Arkansas ousts UF to reach CWS finals

OMAHA, NEB. — Isaiah Campbell limited Florida to two hits over 5⅓ innings, Arkansas scored four times in five innings against first-round draft pick Brady Singer, and the Razorbacks earned a spot in the College World Series finals with a 5-2 win over the defending champion Gators on Friday night.

Campbell more than atoned for his worst performance of the season when he faced the Gators in the teams’ Southeastern Conference opening series in March. He was at his best this time, matching his career high with eight strikeouts and leaving with a 5-2 lead. The Gators managed only three hits against Campbell (5-6), Jake Reindl and Matt Cronin — the fourth time this season they were held to three or fewer and first since May 13.

“I had it in the back of my mind when I woke up this morning,” said Campbell, who was drafted by the Angels earlier this month. “I know I didn’t help the team at all in that start. It’s one of my worst starts of the year. I didn’t think about it too much once I got to the field. I was ready to give our team a chance to win.”

Arkansas (47-19) has never gone to the CWS finals since the NCAA Tournament went to its current structure in 1999. The Razorbacks were runner-up in 1979 in their only appearance in a championship game.

Florida (49-21), the No. 1 overall seed, lost for the first time in eight NCAA elimination games. The Gators were looking to get to the finals for the second straight year and fourth time since 2005.

Casey Martin went 4 for 5 and Dominic Fletcher homered for the second straight game to lead the Razorbacks’ offense against Singer (12-3).

Arkansas awaits the winner of the winner-take-all bracket final between Oregon State and Mississippi State on Saturday night.

Oregon State beat the Bulldogs 12-2 on Friday. The bestof-three CWS finals begin Monday night.