The Oregon State Beavers finally ran into something that can slow down their red-hot lineup: Lightning.
The Baton Rouge Regional was stalled Saturday because of lightning, which forced tournament officials to delay the afternoon losers’ bracket game and reschedule the evening winners’ bracket game at Alex Box Stadium.
The second-seeded Beavers originally were scheduled to face top-seeded LSU at 6 p.m. Saturday in the winners’ bracket. But that game has been moved to Sunday at noon.
The winner will advance to play Monday, with a potential super regional berth at stake. The loser will be forced to play a Sunday doubleheader, which will include a 6 p.m. elimination matchup against the winner of Sam Houston and Tulane.
The four-team regional was delayed Saturday afternoon in the seventh inning of the game between Sam Houston and Tulane, with the Bearkats leading 7-2. It nearly restarted early Saturday night, but a shortly before 4 p.m., NCAA officials announced that a “fast approaching storm with significant lightning” would delay those plans.
The game still had not restarted as of 7:15 p.m., when lightning continued to flash in the Baton Rouge skies.
Oregon State opened regional play with a commanding 18-2 victory over Sam Houston Friday night, riding a dominant start from right-hander Trent Sellers and a record-setting offensive performance into the winners’ bracket.
But they will have to wait another day to face the host Tigers, who are the No. 5 national seed and regional favorite.
Joe Freeman reported from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
— jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
