LSU beats Arkansas, gets a break

ASSOCIATED PRESS

OMAHA , Neb. — Mikie Mahtook, Austin Nola and Blake Dean homered and LSU stayed unbeaten at the College World Series with a 9-1 victory over Arkansas on Monday night.

The No. 3-seeded Tigers (53-16), who have won 12 straight, are off until they play the Razorbacks or Virginia on Friday. A win in that game would send LSU to next week’s best-of-3 finals.

Arkansas (40-23) and Virginia meet Wednesday in an elimination game.

Razorbacks starter Brett Eibner (5-5) was knocked out in the second inning after allowing four runs. TJ Forrest held LSU scoreless until the sixth, when the Tigers added five more.

LSU’s Louis Coleman (14-2) allowed a run in the first. Daniel Bradshaw came on to start the seventh, and Nolan Cain pitched the ninth.

Virginia 7, Cal State Fullerton 5

Virginia eliminated second-seeded Cal State Fullerton, beating another ace by chasing Daniel Renken.

The Cavaliers (49-14-1) play Arkansas on Wednesday night. Fullerton (47-16) has lost five straight in the CWS.

Renken (11-3) gave up a season-high six runs and left in the sixth inning. The Cavaliers tagged another one of college baseball’s top pitchers, having defeated San Diego State ace and No. 1 overall draft pick Stephen Strasburg in the regionals.

Virginia, in the CWS for the first time, took the lead for good in the second inning by scoring four times. Keith Werman, the Cavaliers’ ninth-place hitter, singled home the tying run and Danny Hultzen hit a two-run single past diving right fielder Gary Brown.

Werman continued his key hitting in the College World Series, going 2-for-4 and driving in two runs. The 140-pound freshman is 6-for-9 with two doubles and three RBIs in two CWS games.

Fullerton, 21-9 in NCAA tournament elimination games since 1999, tried to come back against closer Kevin Arico in the ninth.

Joey Siddons had an infield single and Christian Colon reached on an error before Brown’s RBI single.

Arico struck out Josh Fellhauer, but then Virginia shortstop Tyler Cannon’s backhand flip pulled Werman off the bag, allowing another run to score.

Cannon redeemed himself moments later when Khris Davis grounded to him. This time Cannon made a perfect flip to Werman for the final out.