After a waterlogged weekend that stretched the Baton Rouge Regional to Tuesday, LSU only needs two more wins to advance to a second-straight College World Series.
The Tigers (45-19) will host mid-major Coastal Carolina in their third-straight Super Regional. Hailing from Conway, South Carolina, the Chanticleers are appearing in their first Super Regional since 2010.
Both teams won their Regional final games in dramatic fashion.
The Chants (47-16) rallied to beat Regional host North Carolina State 7-5 in the top of ninth, 13 hours and 57 minutes after their game was delayed due to rain.
LSU overcame a 2-0 deficit against Rice behind junior pitcher Jared Poche’ and scored five unanswered runs propelled by sophomore first baseman Greg Deichmann’s home run.
“I’m glad Greg [Deichmann] got the MVP award, but really we couldn’t have won without Poche’,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “He shut them down and gave our team hope. Hope is a wonderful thing.”
Though Coastal Carolina didn’t play in a conference that had seven Regional Host sites like the Southeastern Conference did, Mainieri wants his team to treat them like an SEC team.
“I told our players this team that we’re going to be playing this weekend forget their names Coastal Carolina,” Mainieri said. “Think of them as Texas A&M, because that’s how talented they are. At this point there’s 16 teams left in the country. They’re all great ball clubs.”
Mainieri’s right. The Chants aren’t just an average mid-major team.
Led by coach Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina has appeared in the NCAA Tournament eight of the last 10 years and earned a National Seed in 2010. This year’s team also has a veteran-laden roster, which has six junior and senior starters combined.
“It’s been since 2010 that I’ve had a team that has had a brotherhood like this one,” Gilmore said at NCAA Press Conference on Tuesday after defeating NC State.
The Chants also have one of the most potent lineups LSU will see all year. Four Coastal Carolina players have double digit home runs and have a total of 91 home runs — LSU opponents have only hit 45.
The Chants’ presumed ace Andrew Beckwith boasts an 1.82 earned averaged and hitters only have a .257 batting average against him.
But LSU’s offense has been strong as of late, particularly Deichmann. The Baton Rouge Regional Most Outstanding Player hit 8-for-15 with 10 RBI and three runs.
Only two wins away from advancing to Omaha, Mainieri is looking forward to the challenge of facing Coastal Carolina.
“We’re going to have a team coming here that is not only very talented, but very confident,” Mainieri said. “It’s going to be a great series next weekend so I’m looking forward to it.”
LSU's Greg Deichmann (7) celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against Rice in the seventh inning of an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, June 7, 2016. LSU won 5-2 to advance to the super regionals. (Brett Duke/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune via AP) /NOLA.com The Times-Picayune via AP) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; USA TODAY OUT; THE BATON ROUGE ADVOCATE OUT; THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
