The Oregon State Beavers play the LSU Tigers Sunday afternoon at a weather-delayed Baton Rouge Regional at Alex Box Stadium. The game will air live on ESPN2.
The teams were originally scheduled to play Saturday night, but lightning wreaked havoc on the second day of regional play.
It struck first in the seventh inning of a losers’ bracket matchup between Sam Houston and Tulane, forcing tournament organizers to pause things at 2:07 p.m. Hours later, both Saturday games were rescheduled, creating a Sunday triple-header.
Sam Houston and Tulane are scheduled to resume play at 10 a.m., while the Beavers and Tigers are scheduled to play at noon.
In the Sunday nightcap, the Sam Houston-Tulane winner will play the Oregon State-LSU loser in an elimination game, which is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Tigers and Beavers are coming off impressive regional openers, which were fueled by dominant starting pitching. Paul Skenes tossed a complete game seven-hitter to carry top-seeded LSU to a 7-2 win over Tulane on Friday, overwhelming the fourth-seeded Green Wave with triple-digit fastballs and pinpoint control.
Skenes allowed a two-run home run in the seventh, but was otherwise magnificent, striking out 12 while tossing a season-high 124 pitches.
Most assumed LSU would save Skenes — the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft — for today’s meeting against the second-seeded Beavers. But coach Jay Johnson elected to stick with the routine that landed the Tigers a No. 5 national seed and moved them to the top of the national rankings for 12 weeks during the regular season.
Johnson said it was “not a hard decision” because he was confident Skenes would deliver a quality start and set LSU’s pitching up for the rest of the regional by preserving the bullpen.
“He’s the best pitcher in college baseball,” Johnson said Friday. “We’re now in postseason play. And I felt really good about what he could do today and impact us winning the game. And he definitely did that.”
The Beavers’ Friday starter, Trent Sellers, also delivered a difference-making performance in a lopsided 18-2 victory over third-seeded Sam Houston. After an ominous start — he gave up a double and two-run homer to the first two batters — the 6-foot-2 right-hander cruised, tossing 7 1/3 dominant innings. He retired 20 consecutive batters at one point, finishing with five strikeouts and allowing just three hits.
It was precisely what the Beavers needed as they fight through the postseason without two injured weekend starters.
It didn’t hurt that Oregon State also one of the best postseason offensive performances in school history, finishing with single-game postseason school records in home runs (four), hits (22) and total bases (37), while falling one run shy of the school record for runs scored in the regionals.
The prodigious performance raised even more questions about Johnson’s decision to start Skenes in the Tigers’ opener.
Beavers coach Mitch Canham and Johnson declined Friday to divulge their Game 2 starters.
But Oregon State will most likely turn to bulldog right-hander Ben Ferrer (2-1, 2 saves, 4.39 ERA), who moved into the rotation the final week of the regular season. Midweek starter AJ Lattery (4-0, 4.09) is also an option. The Tigers, meanwhile, almost surely will start right-hander Ty Floyd (7-0, 4.59), who has been their Saturday starter most of the season.
For more on the regional and the Beavers, read the following coverage:
• Game 1 recap: Beavers ride Sellers, record-setting offense to win over Sam Houston
• How a nameplate takedown, a fox hat and lineup changes saved the Beavers’ season
• Travis Bazzana, the ‘most interesting man in college baseball,’ is chasing a trip to Omaha
• With ‘scary’ talent, piano-playing outfielder Gavin Turley is new ‘face of Oregon State baseball’
• More than a mullet: Forrester overcomes tragedy with ‘huge heart,’ clutch hitting
• Beavers are ‘ready to go’ at Baton Rouge Regional after taking 2 days off to ‘refresh and reflect’
• Baton Rouge Regional: A look at Oregon State, LSU, Sam Houston, Tulane
Here are details about tonight’s game:
Oregon State Beavers (40-18) vs. LSU Tigers (44-15)
When: Noon PT, Sunday, June 4
Where: Alex Box Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
TV channel: ESPN2
How to watch live stream online: The game is available live on ESPN.com, ESPN+ and via applications on smartphones, tablets, computers and smartTVs for subscribers. You can watch live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) and DirecTV Stream (free trial). Sling TV (promotional offers, cheapest streaming plans) is also an option if you are out of Fubo trials, or simply prefer that platform and their pricing plans.
Channel finder/how to find ESPNU in your area: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast / Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish.
Radio: All games air on the Beaver Sports Network. Pregame starts 30 minutes before the first pitch. Affiliates include KEJO 93.7-FM & 1240-AM (Corvallis), KKNX 1051.-FM & 840-AM (Eugene), KCFM 104.1-FM & 1250-AM & 104.1-FM (Florence), KLAD 104.3-FM & 960-AM (Klamath Falls), KCFM 103.1-FM (Mapleton), KTMT 96.1-FM & 580-AM (Medford), KCMX 880-AM (Medford), KCMX 99.5-FM (Phoenix), KEX 1190-AM (Portland), KSKR 1490-AM (Roseburg) and KBZY 1490-AM (Salem).
Probable starters: TBA
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— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
