Angel Cano powered Little Rock with a two-run homer in the second inning and a bases-clearing double in the third, leading the No. 4 seed to a 10-4 victory over top-seeded LSU on Saturday night. This win kept Little Rock alive in the Baton Rouge Regional, setting up a decisive game on Sunday.
The Trojans, with a 27-33 record and making just their second NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, now have a chance to advance to the super regionals if they can beat No. 6 national seed LSU on Monday.
Earlier in the weekend, LSU defeated Little Rock 7-0 and then beat Dallas Baptist 12-0 to reach the championship round. Little Rock, who struggled late in the regular season by losing 13 of 14 games before rallying to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with five straight wins, scored 22 runs in a blowout against Rhode Island on Saturday and also defeated Dallas Baptist 8-6 in an elimination game earlier Sunday.
LSU got on the board first with Steven Milam’s two-RBI single in a three-run first inning, but Cano quickly responded with his two-run homer in the second. In the third inning, after a groundout by Ryan Geck, Ty Rhoades, Cade Martin, and Cooper Chaplain each drew walks to load the bases. Cano then battled through three straight two-strike pitches before delivering a bases-clearing double off pitcher Chase Shores (5-3), who was replaced by Cooper Williams after giving up four runs in one inning of relief.
LSU’s starter Noah Burkey allowed three runs on six hits over 1 2/3 innings before being replaced by Brenden Katz (1-0), who then pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Malcolm Brown pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up one run on three hits, and earned his first save of the season.
With momentum on their side, Little Rock now aims to clinch a spot in the super regionals by defeating LSU in the upcoming elimination game.