Anteaters sent home

UCI’s baseball team fell way short of returning to the College World Series, losing, 21-7, to LSU in the third and deciding game of the Baton Rouge Super Regional on Monday.

LSU (48-17-1), the national No. 7 seed, scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning, chasing UCI starter Bryce Stowell.

The Tigers also put seven runs across in the fifth. The Tigers hit seven home runs in the game, and Blake Dean went five for five with three runs batted in.

A day earlier, LSU used a five-run ninth inning to defeat UCI in a heartbreaker, 9-7. The Anteaters entered the inning with a three-run cushion, but could not eliminate the Tigers.

LSU’s first inning Monday included back-to-back-to-back home runs by Dean, Micah Gibbs and Matt Clark, helping advance the Tigers to the College World Series and send the Anteaters (42-18) home.

The Anteaters beat the Tigers, 11-5, Saturday, ending LSU’s 23-game win streak, which was the best in the NCAA and a Southeastern Conference record.

The ’Eaters were attempting to reach the College World Series for the second straight season after going 2-2 in Omaha last year. UCI has won 89 games over the past two seasons.

— Steve Virgen