Halfway through the College World Series the top two seeds are gone.
No. 2 UCLA (48-16) was ousted Tuesday night in a 4-1 loss to Arizona. No. 1 Florida (47-19) had gone a day earlier, after a loss to Kent State.
Arizona (45-17) and Arkansas (46-20) are in the driver's seat now, as both are undefeated in the series and play Thursday against teams with one loss.
Kent State (47-19) was scheduled to meet South Carolina (46-18) on Wednesday night in an elimination game, with the winner advancing to meet Arkansas on Thursday, but rain postponed the contest until Thursday morning.
Florida State (50-16) plays Arizona on Thursday, needing to beat the Wildcats twice to reach the championship round.
UCLA coach John Savage offered no explanation for a second straight flat offensive performance that brought an end to the Bruins' stay at the College World Series.
He simply couldn't come up with one.
Scott Sitz had a lot to do with it, of course. The Florida State starter gave up five hits and struck out eight in a season-high 62/3 innings in the Seminoles' victory.
But the Bruins' lack of offense in a 4-0 loss to Arizona on Sunday and again against Florida State left Savage not only disappointed but also confounded.
"We didn't play very well, and I think everybody saw that," Savage said. "The last two games, I don't know, you can't really put your thumb on it, but Arizona was better and Florida State was better."
