Coleman, Ott seal LSU's win over Virginia

Posted by ESPN.com

LSU coach Paul Mainieri didn't want to take any chances with a 6-5 lead heading into the eighth inning, sending SEC Pitcher of the Year Louis Coleman to the mound against Virginia in the evening session of the opening day of the College World Series.

While Coleman did his part in preserving the lead for the Tigers in the top of the eighth inning, his teammates did him one better in the bottom half of the inning, adding three insurance runs to give the Tigers a lead that would prove it be all they needed as LSU beat Virginia 9-5.

D.J. LeMahieu's double scored Austin Nola from second base for the first run and Ryan Schimpf followed up with the next two, blasting the first pitch he saw from Virginia pitcher Tyler Wilson for a two-run home run.

From there it was up to SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, Matty Ott, nicknamed "Matty Ice" by his teammates. LSU's closer lived up to his nickname, striking out the final Virginia batter to preserve the win for the Tigers.

The Tigers will advance to the winner's bracket to face Arkansas on Monday night (ESPN2, ESPN360, 7 p.m. ET) while Virginia will face an elimination game against Cal State Fullerton Monday afternoon (ESPN2, ESPN360, 2 p.m. ET).