Jun 17, 2008 - 11:32 PM
0 shoutsOMAHA, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Blake Dean hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth, capping a late rally as Louisiana State defeated Rice, 6-5, in an elimination game at the College World Series on Tuesday.
LSU (49-18-1) trailed, 5-0, in the bottom of the seventh and were down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth before pulling out the victory.
"There was no doubt in our minds (that they could come back)," Dean said. "We've done this so often before that believing is not the issue. We just needed that little bit extra."
The seventh-seeded Tigers are back in action Thursday against No. 2 North Carolina (52-13), which dropped a 5-3 decision to Fresno State on Tuesday night.
"Our backs are against the wall," Tar Heels reliever Rob Wooten said. "We need to regroup and get ready for LSU."
Tuesday's loss snapped a six-game NCAA Tournament winning streak for the Tar Heels.
"Fresno State certainly outplayed us, outexecuted us," North Carolina coach Mike Fox said. "I like the way they played. We'll regroup and try again Thursday. They did what they needed to do to win. Credit our guys for keeping it close."
The Bulldogs (44-29) on Friday play the winner of the matchup between North Carolina and LSU.
Steve Susdorf belted a solo homer in the fourth and Alan Ahmady erased a 3-2 deficit with a two-run single in the fifth for Fresno State.
Trailing by five, LSU finally got on the board, getting a run across on a balk in the bottom half of the seventh and Micah Gibbs lined an RBI double to right in the eighth, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
Owls (47-15) reliever Cole St. Clair retired the first batter he faced in the ninth but, after a single and a hit batter, Michael Hollander bounced a single up the middle to pull LSU within, 5-3.
Jared Mitchell then reached on an error to load the bases and the lefthander Dean lined a 1-0 pitch off the left-field wall, scoring all three runners to give the Tigers the win.
"For us, what a monumental win," LSU manager Paul Mainieri said. "We've had a lot of games that looked like they were lost, but our kids keep battling until the end."
Rice starter Chris Kelley threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, but St. Clair gave up all six runs - four earned - in his 2 2/3 innings.
"I felt like I was making good pitches," St. Clair said. "They put the ball where our defenders couldn't get to it."
"We gave it our best shot," Rice manager Wayne Graham said. "You have to give credit (to) LSU for fighting back. It was a great effort for them to come from behind like that."
Rick Hague had a two-run single and Aaron Luna homered for the sixth-seeded Owls, who had lost to Fresno State, 17-5, in their first game on Sunday.
For the Tar Heels, Wooten worked out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth and a two-on, none-out situation in the seventh. However, Erik Wetzel hit an RBI single to give the Bulldogs some insurance in the eighth.
Both teams' starters were unimpressive. North Carolina's Adam Warren lasted just four innings, allowing four runs and nine hits. Counterpart Justin Miller surrendered three runs and seven hits in four innings.
Trailing, 1-0, in the third, North Carolina rallied for three runs and five hits in the fourth off Miller but failed to capitalize against four Fresno State relievers.
"Yeah, we were able to make them expand the zone a little bit - they're an aggressive team and they make you work," said Holden Sprague, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Bulldogs. "We got a lot of help from our outfielders verbally, telling us we could throw strikes. They had our backs all game."
Tim Fedroff went 2-for-5 and now has 110 hits on the season, putting him third on the Tar Heels' all-time single-season list. He also extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games and drove in his 11th run of the postseason with a third-inning RBI triple.
Fedroff continued to move up several school single-season record lists. He now has 70 RBI (ninth), five triples (tied for seventh) and 75 runs scored (tied for fifth) and leads the team with a .548 (17-for-31) postseason average.
