LSU topples top-rated Oregon State to earn berth in CWS finals

It was almost clinical. The LSU Tigers entered Saturday's contest as the only team to hand top-rated Oregon State a loss since April 29, and had little trouble taking their second game against the Beavers in as many days, winning 6-1 to advance to the College World Series finals.

LSU was carried by a phenomenal start from Caleb Gilbert, who went 7 1/3 innings and allowed just one earned run - a solo home run on his 97th and final pitch of the game - on two hits and one walk while striking out seven.

The 20-year-old would turn it over to Zack Hess, who had been absolutely unhittable up until that point. While Hess wasn't as infallible as LSU fans had become accustomed to during the tournament, the man dubbed "Wild Thing" shut the door, going 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out a pair.

By knocking out the top seed in the tournament - outscoring the Beavers 9-2 over their two meetings - the Tigers have punched their tickets to the best-of-three finals against the winner of Saturday night's game between TCU and Florida.

This will be the first time LSU has made the finals since 2009, when the Tigers beat Texas in three games. They'll begin their quest for the seventh national championship in program history on Monday.