Omaha Drama Again! LSU Wins Championship Series Opener With Another 11th Inning Homer

OMAHA, Nebraska - LSU continues to play golden, 11th hour, Warren Morris baseball, and it has the Tigers one win away from winning another national championship.

Cade Beloso hit a solo home run in the 11th inning. And LSU reliever Riley Cooper held off Florida in the bottom half of the inning for another dramatic, 4-3 win in the opener of the national title series in front of 25,258 at Charles Schwab Field Saturday night.

Tommy "Tanks" White's solo home run in the eighth tied the game 3-3.

White's walk-off home run in the 11th inning Thursday night gave the 5-seeded Tigers a 2-0 win over No. 1 Wake Forest to reach this best-of-three championship series.

Morris' walk-off home run in the 1996 national championship game gave the Tigers their third national title with a 9-8 win over Miami. Morris and his teammates wore Sunflower Gold jerseys that day, and they soon became a favorite top for critical games. They wore them Saturday night.

LSU (53-16) will go for its seventh national title on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN) and first under two-year coach Jay Johnson.

LSU second baseman Gavin Dugas (right) celebrates with catcher Hayden Travinski after hitting a solo home run for 2-0 Tigers' lead over Florida in the third inning Saturday in the first game of the national championship best-of-three series at the College World Series Saturday in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo By Dylan Widger of USA TODAY Sports).

No. 2 seed Florida (53-16) must win Sunday to force a Monday night game for the national title.

College World Series Has Its 8th One-Run Game

The one-run game was the eighth of this World Series, tying the all-time record.

"It came down to one pitch," Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan said of Beloso's home run off Florida closer Brandon Neely's fastball.

"It's one pitch that completely changes the game," said Florida catcher BT Riopelle, whose two-out home run in the sixth put the Gators up 3-2. "Tonight was a perfect example of that."

Neely came in with 13 saves and took the loss to fall to 2-3.

"I grew up in New Orleans," Beloso said. "I wanted to be Mikey Mahtook and Ryan Schimpf and Jared Mitchell."

They played on LSU's last national championship team in 2009.

"I watched the highlights of the 2009 national championship on repeat on YouTube when I was a kid," Beloso said. "This means the world to me - just being in Omaha, and two playing for a national championship."

Florida Can't Get One Pitch Off Its Mind

"It's one pitch," O'Sullivan said again. "It's one pitch. Sometimes it comes down to one at-bat, one pitch. We played 11 innings and lost by a pitch on a 1-0 count."

LSU starter Ty Floyd struck out 17 - the second most in CWS history. He allowed five hits and three runs with one walk over eight innings. Cooper (5-3) allowed one hit in three innings for the win.

Johnson said the Tigers will wear their gold jerseys again on Sunday.

Around LSU, they call those jerseys, "Morris Gold."

The Tigers will need one more golden moment.