For the 19th time in LSU baseball history, the Tigers are heading to the College World Series.

It comes at the expense of a Kentucky squad whose dream of reaching Omaha for the first time will have to wait another year.

Fifth-seeded LSU pulled away late for an 8-3 win over the Wildcats on Sunday night in Game 2 of the Baton Rouge Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium.

Kentucky, the No. 12 overall seed, played much better than it did in a 14-0 loss on Saturday in Game 1. The Cats battled into the ninth inning with only a two-run deficit, but the Tigers blew the game open with three big insurance runs against the UK bullpen.

LSU (48-15) came up with two huge hits while the Cats struggled to cash in with runners on base.

Cade Beloso delivered a three-run homer against UK starter Austin Strickland in the third inning to give LSU a 4-1 lead.

Later, national player of the year candidate Dylan Crews smacked a two-run double to give the Tigers two insurance runs in the ninth. The potential No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft also walked four times.

Kentucky, meanwhile, went 3-for-16 with runners on base and stranded 11 runners on the night.

The Cats' only runs came on solo home runs by Jackson Gray, Devin Burkes, and Nolan McCarthy in the first, third, and fourth innings.

Riley Cooper (4-3) earned the win in relief of LSU starter Ty Floyd. The hefty lefty tossed three innings of two-hit, scoreless relief when the Cats were often threatening to grab the lead.

Gavin Guidry worked the final 2.2 innings without allowing a run for his third save of the season.

Kentucky's Strickland (4-2) could not rekindle the magic he had in the Lexington Regional, allowing five runs on five hits and four walks in only 2.2 innings on the mound.

Mason Moore continued his stretch of dominant relief work out of the UK bullpen, keeping the Cats in the game by tossing 4.1 shutout innings. The sophomore right-hander ran his NCAA Tournament streak to 14.1 scoreless innings.

Kentucky's season ends at 40-21 and the second Super Regional appearance in program history.