South Carolina, Arkansas Win in NCAA Men’s College World Series

The University of Arkansas defeated Kent State University 8-1 and the University of South Carolina beat the University of Florida 7-3 in the men’s College World Series.

The University of California, Los Angeles and Arizona, both winners of their first games, will play each other today in the double-elimination contest in Omaha, Nebraska. Stony Brook and Florida State, losers in their first games, will be trying to avoid elimination.

Arkansas’ Jake Wise hit the go-ahead home run in the second inning and then drove in two more runs in the eighth. The Razorbacks meet South Carolina tomorrow.

Jimmy Rider hit a solo home run in the sixth inning for Kent State. The Golden Flashes play against Florida tomorrow.

South Carolina’s Erik Payne hit a three-run triple in the five-run fifth inning then scored the deciding run on a double by L.B. Dantzler in the Gamecocks’ victory over the Gators.

The Gators had taken a 2-0 lead on Preston Tucker’s two- run double in the third inning, and Josh Tobias added a third run for Florida on Mike Zunino’s sacrifice fly in the fifth.

The best-of-three National Collegiate Athletic Association baseball championship games begin June 24.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net