OMAHA — Normally, Arkansas’ baseball team would be in trouble when its Nos. 3 and 4 hitters go a combined 1 for 14 at the plate in two games.
That hasn’t been the case at the College World Series.
The Razorbacks are 2-0 entering tonight’s game against either South Carolina or Kent State at 8 p.m. Central at TD Ameritrade Park. Arkansas (46-20) needs just one more victory to advance to the championship round, where the two finalists will begin a best-of-3 series Sunday to determine the national champion.
Arkansas already has victories over Kent State and South Carolina in Omaha. Much of the Razorbacks’ success in the NCAA Tournament can be attributed to pitching and defense, but teams still have to scoreruns to win.
Arkansas has managed to do that despite a recent slump by Matt Reynolds, the team’s leading hitter who is 0 for 7 in two games at the College World Series. Cleanup hitter Dominic Ficociello is just 1 for 7 at Omaha, but he did have an RBI double in the first inning of Monday’s 2-1 victory over South Carolina.
Ficociello said he is confident he and Reynolds will re-emerge at the plate. Butin the meantime, he said he is appreciative of others in the lineup who have combined to pick up the slack. In particular, No. 8 hitter Matt Vinson and No. 9 hitter Jake Wise have been productive at the College World Series after struggling for much of the regular season.
“It’s been great to see those guys come through with some big hits, and it’s what we need,” Ficociello said. “If they can keep doing it for the next couple of games, we’ll be pretty tough to beat.”
Arkansas won the super regional at Baylor despite a stretch where the bottom three hitters in the order were a combined 2 for 30 in three games. But Wise provided the biggest hit of the season with a two-out, RBI single that gave Arkansas a 1-0 victory in 10 innings over the Bears in the deciding game to send the Razorbacks to Omaha.
Wise, who has improved his season batting average to .252, then came through with a home run and a two-run single as Arkansas opened the College World Series with an 8-1 victory over Kent State.
Vinson added a two-out, two-run double after the Golden Flashes climbed to within 3-1 in the sixth inning, then drove in the eventual winning run against South Carolina with a single Monday, when the Razorbacks managed only six hits.
“He’s been good,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said of Vinson, who is hitting .212 for the season. “He’s got three RBIs now in two games, and he’s a switch-hitter. He’s been big, especially in that eight hole, driving in runs.”
Joe Serrano, who is hitting .349 and has made 15 starts, could add more punch to the bottom of Arkansas’ batting order after taking over in leftfield and moving into the seventh spot in the lineup. Second baseman Bo Bigham, who bats sixth, is 4 for 8 in two games at the College World Series.
Still, Arkansas will likelyneed its top hitters like Ficociello and Reynolds to make bigger contributions at the plate in order to win the national championship.
“I told Matt after Monday’s game to stay strong and that his time was coming. But he’s not worried about his batting average,” Van Horn said. “He’s all smiles as long as we win.He’s going to get a big hit before this thing’s over with.”
Arkansas will stick with its usual plan on the mound and hope that tonight’s starter, Randall Fant (2-2, 3.00 ERA), can go three or four innings before handing it over to the bullpen. Fant is only 8-9 with 34 career starts, but the junior left-hander is coming off a solid performance when he pitched four scoreless innings in Arkansas’ victory over Baylor last week in the super regional finale.
Arkansas’ bullpen took care of the rest, completing the shutout to clinch the trip to the College World Series.
“We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Van Horn said of tonight’s pitching plan. “This year has been a little rocky for [Fant], but he’s had plenty of rest. He’s had a chance to see the tournament and relax like last week.
“Hopefully, he will come out and give us a great outing.”Today’s game
ARKANSAS VS. KENT STATE OR SOUTH CAROLINA WHEN 8 p.m. Central WHERE TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha, Neb.
TV ESPN2 RADIO RSP statewide radio network, which includes KABZ-FM, 103.7, Little Rock; KASR-FM, 92.7, in Conway; KQSM-FM, 92.1 in Fayetteville; KURMAM, 790, in Bentonville-Rogers; KHGGFM, 103.1, in Fort Smith; KXJC-AM, 950, Forrest City; KELD-FM, 106.5, in El Dorado; and KOMT-FM, 107.5, in Mountain Home. Not all games will be carried by affiliates. Check local listings.
INTERNET www.arkansasrazorbacks.com (go to Razorvision link).
PITCHING MATCHUP Arkansas: Randall Fant (LHP, 2-2, 3.00 ERA). South Carolina or Kent State: TBA. Fant pitched four scoreless innings when Arkansas beat Baylor 1-0 in 10 innings to win a super regional in Waco, Texas, on June 11. The junior left-hander has made 14 appearances this season, including 13 starts.
Sports, Pages 19 on 06/21/2012