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The 2012 College World Series bracket is out, and if you're a self-identifying Midwesterner and a fan of college baseball you might have to swallow your Mizzou-fan pride and root for... the Arkansas Razorbacks, borderline members of the Midwest and one of a few teams to escape amateur baseball's warm-weather bias—Florida, Florida State, and Arizona are all involved—and make the trip to Omaha, Nebraska and TD Ameritrade Park. They'll play third-seeded Kent State on Saturday, June 16, at 4 PM CDT on ESPN; they're in bracket 2 with South Carolina and Florida as well.
Arkansas, who has eight 2012 MLB draft picks on their roster—Matt Reynolds, a second rounder to the New York Mets; Nolan Sanburn, a second rounder to the Oakland Athletics; and DJ Baxendale, a 10th-rounder to the Minnesota Twins among them—beat Rice, Sam Houston State, and Prairie View to get out of the Houston Regional before beating Baylor in three games at the Waco Super Regional. They're 44-20 so far, the only team remaining to have lost 20 games.
For a complete look at the 2012 College World Series bracket, click here.