in the bottom of the 8th for good measure.

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By Jay Jenkins
Media General News Service

OMAHA, Neb.—Chalk one up for the mentor.

Louisiana State, using a pair of mammoth homers, made a winner of coach Paul Mainieri in his reunion with his former assistant, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor, in its opening game at the College World Series.

En route to the 9-5 victory in front of a record-tying crowd of 24,904 at legendary Rosenblatt Stadium, the Tigers pounded a trio of Cavalier pitchers.

With the setback, Virginia falls into the loser’s bracket and faces a must-win situation tomorrow against Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. The Cavaliers (48-14-1) had won nine of 10 games heading into the CWS.

LSU (52-16) advances to face SEC rival Arkansas tomorrow at 7 p.m. Virginia certainly had its chances. In fact, the Cavaliers registered 13 hits, including two homers, but left 13 runners left on base.

LSU, using a 14-hit attack, was far more productive requiring clutch situations.

The biggest hit, one that sealed Virginia’s fate, came off the bat of left fielder Ryan Schimpf in the eighth inning as the Tigers were clinging to a 6-5 lead.

Schimpf’s blast, which drove in three runs, came off reliever Tyler Wilson (Midlothian) and landed several rows deep in right field.

LSU, the top-ranked team in the country and the No. 3 national seed, jumped out to an early lead, scoring a lone run in the bottom-half of the first against Virginia starter Danny Hultzen.

Virginia evened the contest in the second on an RBI ground out, but the Cavaliers gave the lead back as the Tigers scored two runs back in their half of the third. In the frame, Hultzen allowed four hits, including a double, and walked two batters.

While LSU left the inning with a 3-1 lead, Hultzen minimized the damage stranding three runners.

It was the end of the line, however for Hultzen, serving as the rookie’s shortest starting outing of the season. The ACC freshman of the year allowed seven hits, a walk and three earned runs.

After Hultzen escaped the jam, Virginia answered back again in the fourth inning as Tyler Cannon tripled and scored on a bloop single that dropped in shallow right field. It was in that frame that Virginia chased LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo from the contest after he worked just 3.1 innings.

Virginia added a pair of runs in the top of fifth, including one on a two-out single from Keith Werman, but the Cavaliers stranded two runners.

As was the theme the entire contest, LSU answered again.

This time, however, the Tigers used the first of their homers and took the lead back for good.

With Matt Packer in for the Cavaliers and two runners on, LSU first baseman Sean Ochinko ripped a fastball over the wall in left field.

Virginia cut into the deficit in the seventh with a solo homer from Franco Valdes. Unfortunately for U.Va., the blast came moments after first baseman John Hicks was caught trying to steal second.

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By ERIC OLSON
AP Sports Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Sean Ochinko’s three-run homer gave LSU the lead in the fifth inning and Ryan Schimpf’s two-run blast in the eighth broke open the game for the Tigers, who beat Virginia 9-5 in the College World Series on Saturday night.
    LSU, ranked No. 1 in the major polls and the No. 3 national seed, extended its season-high win streak to 11 games.
    The Tigers (52-16) play Arkansas on Monday night, with the winner of that game taking control of Bracket 1. Virginia (48-14-1), in the CWS for the first time, meets Cal State Fullerton in an elimination game the same day.
    With LSU trailing 4-3, Micah Gibbs and Mikie Mahtook reached on singles leading off the bottom of the fifth. Ochinko then drove a 2-1 pitch from Matt Packer (3-5) into the left-field bleachers to put the Tigers up 6-4.
    Franco Valdes’ opposite-field home run to left off Austin Ross made it 6-5 in the seventh. Ross (6-7) and three other pitchers then combined to hold the Cavaliers to two hits and no runs the rest of the way.
    Schimpf’s 20th home run of the season, off Tyler Wilson, gave record-setting closer Matty Ott a four-run cushion when he went to the mound for the ninth. After he gave up a double to Valdes, Ott struck out Jarrett Parker to end LSU’s first win in a CWS opener in four Omaha appearances.
    The game matched Virginia coach Brian O’Connor against his mentor and close friend, LSU’s Paul Mainieri. O’Connor was Mainieri’s pitching coach on Notre Dame’s 2002 CWS team, and when he left for Virginia in 2004, the two vowed to never play each other unless it was in the NCAA tournament.
    The emotional meeting came on Division I baseball’s biggest stage and lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes. The teams combining for 28 hits and went through a total of nine pitchers.