Hot Koerner Powers LSU to Title Game

OMAHA — Defending champion Louisiana State rode two home runs by Mike Koerner on Wednesday night to a 13-9 victory over Stanford and a place in the championship game of the College World Series.

Koerner connected in the fifth and seventh innings for two-run homers.

LSU (56-13) will face the winner of today’s lower-bracket championship game between Alabama (54-13) and Miami (51-16). An Alabama victory would force a playoff Friday between the Crimson Tide and the Hurricanes.

If Miami wins, it would set up a rematch of last year’s finalists. LSU won the 1996 title on a two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth home run.

The Tigers now have eight homers in three games in this series and have increased their NCAA-record total to 186.

Josh Hochgesang rallied Stanford (45-20) with a fifth-inning grand slam and two runs batted in in the seventh. Tony Schrager and Jay Pecci added RBIs in the ninth and the Cardinal loaded the bases, but Patrick Coogan earned his third save of the year as he struck out pinch-hitter John Salter.

Tom Bernhardt hit a solo home run on Stanford starter Chad Hutchinson’s first pitch of the second inning. Clint Earnhart’s run-scoring single put LSU ahead, 2-0.

Three walks and a hit batter produced one run for the Tigers in the third and sacrifice flies by Troy McClure and Bernhardt accounted for two more. Koerner stole home and the Tigers led, 6-0.

Hutchinson hit two batters, giving him a record six in his College World Series career. Stanford’s total of three in the game pushed the series total for all eight teams to 19, another CWS record.

Hutchinson (8-4) got the loss, pitching two innings and giving up six runs.

Danny Higgins made it 7-0 in the fourth after he was hit by a pitch and Koerner’s sacrifice fly sent him home.

LSU used a CWS record-tying seven pitchers. Eric Berthelot (7-3) got the victory for the Tigers.