Omaha Awaits: Arkansas And LSU Face Off In MCWS Opener

Image: LSU Athletics

By Aidan Sidoti

The lone two SEC teams left in the field of 64 square off in Omaha, Nebraska at TD Ameritrade Park Saturday night. 

The Arkansas Razorbacks enter Omaha with a 48-13 record (20-10 SEC), after a sweep of #14 Tennessee in the Super Regionals last weekend. 

The Tigers of LSU enter Jello shot land with a 48-15 record (19-11 SEC). The Tigers swept West Virginia last weekend in Baton Rouge. 

For the Hogs, they will start ace lefty Zach Root to open the tournament. Root has been dominant his past three starts this postseason, going 17 innings pitched and only giving up two earned runs. 

For the Tigers, they will trot out MLB.com's #3 Overall Draft Prospect Kade Anderson to start Saturday night. Anderson had a tough go-around last weekend in the Baton Rouge Super Regional giving up six earned runs over seven innings pitched against West Virginia. 

A lot of eyes will be on SEC Player of the Year Wehiwa Aloy, who hasn’t had the best postseason to his standards. The undisputed best shortstop in college baseball is batting .348 from the plate this year. During the postseason, on the other hand, Aloy is only hitting .277. Including just one hit last weekend against the Volunteers. 

The Razorbacks and Tigers met in a series earlier this year. LSU won the series 2-1 including a walk-off win in a game that both Root and Anderson started against each other. 

The SEC is looking to win their 6th straight National Championship and it feels like the winner of this game has the inside track of keeping that streak alive.

Omaha always delivers, and this SEC rivalry promises to be no exception. It’s time for The Greatest Show on Dirt.