How to watch South Carolina square off with Arkansas for a spot in Omaha
Who: South Carolina (36-24, 17-13) vs. Arkansas (42-18, 20-12 SEC)
When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 9
3 p.m. Sunday, June 10
7 p.m. Monday, June 11 (if necessary)
Where: Baum Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Watch: ESPNews, eventually switching over to ESPN2 on Saturday, ESPN on Sunday and Monday
Listen: 107.5 FM in Columbia, South Carolina
Probable pitchers (Game 1): South Carolina — Jr.. RHP Adam Hill (7-5, 3.99 ERA); Arkansas — Jr. RHP Blaine Knight (11-0, 2.74 ERA)
Probable pitchers (Game 2): South Carolina — So. RHP Cody Morris (8-3, 3.68 ERA); Arkansas — Jr. LHP Kacey Murphy (8-4, 2.86 ERA)
Probable pitchers (Game 3): South Carolina — Fr. RHP Carmen Mlodzinski (3-5, 4.84 ERA); Arkansas — Jr. RHP Isaiah Campbell (4-6, 4.17 ERA)
Forecast: Unlike the two teams' last three-game set, when cold weather dampened offensive production, or last weekend's regional, when rain and lightning kept teams from playing for hours at a time, it is expected to be hot with no precipitation this weekend — highs in the low 90s.
Season series: Arkansas has taken three of four this season against South Carolina, including two of three in mid-April series at Baum Stadium. Most recently, the Razorbacks took a 13-8 win in the SEC tournament on May 23.
Postseason history: The last time USC and Arkansas faced off in the NCAA tournament was in 2012, at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Those three historic matchups produced two Gamecock wins, as Ray Tanner's club defied elimination to advance to its third consecutive championship series. They also marked the final victories of Tanner's career, as he was promoted to athletic director soon after.
Team statistics: South Carolina — .278 batting average, .369 on-base percentage, .446 slugging percentage, 4.21 ERA, 8.82 strikeouts per nine innings, 1.36 WHIP; Arkansas — .300 batting average, .396 on-base percentage, .487 slugging percentage, 3.47 ERA, 9.22 strikeouts per nine innings, 1.24 WHIP
One to watch for Arkansas: Junior right-hander Blaine Knight will put his 11-0 record (the nation's best perfect record) on the line in Game 1, and while the Gamecocks have faced plenty of talented pitchers this season, Knight may be the best, besides Florida's Brady Singer. A third-round MLB draft selection and All-SEC performer, Knight regularly hits the mid-90s with his fastball and has a strong cutter and slider.
On offense, redshirt senior infielder Carson Shaddy has a lot of pop in a 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame, leading the team in on-base and slugging percentages.
One to watch for South Carolina: Against Knight, junior right-hander Adam Hill will need to have a strong outing for the Gamecocks to have a chance. Hill is coming off a fourth-round selection in the MLB draft, but his inconsistency this season has been disappointing, and in the regional last weekend, he went just four innings.
This story was originally published June 8, 2018 at 12:45 PM with the headline "How to watch South Carolina square off with Arkansas for a spot in Omaha."