Live Blog: Arkansas vs. Oregon State
ARLNGTON, Texas – Welcome to Arlington and the home of the MLB world champion Texas Rangers where the Arkansas Razorbacks get set to open the Kubota College Baseball Series with the No. 4 Oregon State Beavers.
Oregon has already knocked off a Top 25 team here in Arlington and will present a difficult challenge for Arkansas ace Hagan Smith who cannot afford to have an outing similar to his one-inning appearance against James Madison.
There is a large, boisterous Razorback contingent in the stands. They made themselves known throughout the Oklahoma State win over Michigan with Hog calls and then broke out in a very loud Hog call as Oregon State took the field around 6:10 p.m. Judging by the parking lot and the number of Arkansas license plates on Highway 121 and Highway 360, the number of fans here is going to grow even larger.
We will have photos from today's game later on, and will also put together a postgame video afterward so long as my health and camera battery hold up.
Need to Familiarize Yourself with This Year's Team?
Take time to look through our in-depth coverage of everything fans could ever want to know about this year's Razorbacks. You will not only catch up on the latest developments, but will have tons of opportunities to get to know a lot of the new players fans will see today.
Read Key Stories About Oregon St. Game
HOW TEXAS ARROGANCE KEPT HOGS FROM BEING IN SAME SITUATION OREGON STATE CURRENTLY FINDS ITSELF
RAZORBACKS READY TO TUSSLE WITH TOP 3 DRAFT PROSPECTS, NO. 4 BEAVERS IN ARLINGTON
OREGON STATE PRESENTS ARKANSAS PITCHING NIGHTMARE
Starting line-up:
We are minutes from the first pitch and Arkansas fans are literally are in every section of Globe Life Field in the lower and secondary bowl. I have never seen fans loop all the way around the stadium for one of these college events. It's impressive already and there are still streams of red walking in the doors. There are more Oregon State fans than expected, but it's still going to be about a 15-to-1 ratio tonight. It's going to be loud.
Arkansas fans are four decks deep in some areas now as the Razorbacks take the field.
Top 1st:
Arkansas is the home team, so we will find out right away where Smith's head is on the mound today. He's facing Travis Bazzana in a battle of future high first round draft picks to start the game and Smith smokes three straight pitches right past him and the crowd is loving that. If this is what Arkansas can expect out of Smith tonight, we are facing a potential gem.
McDowell drags a perfect bunt down the first base line and Smith has to backhand it to first and it sails over and is caught by Holt on the fly backing up the bag. And this is what the Beavers will do. They are one of the best small ball teams in college baseball.
Smith gets Guerra swinging on high heat for his second strikeout. I don't see a radar gun here, but that had smoke. And Smith blows one by Turley, again high heat, and he walks off the mound as if the music playing is his own WWE theme song. So much confidence in that walk. The Beavers have no idea what just hit them.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Bottom 1st:
Diggs will lead off against May. He goes down on strikes on a check swing and the crowd here really didn't buy that he went around. Another check swing call the fans aren't buying contributes to White striking out and the Razorbacks have yet to even foul a pitch off May.
McLaughlin takes a hard pitch off his back ankle and the Hogs have their first runner on. That brings up Aloy in the clean-up spot. That he's here in this position says a lot. he had freshman jitters pretty bad last week, but finally worked them out the last couple of games. Aloy grounds out and that will be it for the first.
It looks like we are in for a fast-paced pitchers' duel today.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Top 2nd:
Kasper spikes one into the dirt toward second and Holt boots it. He'll reach on an error. It looks like they decided to rule that a hit, which is perplexing. That was a pretty routine ground ball that required a couple of steps to his right.
Smith strikes out Caraway on a nasty breaking pitch down low. He now has four strikeouts. Smith then mows down Peterson for strikeout No. 5. He's really mixing up his pitches well. One in that exchanged popped the mitt so hard it echoed throughout the whole ballpark. Then he came back with a ball that just fell right off the table.
He gets Tanner Smith swinging at the end of three pitches and we're up to 6 Ks now for Hagan Smith. He heads into the third having thrown only 23 pitches.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Bottom 2nd:
Ryder Helfrick leads off with a pop-up in foul territory that looked like a perfect recreation of the infamous 2018 drop as three Beavers went for it in foul territory deep behind first base. However, Oregon State managed to catch it as they avoided running over each other.
Just got a text saying the OSU fans are trolling the Arkansas fans, telling them "That's how you catch a foul ball!"
Jones draws a walk to get a runner on base, but Holt hits into a routine double play to end the inning. May is also working an efficient game with 25 pitches thrown so far.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Top 3rd:
Smith picks up where he left off by striking out the No. 9 hitter Hainline on another nasty low breaking pitch. What will be interesting is whether these Beavers can time him up the second time through the line-up.
Well, it's future MLB star Smith 2, future MLB star Bazzana 0 as Smith sits him down looking. The good news for Bazzana is it took four pitches to strike him out instead of three this time.
