LSU takes down Wake Forest to force winner-take-all game for spot in CWS finals

LSU will face Wake Forest on Thursday night for the right to take on Florida in the national championship series.

[autotag]Javen Coleman[/autotag] got the start on the mound for the Tigers as LSU faced elimination once again. This time it was against the team that put them in the losers’ bracket, Wake Forest.

Though the Tigers found themselves in an early hole, the bullpen came through once again as LSU won 5-2 to force a winner-take-all game on Thursday night against Wake for a spot in the College World Series finals.

The Demon Deacons loaded the bases in the second to chase Coleman from the mound and bring in [autotag]Blake Money[/autotag]. Wake Forest hit a two-RBI single against Money before he got the next hitter to ground into a fielder’s choice. [autotag]Griffin Herring[/autotag] then entered out of the bullpen to get the Tigers out of the inning.

In the bottom of the second inning, LSU cut the lead in half when [autotag]Brayden Jobert[/autotag] hit an RBI double down the right-field line to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the bottom of the third, [autotag]Dylan Crews[/autotag] scored on a wild pitch to tie the game 2-2. [autotag]Cade Beloso[/autotag] followed that up with a three-run belly bomb to right field to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead after three innings of play.

Herring’s day was done in the top of the seventh inning after two runners reached base. He pitched 4.2 innings and allowed zero runs on three hits, six strikeouts, and a walk. [autotag]Gavin Guidry[/autotag] entered the game after him and shut the Demon Deacons down with two straight strikeouts to save the lead.

After Wake Forest put two runners on base in the top of the eighth inning, [autotag]Riley Cooper[/autotag] replaced Guidry with two outs. Cooper got his first hitter to lineout to third base to end the inning and maintain the 5-2 lead.

Cooper walked the first batter he faced before getting the next three out to win the game 5-2. LSU will play Wake Forest on Thursday night at 6 p.m.

The winner gets to play against the Florida Gators for a national championship.

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