Smith Faces Toughest Test on the Brink of Arkansas History

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Coming into the season, Hagen Smith needed 146 strikeouts to pass the all-time Arkansas career record held by Nick Schmidt with 345.

It was hard to imagine a feasible path for Smith to get there. The school record for single-season strikeouts is 155. After lasting just one inning in the season opener against James Madison, the narrow path became almost impossible.

Then came the historic performance against Oregon State. In an MLB stadium in front of an announced crowd of over 13,000 people, Smith struck out 17 of the 22 batters he faced on just 78 pitches en route to a 5-4 win, tying the single-game school record. He backed it up with double-digit strikeouts in five of his next six starts with at least 10 strikeouts, with a nine-strikeout game on just 64 pitches.

Fast forward to the regular-season finale, Smith is not only potentially poised to become the new strikeout king, he could eclipse the single-season record as well. He is 11 strikeouts away from breaking the all-time record and 20 away from breaking the single-season record held by David Walling. He has already struck out at least 11 batters in a game eight times this season, including each of his last four starts, all against SEC opponents.

"I wouldn't even know that he's under any pressure by the way he acts," coach Dave Van Horn said. "He's a professional. He uses this facility better than anyone. He's just doing his work. All he does is come in and do his thing. He doesn't get uptight about things. The progress he's made physically and mentally in one year is amazing."

The Arkansas ace has set the standard so high for himself that his most recent start, a five-inning, 11-strikeout day left something to be desired.

"We’ve kind of been waiting for it," Van Horn said. "He’s been so good and so consistent. Maybe he’s got that behind him and he can move on now. He’s been better obviously, and he’s a lot better than that."

Smith has improved on his 13.8 K/9 from last year to 17.2 K/9, which would be an NCAA all-time record if the season ended today, eclipsing Ryan Wagner's record on 16.8 from 2003 (min. 50 innings pitched).

To clear the final hurdle to history, Smith must face a powerful, yet sometimes strikeout prone Aggies line-up. Texas A&M ranks Top 3 in most major offensive categories in SEC play including batting average, on base percentage, hits, homers and runs scored. The lowest qualified batting average for the season (75% of games played, two at-bats/game) is Kaeden Kent at .288.

The Aggies have penciled in the same first three hitters in the line-up – Gavin Grahovac, Jace Laviolette and Braden Montgomery – for all but three games this year. The top of the order has combined for 69 homers, just one off the entire Arkansas team total of 70.

For the danger that Texas A&M's line-up presents, the Aggies strike out a lot. They've stuck out 273 times in SEC play, behind only Missouri, South Carolina and Florida. Those three teams have a combined SEC record of 32-39 and are all under .500.

Smith begins his chase for history 7 p.m. Thursday to cap off the final regular-season series. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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