Arkansas escaped Oklahoma last weekend in what was one of the most electrifying and most viewed, regionals of the weekend.
After opening the Stillwater Regional with a win over a feisty Grand Canyon team last Friday, Arkansas went 2-1 over the host Oklahoma State Cowboys to claim the regional, and move on to their fourth consecutive Super Regional.
Arkansas’ next stop on the road to Omaha is Chapel Hill, N.C., home of the North Carolina Tar Heels, where they will do battle with the winners of the Chapel Hill regional beginning Saturday morning.
The Atlantic Coast Conference champions had a similar road to a regional title, as they had to dig themselves out of the loser’s bracket. After falling to Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday night, the Tar Heels would get revenge by beating the Rams twice to advance in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s not the only similarity that Arkansas and North Carolina share. Both teams also overcame slumps during the season, and are now playing their best baseball when it matters most.
Arkansas ended the regular season by dropping their final two SEC series of the season to Vanderbilt and Alabama respectively, before bowing out of the SEC Tournament after two games. Arkansas seems to have found their spark again, as they were able to post 37 runs in the final three games of the Stillwater Regional.
North Carolina’s struggles began in the last week of March, and basically lasted all through April. The Tar Heels were swept by Miami during their series March 25-27 in Coral Gables, and would go on to drop four straight ACC series before regaining their footing against rival NC State during the first weekend in May. The Tar Heels would end the season by winning their final three ACC series, and going a perfect 4-0 in the ACC Tournament.
Need more information on this weekend’s Super Regional foe? Well, you have come to the right place. Zack Pearson of Tar Heels Wire has had his finger on the pulse of North Carolina baseball all season long, and was nice enough to provide insight on the Tar Heels from a local’s prospective.
Here’s the next installment of “Know Your Enemy” from Razorbacks Wire: