Arizona Sweeps South Carolina To Win College World Series

It’s probably no coincidence that business began to pick up in the College World Series on Monday night when Les Miles showed up. Miles took his seat with the game tied at 1 and all hell quickly broke loose. So of course he live-tweeted it. And it was amazing.

Some of the highlights:

South Carolina made it interesting, but the Wildcats are the national champions for the first time since 1986. It’s the fourth championship for Arizona, who swept South Carolina 2-0 and won all eight games they played in Omaha. The Gamecocks were looking for a three-peat, but Arizona’s pitching was just too good, holding them to only three hits in the deciding game, as the Wildcats won 4-1.

The star of the show was Arizona sophomore Joey Farris, who was wheeling and dealing, two-hitting the potent South Carolina offense through 7.2 innings. Arizona’s bats were quiet through eight, notching only one run off a double, sac bunt and infield groundout, but exploded for three to earn the victory in the ninth inning.

Arizona counted on some unlikely heroes to go ahead in the top of the ninth inning: Brandon Dixon was 0-for-7 on the College World Series, a defensive substitute whose previous at-bat was a feeble pop-up and whose only major contribution to the game was a botched play on a South Carolina grounder that allowed the Gamecocks to score a run; Trent Gilbert was the No. 9 hitter and only batter in Arizona’s order who hit below .300 on the season. But Dixon’s go-ahead RBI double in the top of the ninth inning chased out one of the best pitchers in College World Series history, and Gilbert had a base poke into right field to score two more. Those three runs put Arizona three outs from their first national championship since 1986.

Robert Refsnyder popped a single into left field, and although Seth Mejias-Brean looked shaky on two attempts to bunt, his third was picture perfect and advanced Refsnyder to second with one out. That left it up to Dixon. He laced a liner just inside of the third base that went to the outfield, allowing Refsnyder to score and putting runners on second and third. It was only the second run Matt Price -- who had a .36 ERA in the World Series before tonight -- had allowed in the tournament in his career. Tyler Webb came in, but Gilbert floated a liner into right to score two more.

Through eight in Omaha, Arizona and South Carolina are knotted with Arizona needing a run to win the College World Series and South Carolina needing a run to stay alive for a potential Game 3.

A base knock by Trent Gilbert to start the eighth off of Matt Price came to nothing, even after an error on a routine ground ball to the left side of the infield advanced Gilbert to third, as Price retired the side without allowing a run to score.

Arizona’s James Farris was absolutely dealing, but South Carolina pushed across a run in the seventh and tied Game 2 of the College World Series at 1. The Gamecocks now have life after seeming outs away from losing the College World Series and their chances at winning a third straight championship.

South Carolina realized the desperation of their situation when they brought in Matt Price -- the all-time leader in wins at the College World Series, who boasts a career 0.36 ERA in the competition -- with runners on first and third after starter Michael Roth gave up his third hit of the game. Price coaxed a pop-up to end the top of the seventh.

Beach balls and baseball: Like two peas in a pod. Every once in a while, a stray beach ball will make its way onto the field, an intruder violating the sanctity of the game. Even rarer is the renegade swarm of beach balls, a coordinated attack that strikes at the heart of the sport.

This, friends, was one of those attacks. A mass of beach balls was set free on the pure field in Omaha during the College World Series. They were everywhere, in all shapes and sizes.

The wind is blowing in at Omaha, and the bats have been quiet. But the way James Farris continues to pitch, Arizona is perfectly fine with that: the Wildcats are nine outs away from a College World Series championship.

Senior - and ninth-round Angels draft pick -- Michael Roth has been phenomenal for Arizona, allowing only one run on two hits against a team that features eight hitters with batting averages above .300. But Farris has outdueled the lefty, as the Arizona staff continues to be lights out, with an ERA just over 1 thus far in Omaha. Farris has allowed one hit and one walk -- Chase Vergason hit a ball to the warning track in the sixth, but the fact that that’s noteworthy shows how dominant Farris has been.

Arizona’s James Farris has it all working against South Carolina, as he’s allowed only one hit to the two-time defending national champion Gamecocks.

Farris hasn’t pitched in three weeks, but the sophomore righty has shown no signs of rust: he issued a walk to Christian Walker and a single to LB Dantzler in the fourth. Other than that, it’s been nothing for South Carolina.

The Arizona Wildcats are on the brink of a championship at the 2012 College World Series after winning Game 1 of their best-of-three series against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday. The Wildcats hope to seal the deal Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

The odds are stacked against the Gamecocks making a comeback, as the SEC blog Team Speed Kills points out.

The first game of the best-of-three championship series in the College World Series was all Arizona, as the Wildcats put two-time defending champion South Carolina on the brink of elimination with a 5-1 victory on Sunday night.

Arizona starter Konner Wade threw his second consecutive complete game in Omaha. The 6’3 right-hander gave up only six hits and one earned run in 8 innings.

Arizona is up 4-1 after six innings, but they haven’t quite been able to put South Carolina away, despite getting multiple runners on base in each of the last four innings.

South Carolina reliever Evan Beal, pitching in relief of starter Forrest Koumas, got double plays to get out of the third and fourth with two runners on.

The College World Series final begins Sunday night with the South Carolina Gamecocks looking for a three-peat. One of the stars of this magical South Carolina era of baseball is Michael Roth. The dazzling senior lefty continues to amass incredible records, earning him titles such as “one of the greatest pitchers in College World Series history“ and ”greatest athlete in school history.”

Roth is undefeated in 11 NCAA Tournament starts, including seven at the CWS in Omaha. He’s come up with another set of clutch starts in this year’s postseason, moving the Gamecocks into the Bracket 2 finals by setting down 22 in a row in an elimination game against Kent State. While Forrest Koumas will get the ball in Game 1, Roth will certainly make an impact on the championship series and could again play the clinching role in a three-peat. While he’s known for his work in the classroom and has some of the best grades in the NCAA, he admits he hasn’t done much homework on his upcoming opponent in the finals:

The Arizona Wildcats and the South Carolina Gamecocks are set to square off in Game 1 of the 2012 College World Series Championship Finals on Sunday. Both teams sport impressive resumes, but the Wildcats are the hotter team, having gone undefeated throughout the tournament. They have their impressive offense to thank, as the SB Nation blog Garnet and Black Attack points out:

The Wildcats are coming off a 10-3 win over Florida State in which they put up six runs in the first inning alone and recorded 15 hits as a team off eight different pitchers. They will need their offense to come through. While Kurt Heyer is 13-2 with a 2.24 ERA this season, no other Arizona starter is pitching sub-4.00.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are attempting to win their third straight national title at the College World Series, taking on the Arizona Wildcats. While South Carolina was able to make it back to the championship game, the team returns just three everyday players from last year’s championship roster.

“It’s kind of hard to explain, because there are so many good baseball teams that we play throughout the year. Very rarely do we think that we’re so much better than the other team,” Gamecocks coach Ray Tanner told The Washington Post.

The South Carolina Gamecocks advanced to the championship series of the 2012 College World Series with a 3-2 win over Arkansas Friday night.

South Carolina lost to Arkansas earlier in the College World Series and needed two straight wins to advance. It was the Gamecocks’ third win in two days. Gamecocks shortstop Joey Pankake led the way offensively with two hits and an RBI. Matt Price pitched the final three innings for South Carolina, striking out five batters while only allowing one hit.

Arizona punched their ticket to the championship series of the 2012 College World Series Thursday, but one spot remains. That spot will be claimed Friday when South Carolina and Arkansas meet in an elimination game.

The Gamecocks and Razorbacks will meet at 9 p.m. ET with television coverage on ESPN. South Carolina forced Friday’s elimination game with their 2-0 win against Arkansas Thursday night. Friday’s game will be the third time the two teams have met during the College World Series. Arkansas won the first meeting 2-1.