Smith rocks back and zips a low fast ball with a ton of movement right past McDowell and he is animated in body language and literal language as he walks off the mound. He is feeling it like I never seen him feel it before. Three batters, three Ks and he has now accounted for every out through three innings.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Bottom 3rd:
Sprague-Lott starts off the inning and the Razorbacks fans offer up a bit of sarcastic applause as an Arkansas hitter finally gets a check swing call. However, it's a minor victory as he lines back up the middle on a hard grounder to the pitcher for the first out.
Wilmsmeyer with a grounder off the end of the bat that carries deep to short and he is able to beat out the throw and finally, Arkansas is in the hit column.
Digs rips a hard grounder right up the middle that barely misses May and threads the needle between the second baseman and short stop who were both moving toward the bag on what looked like a hit-and-run and Wilmsmeyer is in scoring position with runners at the corners.
White strikes out swinging, so it will be up to McLaughlin to see if he can put a run on the board. he crushes a hard line drive that is caught in the air off the shoelaces at first and Oregon State survives the inning without giving up a run.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Top 4th:
The ump tightens up the strike zone and Smith narrowly misses on four straight pitches for his first walk of the game. as Guerra heads to first.
Smith then strikes out Turley and Kasper on three consecutive pitches each and I am pretty certain that is a new school record. He has been responsible for 11 straight outs by way of strikeout.
Caraway hits a high chopper up the middle that gets into center field and for the first time tonight the Beavers have a runner in scoring position.
Smith burns a fastball on the outside part of the plate past the designated hitter Peterson. He nearly fell down swinging and the Stone Cold Steve Austin glass shattering entrance music that hit as soon as the ball hit the mitt was appropriate and here come the Razorback fans with the Hog call.
12 outs in four innings, all by way of strikeout. If you stuck around because you wanted to go to the basketball game in Fayetteville rather than drive here, then that's on you. You are missing history take place on the mound tonight. Smith is making a ton of money right now.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Bottom 4th:
May continues to put on his own clinic as he gets Aloy swinging to lead off with a strikeout low and away. Helfrick follows by grounding out to short, then Jones strikes out swinging and they crank up the Goldberg entrance music for May.
His five strikeouts on 54 pitches across four innings is highly impressive until it's put up against Smith's 12 strikeouts on 53 pitches.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Top 5th:
Just watched back some of the replays and several of what looked like fastballs low on the outer part of the plate are sliders. It's hard to tell from up here in the rafters where they keep the media.
Either way, he just struck out Tanner Smith swinging on four pitches and the streak keeps going. We're now at 13 straight outs by strikeout. Make that 14. He just sat down Hainline swinging on four pitches as he gets ready to run through the Beavers' line-up a third time.
Smith strikes out Bazzana swinging on an inside pitch and we are now up to 15. This may be the greatest pitching performance ever put on by a Razorback.
Arkansas 0, OSU 0
Bottom 5th:
Sprague-Lott rips a hard grounder into left field and the energy in this building by Razorbacks fans is just steadily building. When it explodes, it's going to be deafening. It's already been really loud for much of Smith's pitching performance.
Holt takes one for the team after getting hit by a pitch, so Diggs comes up with runners on first and second with one outs. Didn't see the pop-up to the catcher by Wilmsmeyer. And after a pair of balls thrown to Diggs, here comes a visit to the mound that immediately triggers an ear-splitting Hog all.
I couldn't imagine Van Horn trying to pull Smith after giving up as little as May has. He might have punched someone. May was almost as dialed in as Smith.
Digs watches two more go by and the bases are loaded for White. He's struck out twice so far tonight, but perhaps seeing someone other than May will change his prospects. And White watches a third strike go by for two outs.
And here's the moment Hog fans have been waiting for. McLaughlin lays into a pitch deep to center. The outfield is playing up and this sails over their heads and short hops the 407 sign and almost skips over the wall. Three runs score as McLaughlin is in with a double and it's deafening.
Aloy strikes out swinging, but not before the damage is done. If you're Oregon State, that three runs have to feel like 90 with Smith walking back out onto the mound.
Arkansas 3, OSU 0
Top 6th:
Smith gets McDowell to ground up the middle. Insane diving catch and throw from flat on the dirt by Holt to get the out. Absolutely amazing play. However, it ends the streak officially at 15.
Just in case Oregon State starts getting cocky just because it avoided a strikeout, Smith sends Guerra back to the bench looking for his 16th K of the game. Turley goes down looking too as he now has 17 strikeouts in 78 pitches. There's a chance he makes it through the 8th inning. That is another school record.
Arkansas 3, OSU 0
Bottom 6th:
Helfrick skies a bomb of a pop-up. It misses a beam in the top of the stadium by inches. There it gets lost and drops where the grass and dirt meet in front of third and he has time to get all the way to second before it drops. Then, the local kid, Jayson Jones, singles a grounder to center field. Helfrick crashes and burns halfway to home plate, but is able to get up and score to make it 4-0 Hogs.
