College World Series 2015: Bracket Predictions, Start Times for Monday Schedule
Baseball is not a game that can be deciphered in a short series, but the College World Series doesn't provide the eight teams in Omaha with that luxury. Monday increases the urgency for Arkansas and Miami as they meet in an elimination game.
Florida and Virginia also take center stage at TD Ameritrade Park in the evening matchup. Neither team has to worry about going home with a loss, though the winner will be one step away from the championship series.
The 2015 College World Series has not followed a logical script thus far, other than six of the eight teams still playing being No. 1 seeds, so expect anything to happen while the intensity increases with each passing day.
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| No. 2 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Miami | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 | Miami, 8-4 |
| No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 1 Florida | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 | Florida, 6-2 |
Arkansas (40-24) vs. Miami (49-16)
Arkansas and Miami had very different, but no less agonizing, losses on Saturday. The Razorbacks gave up two late runs against Virginia in a 5-3 loss, while the Hurricanes were undone by an 11-run fourth inning from Florida.
Both teams have time to recuperate from those defeats, though dwelling on what has happened isn't going to help.
Instead, these two teams need to focus on what got them to Omaha. Arkansas has to rely on its offense and especially Andrew Benintendi, who became the first 20-20 player in Division I since 2009, per ESPN Stats & Info:
The Razorbacks don't have a strong pitching staff. They ranked 102nd overall with a 4.06 ERA, but there have been some strong games for the group in the NCAA tournament. Missouri State only scored nine runs against them in three games in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
On the other side, Miami has a claim as being the nation's best team despite that loss to Florida. The Hurricanes had the nation's best RPI ranking and boast the most potent offense with 538 runs scored.
Going deeper than that, Sean Ryan of The Sporting News noted how deep Miami's lineup is:
"The Hurricanes lead the country in on-base average (.422) and then leave it to the likes of David Thompson (87 RBI, tops in nation) and Zack Collins (70, 6th) to get them in. Miami hits up and down the order (George Iskenderian does a little of everything), and that’s its ticket to a title.
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That's a dangerous combination of factors at work for Arkansas. Head coach Dave Van Horn has to hope that Miami's pitching staff has another off day and its offense remains in check in order to stay alive.
It's not an impossible scenario for the Razorbacks to overcome, but the light is fading on their hopes of winning a national championship.
Miami 8, Arkansas 4
Florida (47-19) vs. Virginia (40-22)
Florida is one of the other teams on that short list for "best in the country." In fact, based on recent results, the Gators can claim that title. They have won 10 straight games dating back to the SEC tournament and have outscored opponents in the NCAA tournament 68-15.
What makes Florida's 15-3 win over a strong Miami team on Saturday even more impressive is that head coach Kevin O'Sullivan felt his team was nervous early on, via Michael Lananna of Baseball America:
"I thought the first three innings we came out a little—nerves I guess were getting the most of us, the best of us. The reason I got the team together is just—J.J. (Schwarz), I think, started off the second with a hard single to left, and three pitches later the inning was over. And we talked about it this morning that we needed to grind out at-bats and not give them quick innings.
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O'Sullivan's words worked for the Gators, and there doesn't seem to be much standing in the way of them winning the first national title in school history.
The next obstacle in front of Florida is a battle-tested Virginia team that has overcome the loss of key players like Mike Papi, Derek Fisher and Nick Howard from last year's national runner-up team to make another deep tournament run.
Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com highlighted Virginia's intangibles and resolve in the face of a trying season:
"...Virginia has a nice core of veterans who played key roles on last year’s CWS runner-up team. The Cavaliers are also leaning on a number of freshmen and less-experienced sophomores, but they proved their mettle over the last two weeks, winning a West Coast regional as a No. 3 seed and earning two tough come-from-behind victories against Maryland in super regionals.
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That resolve was on display against Arkansas as Kenny Towns drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth inning double against the Razorbacks' best reliever Zach Jackson. Ernie Clement tacked on an extra run in the ninth inning for good measure.
Virginia's key to success will be keeping the game close early, getting Florida's high-powered offense out of rhythm and making this a low-scoring affair. No one has been able to do that against the Gators since Florida Atlantic in the final game of the Gainesville regional.
Until someone beats Florida, it's impossible to bet against this team. The Gators are doing everything right, even when they start out nervous.
Florida 6, Virginia 2
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