Razorbacks’ baseball reverses tailspin
The Arkansas Razorback baseball team was looking so good for most of the most of the season.
Ranked nationally in the No. 2 spot for several weeks they were in the Top 6 for nearly all of the season, that is, until an unexpected home 6-4 loss to Missouri State on May 3. They seemed to bounce back by taking two of three from Top 20-ranked Auburn on the road, which gave them a seemingly solid path to the SEC West title.
However, they dropped two of three to Vanderbilt to drop them into a tie with Texas A&M with three games left with lightly regarded Alabama though the games were on the road. A&M was set to visit Mississippi.
The Hogs won the first game to stay tied with A&M who bested Ole Miss. The next game saw the Hogs and the Aggies lose with just the one game left to break the tie. A&M came thorough to win and the Hogs lost their piece of the title when they were absolutely blown away by the Crimson Tide 18-5 in one of the worst losses Arkansas has ever gotten in the SEC.
Still ranked in the Top 10, the Hogs hoped for a little redemption in the EC tournament. Previously, they were considered a lock to host a home regional and maybe even a super-regional, However, the Hogs faltered, losing to both Florida and Alabama to exit the tourney without even one victory.
Losing six of their last eight games dropped the Hogs to the 23rd ranking spot and it looked like the U of A was going to end the season on a slide They did get a NCAA national tournament invitation, and they would be traveling to Stillwater, Okla., along with Grand Canyon State and Missouri State to face the host Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The Hogs barreled past Grand Canyon 7-1 in the opener to advance to the championship semifinals. They played the host Oklahoma State team and it looked bleak for much of the game, trailing 10-5 at the start of the seventh inning. The Hogs got a pair of homers with a man on to cut the lead to 10-8.
The Razorbacks blanked the Cowboys in the seventh, and things got lively in the eighth for Arkansas. Singles, doubles, walks, hit batsmen and a gargantuan grand slam by Jalen Battles shot the Hogs ahead 16-10.
The Cowboys got two back in their eighth but the Hogs came up with four more in the ninth to zoom ahead 20-12. The ’Pokes went down 1-2-3 in their ninth to wrap up the win for Arkansas.
OK State had to play Missouri State in an elimination game Sunday afternoon, which became close to a six-hour battle. The score would have been good for a football game as the Cowboys won 29-14, setting up another possible elimination game Sunday night.
The Hogs scored first in the first to lead 1-0. OK State then scored three to the lead and after Arkansas
added another score, the Cowboys led 6-2 after four and a half innings. Arkansas then scored six over the next three innings to take a 8-7 lead after eight innings. The Hogs got a quick out but then allowed two base runners. A fly ball for the second out was wafted out to the outfield but the Hog fielder misplayed the ball, falling down in the process to help three runs cross the plate. The Hogs then plated two in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
The 10th was bad for Arkansas, as the hosts scored four and the Hogs could not respond, sending the tournament to another final Monday night. OU and the Razorbacks both have one loss in the field now, so tomorrow night will decide which team moves on to super-regionals and which one ends their season.
Tennessee won their regional to move on with six other teams not including Arkansas are in a regional final somewhere. Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M, Louisiana State, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss are one game away from playing in a super-regional.
It appears the SEC will be well represented at the National Tournament to be held in two weeks in Nebraska. Hopefully Arkansas will be a part of the mix.
Editor’s note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The TIMES. The opinions expressed are those of the writer. He can be contacted through The TIMES at prtnews@nwaonline.com.