College world series: Beavers return to title round

In one month, Oregon State has gone from uncertainty about making the NCAA tournament to taking the final step toward playing for a second straight national championship.

The Beavers are back in the College World Series’ championship round after a 7-1 victory over UC Irvine (47-17-1) on Wednesday night that ended the Anteaters’ dramatic postseason run.

Oregon State (47-18) is looking to become the first repeat champion since LSU in 1997.

“I don’t know what the odds were three weeks ago,” Oregon State coach Pat Casey said. “I’m just happy for the guys. It’s kind of deja vu the way it turned out here.”

Daniel Turpen allowed five hits over eight innings and Mitch Canham homered and drove in three runs in the Beavers’ 11th win in 13 games since a May swoon when they lost seven of nine.

“When we were going through our skid, we knew it’s just part of baseball,” said Darwin Barney, who had two RBI singles. “We’ve always been confident and have known that we’re a good club, and it was just a matter of putting things together.”

North Carolina 6, Rice 1: Robert Woodard and two relievers limited Rice to six singles and a double, Dustin Ackley broke open the game with a three-run homer and the Tar Heels beat the Owls.

The Tar Heels (56-14), the 2006 CWS runners-up and No. 3 national seed, forced another game against No. 2 Rice (56-13) today. The winner will meet Oregon State in the best-of-3 championship starting Saturday.

Ackley broke out of a 5-for-37 slump with a fifth-inning single for his school-record 113th hit of the season. In the seventh, Ackley lined a pitch from Chris Kelley over the right-field fence for his eighth homer and first since May 11. It was only the Tar Heels’ second homer in 15 games.