OMAHA, Neb. — South Carolina is still alive in its pursuit of a third consecutive national championship.
The Gamecocks defeated Arkansas 2-0 on Thursday night in the College World Series after surviving an elimination game against Kent State earlier in the day at TD Ameritrade Park. Freshman left-hander Jordan Montgomery held Arkansas to three hits over eight innings and Matt Price took over in the ninth to earn the save.
“For the second time today we got an absolute wonderful game out of our lefty,” South Carolina Coach Ray Tanner said. “Jordan followed up what Michael [Roth] did earlier today and was outstanding.
“He’s had some good games for us this year, and this was the best one.”
The Gamecocks scored the only two runs in the second inning on consecutive doubles by Eric Payne and Tanner English and an RBI single by Chase Vergason. Randall Fant (2-3) took the loss for Arkansas after allowing 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 1/3 innings.
Arkansas (46-21) and South Carolina (48-18) will meet again in an elimination game at 8 Central tonight, with the winner advancing to the best-of-3 championship series against Arizona on Sunday.
Arkansas played for the national championship in 1979, but lost twice to Cal State Fullerton to finish as the runner-up.
Arkansas and South Carolina will meet today for the sixth time this season after the Gamecocks took 2 of 3 from the Razorbacks at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville in May.
Arkansas beat Kent State 8-1 last Saturday before sending South Carolina to the losers bracket with a 2-1 victory over the Gamecocks on Monday. That victory ended South Carolina’s 22-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament and forced the Gamecocks to win two games Thursday after a scheduled elimination game with Kent State was rained out Wednesday night.
South Carolina disposed of Kent State 4-1 in a game that started at 11 a.m. Thursday before turning its focus to SEC rival Arkansas.
The two runs in the second that chased Fant proved to be enough support on a night when Montgomery, who was battered for five runs on nine hits in a 7-6 loss to Arkansas on May 5, faced only three batters more than the minimum and set down 12 consecutive Razorbacks over four innings.
“Definitely pitching in front of 20,000 people, maybe plus, had me a little nervous in the bullpen,” Montgomery said. “But after that first inning, and I guess the way I settled in and the way the team was playing behind me, I was just kind of staying on cruise control.”
Montgomery threw 89 pitches, 52 for strikes.
“He got the ball inside,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We hit a lot of balls in the middle of the bat. We weren’t driving the ball, and we hit some balls off the end of the bat on his change-up.
“He just did a tremendous job.”
The Gamecocks became the first team since Michigan in 1980 to play two games in one day at the College World Series.
An RBI double by South Carolina left fielder Tanner English brought in designated hitter Erik Payne, who led off the top of the second with a double down the left-field line for a 1-0 lead. English, who advanced on a fielder’s choice, scored two batters later when Chase Vergason slapped asingle up the middle.
That spelled the end for Fant. Sophomore reliever Brandon Moore came on and needed just two pitches to get shortstop Joey Pankake to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Montgomery had ample enough support already.
After allowing a first-inning single to designated hitter Joe Serrano, Montgomery did not allow a runner until he hit second baseman Bo Bigham with one out in the bottom of the fifth.
One batter later, Bigham made a critical base-running gaffe on a single by left fielder Derrick Bleeker, rounding second on a ball hit to shallow left field only to be thrown out by at third base by a charging English to end the inning.
Poor base-running also snuffed out the makings of a rally an inning later.
Center fielder Matt Vinson led off the bottom of the sixth with a single but ran into trouble when catcher Jake Wise lined a shot to Pankakeat short. Pankake then fired to first for a double play, catching Vinson diving back after he strayed too far from the bag. Tim Carver grounded out to end the inning.
Moore made every attempt to match Montgomery, sitting down nine consecutive Gamecocks, starting in the top of the third when he retired the side after giving up a one-out single to first baseman Christian Walker.
That streak came to an end in the top of the sixth when Moore worked his way out of a jam on a night when the Gamecocks left seven runners on base.
Gamecocks third baseman L.B. Dantzler grounded past first baseman Dominic Ficociello, who failed to make a play on the ball, and advanced to second on a passed ball by Wise a batter later. Right fielder Adam Matthews then singled.
Moore, who lasted 5 2/3 scoreless innings, gave up 3 hits and struck out 1, evaded trouble after Dantzler bolted from third when Matthews tapped back to the mound and was thrown out at home, and English ended the inning with a lineout to shortstop Carver.
The Gamecocks had a chance to add insurance against reliever Trent Daniel in the top of the eighth when Walker hit a one-out single, but he was thrown out easily by Wise when he tried to steal second on a 2-0 pitch.
Daniel, though, gave up back-to-back two-out walksto Dantzler and Matthews before being lifted in favor of sophomore reliever Nolan Sanburn. Sanburn, making his first appearance at the College World Series, got out of the inning when pinch-hitter Kyle Martin grounded out to end the threat.
Arkansas’ final chance to pull even came in the bottom of the inning, after Montgomery walked Ficociello and brought Bigham to the plate.
Bigham ripped a 2-1 pitch up the first-base line, but Walker snared the ball, tagged the bag and threw out Ficociello at second base for a double play. After that, Bleeker bounced a grounder to Vergason for a groundout to end the inning.
Arkansas will turn tonight to staff ace DJ Baxendale (8-5, 3.07 ERA).
Information for the article was contributed by The Associated Press.
Tonight’s game ARKANSAS VS. SOUTH CAROLINA
WHAT College World Series elimination game 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: DJ Baxendale (8-5, 3.07 ERA). South Carolina: TBA.
Sports, Pages 17 on 06/22/2012