OMAHA, Neb. — Cade Beloso hit the tiebreaking homer in the top of the 11th inning after teammate Ty Floyd struck out a career-high 17 for the most in a Men's College World Series game in 51 years, and LSU beat Florida 4-3 in Game 1 of the MCWS finals Saturday night.
Beloso's blast came after LSU left fielder Josh Pearson made a leaping catch to keep Florida from scoring the winning run in the 10th and moved the Tigers within a win of their seventh national championship, and first since 2009.
Beloso's three-run homer in a 5-2 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday kept the Tigers' season alive, and he came up against Florida closer Brandon Neely (3-2) to lead off the 11th.
Beloso sent Neely's second pitch over the right-field fence, raised his left index finger to the sky as he rounded third and stuck out his tongue as he crossed home plate.