Last time Ark faced USC in a situation like today.....

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#1

The last time Arkansas faced off against South Carolina in a tourney
structure with the Hogs ahead 1-0 and the Gamecocks needing to
win 2 games to advance, was in 2012 at the College World Series.

That day the ump squeezed the strike zone so tight it was a brutal
game for Arkansas. Arkansas had a good staff that year too with
Baxendale, Stanek, Fant, Sanburn, Suggs, Moore, etc. That UMP
squeezed Arkansas so bad and gave South Carolina a plate so wide
they could get a strike even the bat could not reach or so it seemed.
This is not a happy memory for me at all. It still pisses me off no end.
I guess I can’t let things go to some degree. Anyways, SC then went
on to win the second game as well and knock us out of the CWS.

Today I was reminded of this game watching the UMP squeeze the
strike zone down as if it was a MLB game. College should not be that
tight. The one difference between then and now was that at least this
time it was consistant for both teams, in my admittedly homer opine.

I can now hope that we will get a better outcome than we did last
time in this situation and take the game from SC and send their ass
packing back to Columbia and us off to Omaha. I still have hope since
we have only lost 2 games all year against conference foes in Baum.
The only scary part is both have been to those damn gamecocks.

GO HOGS GO… beat thier asses tomorrow and do it in a way that
we are never nervous, I can’t take much more than that!!

#2

I, too, have thought of that CWS series against S. Carolina since our loss last night.

Just like then, it became - essentially - a 3 game series in which we won the first game, but then (after they won an elimination game) we had to just beat them once to advance to the Championship series. As you have described (OP), we were squeezed by umpire Perry Costello in the first game and barely lost (2-0) then lost the deciding game as well, by 1 run (3-2). Heartbreaking losses.

I hope we can exorcise those demons tonight.

#3

I hate that the loss in the CWS to them is being brought up it brings back bad memories! I just hope today our players can lay off the pitch up out of the zone and we can win by a touchdown. A 7 run cushion would be nice!
As far as the strike zone goes I watched several other umpires call balls and strikes this weekend and the hogs just got a bad draw!