For the eighth time since the College World Series went to the Best-of-Three format in 2003, Arkansas and Oregon State will play a winner take all game.
Game Odds
BetDSI Sportsbook has released odds, which you can view below, for this matchup.
Oregon State Beavers -220
Arkansas Razorbacks +166
Game 3 History
History is not on the side of Arkansas.
Of the seven previous times, the team who won Game 1 bounced back to take the series in Game 3 only three times. That includes the last two times with Coastal Carolina winning back-to-back games against Arizona in 2016 and Virginia winning back-to-back games against Vanderbilt in 2015.
Pitching matchup
The question for Game 3 is, who will Oregon State start in Game 3?
The normal No. 3 starter for the Beavers Kevin Abel tossed an inning-plus last night as he got the win in Game 2 with 23 pitches thrown in the eighth and ninth innings.
Abel could pitch again, but how far he can go will be a question and after him it’ll turn into a bullpen game. Oregon State has used the bullpen quite a bit already with Brandon Eisert throwing 82 pitches last night and Christian Chamberlain throwing 94 on Tuesday.
The thought of Luke Heimlich coming out of the bullpen is unlikely as well after throwing 86 pitches on Tuesday.
Dylan Pearce (2-0, 3.49) and Sam Tweedt (1-0, 7.16) haven’t come out of the pen during the final series, they are the only pitches who have pitched during the NCAA Tournament, but haven’t made an appearance against the Razorbacks.
This wouldn’t be the first time Abel has thrown back-to-back games, he did so in the final PAC-12 series against UCLA as he threw 29 and 30 pitches in back-to-back days and both were in relief.
For Arkansas the answer is clear, Los Angeles Angles 24th round pick Isaiah Campbell will take the mound with a 5-6 record and 4.12 ERA. Campbell is coming off his best outing in the NCAA Tournament as he got the win to clinch a spot in the final series going 5 1/3 against Florida and allowing two runs, on two hits and no walks while striking out eight.
Lineup matchup
After the bats were silent in Game 1, as expected they woke in Game 2 to the tune of five more hits and four more runs.
Pat Casey removed center fielder Steven Kawn from the lineup in Game 2, instead Preston Jones started in center and Nick Madrigal hit leadoff for the Beavers. Madrigal went 0-for-4 so the question for Casey is, does he keep Kawn out again?
After Arkansas was held to only five hits in Game 1 with the 1-6 hitters going 2-for-23, Dave Van Horn didn’t change anything in his lineup.
The 1-6 hitters went 6-for-24 in Game 2 with Luke Bonfield and Carson Shaddy coming up big.
The 7-9 hitters for the Razorbacks are 4-for-19 after going 1-for-10 with the one hit coming from Jax Biggers to leadoff the bottom of the ninth.
Prediction
While it might seem this game is ripe for Arkansas with a regular starter taking the mound and Oregon State needing to turn to a bullpen that’s already thrown 11 2/3 innings in the last two days, but the momentum is on the Beavers’ side.
After the Razorbacks let a chance to seal the first title in program history fall between three players in foul territory behind first base last night, Oregon State took advantage of its new life.
That momentum can swing back to Arkansas if it can get a couple of runs in the first four innings and Campbell keeps the Beavers off the board.
If the Razorbacks continue to struggle at the plate however, look for the Beavers to keep momentum and leave Omaha with the title.