The Beavers induce a double play and get a flyout to left, but the lead is bigger and time is getting shorter.
Arkansas 4, OSU 0
Top 7th:
In a stunning move, Van Horn elects to shut down Smith and bring in McEntire. He immediately gives up a single up the middle to Kasper on a 2-2 pitch. This could get dicey fast because the Beavers get very patient at the plate when they need a lot of runs.
McEntire strikes out Caraway for his first out of the inning.
Dallas Macias comes in to pinch hit and lines a hard shot to right-center that rolls around by the wall to drive in Kasper and here comes Oregon State. McEntire had a great game last week, but Smith was so hot on the mound, it's hard to see him pulled and the Beavers immediately get a little momentum.
The next pitch hits off the catcher's foot and rolls away and now Macias is at third. Smith then hits one a mile into the rafters and the Razorbacks are shoving each other in the outfield trying to call each other off. Fortunately, the shove puts an Arkansas player in the right spot for the catch, but the throw to the plate is way wide and another run scores.
McEntire throws one right over the heart of the plate to get Hainline swinging to get out of the inning, but you can see he is visibly frustrated with himself as he walks to the dugout.
Arkansas 4, OSU 2
Bottom 7th:
Wilmsmeyer starts off with what looks like the perfect bunt, but the pitcher, Keljo, makes a diving face-first grab and pitch to first to get the out.
Diggs is hit by a pitch that appeared to hit him square in the back and he will head down to first. That will bring a visit to the mound and Hudson White will face a third Oregon State pitcher. It's worth noting that the Hog call during this change didn't have the spirit the others have had. I don't think the fans are worn out. They're just adjusting to the shock of going from the high of Smith's performance to battling to hold onto what is now a 2-run lead.
OSU brings in the side-armer Hutcheson. White hits a ball off the pitcher and almost beats it out, but can't quite beat the throw. McLaughlin then barely misses driving in a run with a floater to right field that almost results in a full-speed collision between second and right field, but the catch is made and physical disaster is so narrowly avoided.
Arkansas 4, OSU 2
Top 8th:
Van Horn is now calling on Stone Hewlett to take over for McEntire to get the Razorbacks through the 8th. He immediately gives up a single to left center to Bazzana for his first hit of the night and it just feels like these last six outs are going to be adventurous. It will truly be a crime if somehow Smith doesn't get this win.
Hewlett strikes out McDowell looking, but Bazzana steals second on a throw that goes into the outfield. Fortunately, it was scooped up about 15 feet behind the bag. However, that will be it for Hewlett. Van Horn doesn't want to take a risk.
That draws Gage Wood to the mound. He had a forgettable outing in his debut here last season, but he is a very different pitcher a year later.
Guerra turns on a 1-2 pitch that got too much of the plate and that may not land. It's headed to the concourse in left field. This may hit the memorabilia stand. IT appears to hit off a column out there and bounces back into the stands. What a blast. He hit that thing a mile. Interested to see the official length on that one.
We are now tied, and that officially means, despite pitching one of the greatest games in Arkansas history, Hagan Smith will not get a win today.
Arkansas 4, OSU 4
Bottom 8th:
Aloy is hit by a pitch and heads down to first.
Helfrick lays a perfect bunt and barely beats it out to first. However, he gets clocked by the second baseman backing up the play. That's 15 yards an ejection if he does that in football. After a review, Helfrick has been called out and the Hog fans are hot.
Jones follows with a groundout to second that moves Aloy to third for Peyton Holt.
Holt crushes a hard line drive deep to center. It's got a ton of power, but not a lot of height. It hits off the top of the wall and bounces back into the field of play. Aloy will score. Here comes Holt around second and he will slide into third where he is easily safe with a triple and the Razorbacks have regained the lead.
Now Sprague-Lott is hit by a pitch from Holmes and Arkansas has runners at the corners with two outs. And here comes yet another visit to the mound. This time the Hog call has a little umph to it.
OSU is able to get out of the inning without giving up a run and it will now be on Wood to close this thing out with a win.
Arkansas 5, OSU 4
Top 9th:
Caraway leads off with a screaming grounder up the middle and the lead-off runner is on. Wood then gets Macias on a short chopper to third and the Hogs are two outs away with the tying run on second.
And that will be it for Wood. In comes Jake Faherty. A pitch gets away from the catcher and the tying run is now at third. A second pitch gets away and the Hogs are lucky to have not just given up the run. Instead, Faherty gets a ful-count strikeout and Arkansas now just has to find a way to get one more out with a runner anxiously awaiting his opportunity at third.
It's a 1-2 count and the Hogs are a strike away. Faherty gets the pitch and the Hogs win a nail biter.
Arkansas 5, OSU 4 [Final]
Bottom 9th:
Not needed