BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Cade Beloso hit a three-run home run, Riley Cooper and Gavin Guidry combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings of three-hit relief and LSU beat Kentucky 5-3 Sunday night to sweep the best-of-3 Baton Rouge Super Regional.
LSU (48-15) clinched its 19th trip to the College World Series, all since 1986. Second-year coach Jay Johnson has the Tigers headed to Omaha for the first time since 2017.
Beloso's homer gave LSU a 4-1 lead in the top of the third inning and the Wildcats trailed the rest of the way.
LSU starter Ty Floyd worked out of a couple jams, throwing 81 pitches in 3 1/3 innings but gave up just three runs — all on solo home runs. Cooper (4-3) came on in the fourth and pitched 3 scoreless innings.
Guidry (3) pitched the final 2 2/3 innings and got out of a jam in the bottom of the seventh with a called third strike on a curveball with runners on first and third. Just a couple pitches before he was called out looking to end the inning, designated hitter Rueben Church pulled a liner down the line in left that fell foul by inches. With the runner on first going on contact, it could have tied the game if fair.
Dylan Crews hit a two-run double in the top of the ninth to cap the scoring and finished 1 for 2 with four walks and three RBIs. The projected top overall choice in this summer’s MLB Draft, Crews is 11 for 19 with eight RBIs in five NCAA Tournament games.
Jackson Gray, Devin Burkes and Nolan McCarthy each hit a solo home run for Kentucky (40-21).
LSU has won five games in a row, including a 14-0 win over the Wildcats in Game 1.