The Razorbacks ended South Carolina’s record NCAA tournament winning streak on Monday night as Arkansas defeated USC 2-1 at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
It was the first national tournament loss for the Gamecocks in 23 games. South Carolina was scheduled to face Kent State in an elimination game on Wednesday night, and will have to beat Arkansas two more times to return to the championship.
Dominic Ficociello doubled in the first to put the Razorbacks on the board. Arkansas then took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning off Matt Vinson’s RBI single. The Razorbacks had only six hits in the game.
South Carolina’s Evan Marzilli hit a two-out triple in the third to put USC within one run, but Arkansas held the Gamecocks to just one hit the rest of the game.
South Carolina’s Colby Homes allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings, and Tyler Webb kept Arkansas to two hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Arkansas’s Ryne Stanek allowed just three hits, and Barrett Astin earned his 11th save after taking over in the seventh inning. The two combined for just four hits in the game.
Arkansas’s pitchers have allowed just two runs over the last 32 1/3 innings with an ERA of 1.75 in eight NCAA tournament games. They won both their first two games at the College World Series and have appeared in the series seven times since 1979.
South Carolina has won two out of three games against Arkansas in the regular season.
Arkansas will be back in action on Thursday night to face the winner of Wednesday’s game at 9:00 p.m. If necessary, a second game will be held on Friday, June 22, to determine which team moves on to the best-of-three finals.
