The Oregon State Beavers' dugout begins to celebrate after a win over LSU. The Beavers won their 23rd consecutive game and don't have to play again until Friday. Photo courtesy of Oregon State Baseball/Twitter
KJ Harrison's grand slam in the top of the sixth inning Monday night broke open what was a close game as top-seeded Oregon State routed No. 4 LSU 13-1 to advance to the winner's bracket final of the College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
The Beavers (57-4) won their 23rd consecutive game and don't have to play again until Friday. LSU (49-18) falls into an elimination game Wednesday night against Florida State, which stayed alive earlier Monday with a 6-4 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
Oregon State took advantage of 12 walks and two errors by LSU, teaming those free bases with 11 hits to score at least one run against the first six of the Tigers' eight pitchers.
Nick Madrigal went 3-for-6 with three RBI, and Trevor Lamach was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Cadyn Grenier also drove in three runs, going 1-for-3.
Given all that support, Bryce Fehmel (6-2) delivered an outing that would have been good enough to win with just an average offensive effort. Fehmel cruised through eight innings, giving up two hits and a run while walking three and whiffing three.
LSU starter Eric Walker (8-2) gave up two hits and a run in two-plus innings before leaving in the top of the third with forearm tightness. Caleb Gilbert relieved and kept the game at 1-0 until Lamach looped a two-run single to center in the fifth for a 3-0 advantage.
Madrigal's infield out preceded Harrison's grand slam in the sixth to make it 8-0. It became 11-0 in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Grenier and a two-run double by Madrigal. Grenier's two-run single in the eighth finished the Beavers' attack.
Zach Watson cracked a solo homer in the seventh to supply the only run for the Tigers, which saw their 17-game winning streak end.
