Alabama scored eight runs in the third inning and beat Miami for the second straight day, an 8-2 victory Friday that advanced the Crimson Tide to the College World Series championship game.
Alabama (56-13), seeking its first NCAA baseball title, will play defending champion Louisiana State (56-13) today.The Tide, in the final game for the first time in 1983, won three of five games against the Tigers during the final two weeks of the season, including 28-2 on May 10, the worst loss in LSU history. For the first time, the top two seeds advanced to the CWS final.
Matt Frick hit a three-run homer and Mark Peer added a two-run homer off J.D. Arteaga (11-4).
Miama (51-18), which beat Alabama 6-1 Monday before losing 8-6 Thursday, lost two games to the same team in the CWS for the third time in four years.
Peter Fisher (10-3) allowed three hits in eight shutout innings, striking out two and walking three. Doug Hurst pitched the ninth.
Robbie Tucker, David Tidwell and Joe Caruso opened the third with consecutive singles, and Andy Phillips' grounder was misplayed for a run-scoring error by third baseman Patrick Burrell, who tried to field it with his bare hand.
Dustan Mohr followed with a comebacker that knocked off Arteaga's glove for a single, making it 2-0. G.W. Kweller hit an RBI grounder and Frick followed with his 16th homer for a 6-0 lead.
Nate Duncan tripled to the right-field corner, where Jason Michaels knocked the ball around on the grass before fielding it. Peer then homered just inside the right-field foul pole, his fourth.
Miami scored its only runs n the ninth when Aubrey Huff singled, Mandy Jacomino doubled and Mike Lopez-Cao brought them in with a single.
Arteaga, who set a CWS record with his seventh career start, was tagged for eight runs and eight hits in three innings. Eddy Reyes followed with four hitless innings, and Robbie Morrison finished.