UNCW ends season with another 2-0 loss to LSU

BATON ROUGE, LA (WWAY) — LSU scored two unearned runs on Monday afternoon against UNCW in the 2nd inning. Those turned out to be the only runs of the day in LSU’s 2-0 victory over the Seahawks.

LSU advances to the Super Regionals this weekend. The season is now over for UNC Wilmington despite outstanding pitching in every game they played this weekend in Baton Rouge.

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BATON ROUGE, LA (AP) – Jared Poche allowed six hits and struck out eight in 8 2-3 innings and LSU shut out UNC Wilmington on Monday to advance to the Super Regionals.

Poche left the game after a two-out double in the ninth. Parker Bugg recorded the final out to earn the save.

LSU also beat UNC Wilmington (41-18) 2-0 on Saturday to reach the Baton Rouge Regional championship game.

LSU (51-10) took the lead with two runs in the second inning off Justin Crump (1-2). Andrew Stevenson reached on a two-out error and advanced on a balk. Chris Chinea drove him home with a double and scored on a single by Jake Fraley.

LSU has advanced to a Super Regional for the 21st time in program history.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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BATON ROUGE, LA (UNCW) – Zach Shields had two hits and Whitman Barnes tossed four innings of shutout relief, but UNCW fell in the Baton Rouge Regional final to top­ranked LSU, 2­0, at Alex Box Stadium on Monday.

The Tigers advance to the Super Regional with a 51­10 record while the Seahawks saw their season come to an end with a 41­18 mark. LSU will host UL Lafayette next weekend. LSU starter Jared Poche’ (8­1) held the Seahawks to no runs on six hits and a walk over 8.2 innings and Parker Bugg recorded the final out for his third save of the season.

UNCW starter Justin Crump (1­2) took the loss after allowing a pair of unearned runs on four hits over two innings. Barnes limited the Tigers to three hits and a walk over four innings before Jared Gesell finished off the game with two innings of one­hit relief.

Shields led the UNCW lineup with his two hits and ended the season as the team’s leading hitter with a .355 batting average.

Jake Fraley had three hits while Mark Laird and Chris Chinea added two hits apiece for the Tigers.

Ryan Foster (P), Gavin Stupienski (C), Zach Shields (OF) and Luke Dunlap (DH) were named to the All­Regional team for the Seahawks. Rounding out the team were Chris Chinea (LSU), Mike Garzillo (Lehigh), Connor Hale (LSU), Stephan Alemais (Tulane), Andrew Stevenson (LSU) and Richard Carthon (Tulane). LSU’s Alex Lange also made the team and was named the regional’s Most Outstanding Player. How it happened: The Tigers struck for a pair of unearned runs in the second inning to take the lead. After UNCW turned a double play, the Seahawks committed an error and Chinea followed with a RBI down the leftfield line. Fraley followed and plated Chinea with a single to center.

Inside the box score: LSU managed to get its leadoff hitter on base just once on the afternoon, UNCW did so three times … UNCW went 0­5 with RISP and 0­11 with runners on base … Seahawk pitchers allowed four twoout hits and just three with runners on base … Stupienski threw out a season­high three potential LSU base stealers.

Notes: Corey Dick extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a ninth inning double … Shields pushed his streak to nine with a single in the seventh … UNCW’s pitching staff posted a 1.29 ERA and the starters compiled a 0.96 mark … There were no home runs in the entire regional … UNCW is now 11­14 all­time in regional games and 4­4 at LSU … UNCW was shutout twice this season, both by top­ranked LSU … UNCW outhit its opponents, .252­.248.

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BATON ROUGE, LA (LSU)  — Sophomore Jared Poche’ nearly mirrored freshman Alex Lange‘s pitching gem with a six-hit, 2-0 shutout of UNC Wilmington on a Monday afternoon to give the LSU baseball team it’s 21st NCAA Regional Championship.

Poche’ (8-1) had a career-best eight strikeouts and finished off the Tigers’ three-game sweep of the four-team, double-elimination regional at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field that included several rain delays and schedule adjustments.

Following a two-out double in the top of the ninth by UNCW’s Corey Dick, LSU’s Parker Bugg relieved Poche’ to get a strikeout of the potential game-tying run and earn his third save of the season.

LSU (51-10) will face the winner of the Houston Regional, either Louisiana-Lafayette or Rice (live scoring), in a three-game NCAA Super Regional starting either Friday or Saturday at The Box. Dates and game times will be announced late Monday or early Tuesday. Rice needs two wins over the Ragin’ Cajuns to advance.

At 1:09 a.m. Sunday, tournament Most Outstanding Player, Lange, polished off a similar six-hit complete-game shutout of UNCW by the same score (2-0) to put the Tigers in today’s championship game.

LSU pitchers threw consecutive shutouts for the first time in the program’s 190-game NCAA postseason history.

The Tigers scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning off Seahawks starter Justin Crump (1-2). With two outs, Andrew Stevenson reached on a fielding error by Dick and advanced to second on a balk. Chris Chinea‘s double down the left field line scored Stevenson from second, and Chinea came home on a single by Jake Fraley.

Both LSU and UNCW left six on base, as the Tigers’ pitching held the Seahawks to 1-for-25 batting with runners on base in its past two games.

Defensive gems by LSU shortstop Alex Bregman and Stevenson in right field (see below) helped Poche’ keep a clean sheet.

Check back for the complete story.

NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team
P – Alex Lange, LSU
P – Ryan Foster UNCW
C – Gavin Stupienski, UNCW
1B – Chris Chinea, LSU
2B – Mike Garzillo, Lehigh
3B – Conner Hale, LSU
SS – Stephen Alemais, Tulane
OF – Andrew Stevenson, LSU
OF – Richard Carthon, Tulane
OF – Zach Shields UNCW
DH – Luke Dunlap, UNCW
Most Outstanding Player – Alex Lange, LSU