
Brown, Milam drive in 4 runs each, LSU beats West Virginia 12-5 to clinch 20th CWS berth
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jake Brown hit a home run and had four RBIs, Steven Milam had two doubles and also drove in four runs and LSU beat West Virginia 12-5 on Sunday night to sweep the best-of-three Baton Rouge Super Regional.
No. 6 seed LSU (48-15) clinched the program's 20th berth in the College World Series, where the Tigers will try to win their eighth national championship — all since 1991, the most recent in 2023.
Derek Curiel led off the game with a double and scored to make it 1-0 when Brown reached on a fielder's choice in the first inning and the Tigers led the rest of the way.
Anthony Eyanson (11-2) gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in five innings.
Chris Stanfield, Curiel and Ethan Frey each drew a two-out walk to load the bases before Milam cleared the bases with a double off starter Jack Kartsonas (6-4) to spark a five-run second that made it 6-0.
After Jace Rinehart hit a two-out solo shot and pinch-hitter Chase Swain drew a walk, Chase Shores came on a struck out Brodie Kresser swinging to end the eighth and the pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
Sam White hit a leadoff homer and Ben Lumsden added a two-run shot in the fourth before White added an RBI single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4.
Stanfield hit a two-RBI single to spark a six-run seventh, capped when Brown's two-run home run gave LSU an eight-run lead.
Milam and Josh Pearson each hit a grand slam as LSU beat the Mountaineers 16-9 in Game 1 on Saturday.
West Virginia (44-16) set the program's single-season record for wins under first-year coach Steve Sabins. The Mountains advanced to their first-ever super regional last season.
The game had originally been scheduled for 5:06 p.m. local time but was delayed approximately three hours due to inclement weather in the area.
___
AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
South Africa wins toss and bowling first against Australia in WTC final
LONDON (AP) — South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first against defending champion Australia at Lord's in the World Test Championship final on Wednesday. Cloud cover decided the call. 'Massive (occasion),' South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said. 'You can hear the South African accents as well in the stands. Should be a spectacle.' Unlike South Africa, Australia didn't have a warmup game, but captain Pat Cummins said they were ready. 'Preparation has been unreal. All the guys in the team are ready to go,' Cummins said. 'We have had about 10 days of preparation. I don't think there's any extra pressure. We've been here before and won it. So it's just about going out and enjoying it.' The teams were named on Tuesday. Australia has gone with a new top order by pushing up Marnus Labuschagne to open in a test for the first time, and placing Cameron Green at No. 3 for his first test in 15 months. Josh Hazlewood has displaced Scott Boland in the pace attack. South Africa brought back Lungi Ngidi as the third seamer in the only change to the team from its last test in January in Cape Town, a four-day win over Pakistan. ___ Lineups: South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (captain), Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi. Australia: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood. ___ AP cricket:


Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
What to know about the 2026 World Cup one year out
The World Cup kicks off one year from now and will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 23rd edition of soccer's most prestigious tournament, which has been running since 1930, will be the biggest yet with 48 teams taking part. Here's what to know about the 2026 FIFA World Cup. When is the 2026 World Cup The tournament will be played through June and July. It kicks off at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 11, with the final held July 19 at MetLife Stadium, which will be referred to as the New York New Jersey Stadium during FIFA's tournament. How to get tickets for the 2026 World Cup Fans can register their interest in tickets through FIFA. Who will play in the 2026 World Cup So far, more than a dozen countries have booked their place in the 48-team tournament, including co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as defending champion Argentina. Japan, Iran, Jordan, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Ecuador are also through. Sixteen teams will qualify from Europe — more than any other region. Africa will have nine teams and Asia eight, with both also getting a place in the playoffs. South America will have six teams qualifying directly and a playoff place. North and Central America and the Caribbean will also have six direct qualifiers and two playoff places. Oceania will only have one direct qualifier and a playoff place. Which cities will be hosting the 2026 World Cup The United States will host games in Arlington, Texas; Atlanta; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Foxborough, Massachusetts; Houston; Inglewood, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Miami Gardens, Florida; Philadelphia, Seattle; and San Jose, California. Two Canadian cities will have World Cup games: Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia. In Mexico, games will be played in Guadalajara, Monterrey and Mexico City. What is the format of the 2026 World Cup The tournament will follow the same format as in recent years, just with a bigger field. There will be 12 groups of four teams. The teams in each group play each other and the top two will advance to a knockout stage. The eight best third-place teams will also advance. The knockouts will be played from the round of 32 to the final. Who won the last World Cup? Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The previous World Cup was held in 2022 at Qatar, where Argentina defeated France in a penalty shootout in the final. Which country has won the most World Cup titles? Brazil holds that record, having won the tournament five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Germany and Italy have each won four titles. Argentina has three. ___ AP soccer:


Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dodgers' pitching injury woes culminate in a punt. Matt Sauer takes one for the team in 11-1 blowout
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers have 14 pitchers making more than $100 million combined this season on their injured list, They've been signing, promoting, playing and releasing pitchers almost daily as they engage in a perpetual scramble to assemble enough healthy arms to compete. When the Dodgers fell behind in the third inning Tuesday night while desperately short of options on the mound, the defending World Series champions essentially decided to punt a game away to the San Diego Padres. Matt Sauer, a 26-year-old minor leaguer getting his fourth callup already this season, threw 111 pitches while giving up 13 hits, three walks and nine runs and facing 30 batters in the Padres' 11-1 victory. The Dodgers allowed Sauer to pitch 4 2/3 innings with nothing close to his best stuff, and the Padres' loaded lineup feasted on him while turning a much-anticipated rivalry game into a laugher. Utilityman Kiké Hernández then took the mound during the sixth and pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and one earned run while throwing 36 pitches — none faster than 57 mph. Manager Dave Roberts grimly acknowledged that the Dodgers essentially had to give up on trying to win this game after falling behind 3-0 in the third inning. 'You've just got to look at where our 'pen is at, and appreciate what we have the next couple of days,' Roberts said. 'I felt it just wasn't smart to chase and red-line guys. I've got to give credit to Matt. That was as much as he's ever pitched, and (he) essentially took it for the team to try and stay away from other guys and give us a chance to win a series. That's what we came in here to do, and we're in position to do that.' Indeed, the Dodgers used four high-leverage relievers for five total innings while hanging on for their 8-7 victory over the Padres in 10 innings on Monday night. That left the bullpen weary behind Lou Trivino, who went out as the opener Tuesday and threw one hitless inning. The Dodgers' rotation is profoundly patchwork. With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin and Gavin Stone headlining the list of potential starters sidelined by injury — and with Shohei Ohtani still proceeding quite deliberately in his mound comeback — Los Angeles can currently send out Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May. The other two spots in the rotation are being filled by temporary callups and/or bullpen games. The Dodgers didn't even want to try a bullpen game Tuesday after falling behind early, since Roberts thought it would be more prudent to have his bullpen largely available Wednesday when Justin Wrobleski — another rotation filler by the desperate Dodgers — takes the mound. 'It's where our staff is at right now as far as who's available, who's not,' Roberts said. 'Who we can kind of push, who we can't. And these are the starters we have, so we've got to go with it and make the best.' Sauer accepted his bizarre fate, realizing the Dodgers needed his arm to fill innings while they regrouped. 'I've just got to be better with locating the ball,' said Sauer, who signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers last winter. 'I wouldn't necessarily say (it's) a pride thing. I know my role is to eat up innings, and I feel like I've got the frame and the repertoire to do that, and I'm going to go out there and compete every time.' Everyone recognizes that the deep-pocketed Dodgers' success over the past several years has happened despite a jaw-dropping slew of major pitching injuries. Last season was similar to this campaign, with practically every pitcher on the roster missing large chunks of the season and postseason. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Los Angeles won the World Series last season with an October starting rotation of late-season acquisition Jack Flaherty, Yamamoto (who missed three months of the regular season) and Walker Buehler (who also missed three months) supported by multiple bullpen games. Flaherty and Buehler then left in free agency. Roberts disagreed with the notion that the Dodgers' unlikely success with bullpen games last season — particularly in the NLDS against the Padres — could have given them false confidence in their ability to solve these major pitching woes with that strategy. 'Today wasn't really a bullpen day,' Roberts said. 'If you look at last year, certain games, you have nine guys that you have available, and we certainly didn't have that today. Somebody was going to have to take three to five innings. We weren't in that situation last year, so I don't think that's a fair comparison. When you get behind, you've got to kind of just ride it out.' ___ AP MLB: