OMAHA, Neb. -- The Arkansas Razorbacks practiced Sunday, possibly for the final time this season.
Arkansas has to beat Miami today in the College World Series to keep playing. The loser will be eliminated.
"We honestly didn't feel any different today than we have the rest of the year practicewise," Razorbacks right fielder Tyler Spoon said. "Obviously, we know what's on the line, but we're going to enjoy it and play as best we can.
"We just want to play good baseball and hopefully win."
The Razorbacks fell into the losers' bracket after Virginia beat them 5-3 Saturday.
"Everybody was down a little bit last night, because we didn't do what we wanted to do, and that's win someway or another," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "Today they seemed to be in good spirits."
Van Horn said he talked to the players about focusing on winning today, not trying to win the College World Series.
"You can't start thinking about all the games down the road," he said. "You just have to find a way to win that game.
"You've just got to play, and if you catch fire good things can happen."
Miami mauled
Florida sent Miami into the losers' bracket by beating the Hurricanes 15-3 Saturday night.
Miami led 2-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Gators sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 11 runs on 9 hits to take a 12-2 lead. A throwing error on what looked like a double-play ball was a key play in Miami's fourth-inning meltdown.
"That was a crazy inning where everything that could go wrong did," Miami Coach Jim Morris said. "Nothing went right.
"We had bad communication, threw to the wrong base, made errors. A little bit of everything happened. You just wanted them to hit a ball to someone to stop the bleeding."
Morris said after Sunday's practice the Hurricanes appeared to have put their most-lopsided loss in 43 NCAA Tournament appearances behind them.
"I thought they were pretty loose, which is exactly what I wanted to see," Morris said.
Miami third baseman David Thompson, who has 19 home runs and 89 runs batted in this season, said the Hurricanes are focused on Arkansas.
"We still have a chance to do something special here," Thompson said. "We got smoked at FSU, then came out and played a really good game.
"We have to come out, play our game and do the little things right that we didn't do against Florida. We really are taking it one game at a time because one more loss and we go home."
Miami lost to Florida State 15-5 April 25, then the next day beat the Seminoles 12-0.
"They're a really good team," Arkansas right fielder Tyler Spoon said of the Hurricanes. "They're here for a reason. They'll be ready and give us their best shot."
Not so fast, Zach
Arkansas pitcher Zach Jackson has one of the nation's strongest arms, but he said it wasn't operating at full strength Saturday.
Jackson said his pitch velocity was lower than normal in the Razorbacks' 5-3 loss to Virginia. He pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief, allowing two RBI hits.
"It happens every now and then," Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. "It was a good day to get loose -- humid, fairly warm in the 70s. Who's to say what it was?"
Jackson hadn't allowed an earned run in 8 2/3 postseason innings before facing Virginia. He had struck out 16 of the 28 batters he faced prior to Saturday, but had only one strikeout against the Cavaliers.
"He had a chance to get a couple of guys and they did a good job laying off some pitches," Van Horn said. "He had to go through the middle of the order and their 2-3-4-hole guys are pretty good."
Van Horn said Jackson's off-day had less to do with velocity and more to do with location of his pitches. Jackson had two borderline two-strike pitches called balls before Kenny Towns' full-count RBI double gave Virginia the lead in the eighth inning.
"I would say they were maybe a [little] off the plate," Jackson said. "Sometimes you get that, sometimes you don't, but it felt like he was pretty consistent all day, so it's not something you can complain about."
Miami starter
Junior left-hander Thomas Woodrey (7-2, 3.02 ERA, 55 Ks, 21 BBs, 97 innings) will start for the Hurricanes.
"I've pitched in some pretty big games, but understand this is the biggest one of my career," Woodrey said. "I have to go out and do what I've done all year. ... I know there will be a lot of adrenaline with the big crowd and everything. I just have to stay calm and confident and do what I do."
Vs. Miami
Arkansas is 0-4 against Miami. The Razorbacks were swept in a three-game series at Miami to open the 1985 season. Arkansas' other loss to Miami was in 2001, when the Hurricanes beat the Razorbacks 8-2 at a tournament in Minneapolis.
Sports on 06/15/2015