Cano, Little Rock beat No. 6 national seed LSU 10-4, force decisive game Monday in Baton Rouge
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Angel Cano hit a two-run home run in the second inning and a bases-clearing double in the third to help No. 4 seed Little Rock beat host and top-seeded LSU 10-4 on Saturday night to win avoid elimination at the Baton Rouge Regional on Sunday night.
The Trojans (27-33), making their second NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2014, can clinch a berth in the super regionals with a win Monday over No. 6 national seed LSU.
LSU beat Little Rock 7-0 on Friday and followed Saturday with a 12-0 win over Dallas Baptist to advance to the championship round. The Trojans, who lost 13 of 14 to close the regular season before winning five straight to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, exploded for 22 runs Saturday in a win over Rhode Island and beat Dallas Baptist 8-6 in an elimination game earlier Sunday.
Steven Milam hit a two-RBI single to cap LSU's three run first inning but Angel Cano hit a two-run home run in the second for the Trojans. Ryan Geck grounded out to lead off the third before Ty Rhoades, Cade Martin and Cooper Chaplain drew consecutive walks to load the bases. Cano fouled off three consecutive two-strike pitches before he hit a bases-clearing double off Chase Shores (5-3), who was immediately replaced by Cooper Williams after allowing four runs in an inning of relief.
Starter Noah Burkey gave up three runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings before he was replaced by Brenden Katz (1-0), who pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Malcolm Brown threw 5 1/3 innings and gave up a run on three hits to earn his first save of the season.
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