Omaha weather gives Hogs break needed to send either LSU, UCLA packing

Arkansas finally catches break at College World Series

The Arkansas Razorbacks bench watches the scoreboard against the Murray State Racers during the ninth inning at Charles Schwab Field. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

OMAHA, Neb. — For once, things in a College World Series are breaking in favor of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

After sitting around Charles Schwab Field for three hours watching it rain Monday night, LSU and UCLA officially found out they would be getting up early Tuesday morning to get ready for a 10 a.m. first pitch to finish up the final six innings of their winners' bracket showdown.

After already playing a longer than anticipated first three innings because an unexpectedly hot start with the bats for both teams in the first inning, the Tigers and Bruins will have to start fresh everywhere except the 5-3 total in LSU's favor on the scoreboard.

UCLA was already on its second pitcher and will now be on its third after Landon Stump became the second starter from a nationally seeded team in a row to get run by the Tigers in two innings.

Meanwhile, LSU will have to burn through an extra pitcher after No. 2 starter Anthony Eyanson weathered giving up three runs on three hits in the first to throw a pair of shutout innings. Moreover, because of the high number of innings remaining and the fresh start mentality created by beginning a new day, it also means Tigers coach Jay Johnson has to give up a valued long range reliever, which is one of baseball's most valued commodities three games into a College World Series.

The best case scenario for Arkansas would be for LSU to fall in an extra innings high scoring affair. It would set the Razorbacks up for their best chance at eliminating their SEC rival.

Such a game would not only drain energy from the Tigers and their fan base, but continue to eat away at pitching options. Plus, LSU's routine would be way off.

The team would have to scramble to get something to eat and get back to the field to get ready for a 6 p.m. game against Arkansas with little time for coaches to process a plan for how to approach the upcoming game. In addition, while the Tigers would be shorter than expected on pitchers, the Razorbacks will be in great shape.

With the exception of Gabe Gaeckle and Gage Wood, all hands will be on deck. That's because other than those two, the rest of the pitching staff has only combined to throw three innings.

Gaeckle and Wood threw 15 innings of shutout baseball, giving up only three hits across 208 pitches. That's one hit nearly every 70 times they threw a pitch, which makes it even more difficult to process Arkansas fighting for its life literally every inning but one of this CWS.

Still, Dave Van Horn's options on the mound are deep and borderline excessive. Because ace Zach Root barely got to warm up his arm before a freakish few at-bats surrendered three runs, ending his appearance against LSU Saturday night, he technically is available too.

It's slightly off schedule, but if the Tigers fall into the loser's bracket, odds are high Root will be pounding on Van Horn's hotel door foaming at the mouth begging for a shot at redemption.

Root's already a dangerous pitcher because of how much his emotion amps up his performance, but factor in the focus and animosity he would have going into a second game against the Tigers along with the blood in the water of facing off with LSU's No. 3 pitcher and he would be undeniably deadly.

That's probably the only scenario in which Van Horn would consider putting Root on the mound Tuesday night. If it's UCLA that falls to the Hogs, it will likely be a different scenario.

Arkansas went with a combination of Aiden Jimenez, Parker Coil and Landon Beidelschies in the lone time someone other than Root or Wood took the mound in the NCAA Tournament. Odds are high the Arkansas skipper opts to bet on his pitching depth over whomever the Bruins run out as their No. 3.

Regardless of which team the Razorbacks play, it will be a rested group of Hogs coming off the emotional high of Wood's historic no-hitter from the day before. The only negative hanging over the team will the lack of hitting produced in Omaha.

However, even that has a positive spin. The nation's top hitting team is far more likely to get hot when facing an opponent worn from a late night, early morning and basically a high stress long second game thrown in the middle with little recovery time.

For once the odds are ever in their favor. That's not something often said of the Hogs in Omaha.

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