LSU advances to regional championship

An inside-the-park grand slam by first baseman Greg Deichmann was enough for starting pitcher Alex Lange, as the sophomore right-hander led the LSU baseball team to the NCAA Regional final with a 4-2 victory against Rice late Sunday in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
In a rain-plagued weekend, LSU (44-18) moved on to face the winner of today’s loser’s bracket game between Rice and Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. The Owls and Lions square off at 2 p.m. in an elimination game.
If LSU wins the 7 p.m. game today, the Tigers are the Baton Rouge Regional champions. If LSU does not win tonight, another game would be played Tuesday to determine the regional champion.
Freshman right-hander Caleb Gilbert will start tonight’s game for LSU.
All Baton Rouge Regional games are available on ESPN3.com.
In Sunday’s win, Deichmann hit what looked to be a bases-clearing double down the right field line in the bottom of the first.
However, when the ball went under the bullpen bench, Rice right fielder Charlie Warren attempted to retrieve the ball unsuccessfully.
When he came to his feet without the ball and tried to call for time, Deichmann had rounded third and scored.
After a brief meeting about the ground rules, the umpires ruled the play an inside-the-park grand slam that gave LSU a 4-0 lead.
“Deichmann came through with a big two-out base hit,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said in a news release. “He smoked it down the line, and we were fortunate because their guy went for the ball. It’s clearly stated in the ground rules that the ball becomes live.”
Regardless of the ruling some deemed controversial, a single by Chris Reid two batters later likely would have given the Tigers the same advantage.
Meanwhile, Lange improved to 4-0 in NCAA postseason play with another brilliant outing. He pitched into the ninth inning — despite a 56-minute rain delay in the top of the sixth — allowing only two runs on five hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts.
“We were a little frustrated because we couldn’t increase our lead,” Mainieri said, “but when you have Alex Lange on the mound, you still have a good chance to win. I’ve run out of superlatives to say about him. He’s just an amazing competitor. Obviously, he has talent, but there’s something that makes him different from other pitchers, and that is his competitive zeal. He just has an ability to rise up and make a big pitch when he needs it in clutch situations.”
LSU closer Hunter Newman entered after a leadoff single in the ninth inning and recorded his seventh save this season.
Rice starter Jon Duplantier (7-7), the 2016 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, suffered the loss as he allowed four runs on two hits in five innings with six walks and five strikeouts.
“I thought our guys did a great job against a tremendous pitcher,” Mainieri said. “We were very selective at the plate, and we made him work hard.”
LSU defeats
Utah Valley
LSU advanced to Sunday’s winner’s bracket contest after defeating Utah Valley, 7-1, Friday.
Friday’s game began after more than six hours of delays for heavy rain and lightning.
The fifth-ranked LSU baseball team built an early lead in the contest.
LSU, which won its 27th-consecutive regional opening game, capitalized on six solid innings of work by starter Jared Poche’ (8-4).
“I just thought it was a really solid performance again by our team in every way, very reminiscent of our game against Mississippi State at the SEC Tournament,” Mainieri said. “I thought Jared (Poche’) set the tone. He pitched great all night in typical fashion, wiggled out of a couple of jams with some clutch pitches.
“We had a lot of great at-bats,” Mainieri added. “We knocked out their starting pitcher, who we knew had a good arm, a big strong guy. We had some really good at-bats, clutch hitting. We just kind of strung a lot of singles together to get some runs.”
Poche’ (9-4) allowed only one run on five hits with a career-best eight strikeouts and no walks. Three Tigers — Jake Latz, Russell Reynolds and John Valek III — were nearly perfect in relief, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts in the final three innings.
Poche’, who has won at least eight games in each of his three seasons, improved his career mark at LSU to 26-9.
“Our bullpen did a terrific job,” Mainieri said. “It was really a good workmanlike performance in our first game. I didn’t think our young players who have not played in the postseason showed any nerves at all. I thought they played just like they have been playing all year, especially at the tail end of the year.”
Ten Tigers — including all nine starters — had hits, as LSU scored in the first three frames to open a 4-1 lead. Home runs by Fraley — a 428-foot blast to right field in the first inning — and Deichmann in the seventh inning were too much for the Wolverines to overcome.
Deichmann was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while shortstop Kramer Robertson was 2-for-3 with two doubles.
Utah Valley starter Danny Beddes (9-4) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in three innings with three walks and four strikeouts.
Utah Valley was making its NCAA Tournament debut.