LSU beats Rice in NCAA Super Regionals

    BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Anthony Ranaudo struck out nine and
allowed one earned run in 7 2-3 innings, Ryan Schimpf hit a
three-run homer, and LSU beat Rice 12-9 in the opener of the Baton
Rouge super regional Friday night.
    Ranaudo (10-3) increased his season strikeout total to 147,
while helping LSU (50-16) pull within a victory of a second
straight trip to the College World Series. Rice reliever Taylor
Wall (7-6) took the loss.
    Three LSU errors helped Rice take a 3-0 lead, all on unearned
runs. The Owls (43-17) led 4-1 after Steven Sultzbaugh’s homer in
the top of the fifth, but LSU responded with six runs in the bottom
of the inning, highlighted by Schimpf’s homer that made it 5-4.
    Schimpf added a run-scoring double in the sixth.