Needing a win to keep their College World Series title hopes alive, South Carolina beat Arkansas 2-0 Thursday night.

The Gamecocks are attempting to win their third straight national championship, but had to overcome an earlier loss to Arkansas in the College World Series to do so. Jordan Montgomery pitched eight strong innings for South Carolina, allowing just three hits while striking out six batters.

Arizona is on to the College World Series finals after putting up some crooked numbers early on Florida State, eventually eliminating the Seminoles, 10-3.

Arizona scored six runs in the first inning thanks to three Florida State errors, and the Wildcats will advance in the College World Series while the Seminoles’ season is done. The Wildcats single-handedly ended No. 3 FSU’s chances in the double-elimination tournament, handing the Seminoles both of their losses.

On Thursday afternoon, Kent State and the South Carolina Gamecocks faced off in an elimination game at the 2012 College World Series in Omaha. The two teams were initially set to square off on Wednesday night, but weather forced the game to be postponed. South Carolina picked up the win by a final score of 4-1 and will play against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday night. Kent State will be heading home following their second loss in the tournament.

Grayson Greiner and Chase Vergason each had RBI hits for the Gamecocks in the second inning. Third baseman L.B. Dantzler belted a two-run homer in the third to put the game away for South Carolina. South Carolina starter Michael Roth twirled a gem, allowing one run on two hits and no walks while striking out eight batters in the complete game.

Thanks to some inclement weather Wednesday night, Thursday will be a busy day at the 2012 College World Series, with three games taking place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.

South Carolina and Kent State were supposed to square off Wednesday, but rain forced their elimination game to be postponed. The Gamecocks and Golden Flashes will now play at 12 p.m. ET, with the loser being eliminated from the tournament.

The 2012 College World continues on Wednesday evening with another elimination game. This one pits the upstart Kent St. Golden Flashes against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Golden Flashes, a No. 3 regional seed, eliminated the No. 1 national seed Florida Gators in a tense 5-4 victory on Monday. South Carolina, meanwhile, had its 22-game postseason winning streak and its 12 straight victories in Omaha snapped in a 2-1 loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks.

South Carolina has won the last two College World Series titles and is looking for an unprecedented third straight title in the Field of 64 era. Should South Carolina win, they will have a rematch with Arkansas on Thursday.

The UCLA Bruins won’t be celebrating in Omaha after a 4-1 loss to the Florida St. Seminoles on Tuesday night. The defeat was their second in the College World Series, eliminating them from the postseason.

Florida St. opened up a 2-0 lead after the first inning as a result of UCLA starter Zack Weiss having issues with the strike zone. He loaded the bases on two walks and a single. He then walked catcher Stephen McGee to score the first run of the game. He left the game with one out recorded and three potential runs that could still be charged to him.

For many players, making it to the College World Series in Omaha is a dream come true. For one player on the Florida St. Seminoles, though, the trip has quickly turned into a nightmare, as a foolish attempt at price-swapping led to an arrest and may have put his baseball future in jeopardy.

Rachel George and Coley Harvey of the Orlando Sentinel reported on Tuesday that John Holland, a freshman with the Seminoles, was arrested on Tuesday.

The Florida State Seminoles take on the UCLA Bruins on Tuesday night in the College World Series, with one team moving on to face Arizona and another heading home. With both teams down to their third starters, the bullpens might get a workout, while both coaches will be expecting plenty of offense from their bats.

SB Nation’s Florida State Seminoles blog, Tomahawk Nation, got a chance to talk to ESPN lead college baseball analyst Kyle Peterson, who praised the FSU hitters and their ability to produce runs in bunches, even with less powerful bats and a bigger park than in previous years in Omaha.

The Arizona Wildcats are now only win away from the finals of the College World Series, as they defeated the UCLA Bruins 4-0 on Sunday night.

With the win, Arizona will have three days off before they will play again.