Trying to avoid a knee jerk reaction, but where are we right now?

We've had one of the best 20 year stretches in all of college baseball. DVH is a HOFer just missing a NC.

I was at the stadium this weekend. It wasn't the same. It wasn't the same vibe/energy we've had in that place in the 2010s. Prices are astronomical all over park. My son wanted a replica jersey, it was $110. Insane shit. M

Donations are outrageous and the crowd that brought Baum Stadium alive is slowing going away. Like most things now, Baum Stadium and baseball there is unaffordable and the ROI is starting to dwindle.

I think a change is now needed, but not sure where to start.

GO HOGS

Arkansas ace left-hander Hagen Smith's season might have finished early exit in the Fayetteville Regional, but he was able to add another record to his historic year before Southeast Missouri State eliminated the Razorbacks from postseason play Sunday.

In a season that he passed former Hog Nick Schmidt (2003-06) as the Razorbacks' strikeout king and David Walling (1999) as the new single-season strikeout record holder, Smith also passed former Houston pitcher Ryan Wagner (2003, 16.79 K/9) for the most strikeouts per nine innings (17.25 K/9) in a single season in NCAA Division I baseball history.

ALSO READ: Hagen Smith becomes Arkansas strikeout king

"He’s one of the best pitchers I’ve ever had," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said after Sunday's elimination loss to SEMO. "He’s such a difference-maker for our team. Without him pretty much taking us 5, 6, 7 innings in Game 1 of every SEC series and giving us an opportunity to save our bullpen. Most of time we end up winning that game and we’d find a way to win another game. Swept a few series here."

The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Smith struck out 161 batters across 84.0 innings pitched in what was more-than-likely his third and final season as a Razorback. He posted a 9-2 record and a 2.04 ERA with just 34 walks.

"You take Hagen Smith away from us and we’re just pretty average," Van Horn said. "We fielded the ball really good this year. I think we probably fielded .982, which is probably in the top three or four in the country. We didn’t make very many mistakes.

"For three quarters of the season we didn’t walk anybody and that’s why we won a lot of games. We just played really solid baseball. We weren’t real exciting to watch, so to speak, all the time, unless you like pitching and defense. But that’s what we had."

RELATED: Hagen Smith named SEC Pitcher of the Year

Smith was a Freshman All-American in 2022, he was the team's "wild card" as a no-doubt All-American in 2023 and he became the nation's top pitcher for the Razorbacks this spring.

"I have talked with him and he’s going to be high first round pick," Van Horn said. "So to speak I think the hay was in the barn, even though his last couple outings weren’t great. If he had two great outings, that might’ve messed up some people but I think he’ll be one of the top 10 picks.

"Could be second, third, will probably be fifth or sixth will be my guess. I honestly just think he ran out of gas even though we rested him a lot this year. We kept an inning back from him, we were hoping to get it last night. Didn’t happen."

A 6-foot-3, 225-pound native of Bullard, Texas, Smith never pitched more than 7.0 innings in a game this year, and the most pitches he threw in an outing was 105. His last start was unfortunately his worst of the season, as he was tagged for six runs — all in one inning — on four hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in Saturday's loss to Kansas State.

"You take him off our team and we’re just really average," Van Horn reiterated. "That’s the way it is. One guy can make a difference. You’ve got kids that are jumping around in the portal and teams are paying these kids — somebody is — and you snag a guy and he pitches you to the World Series or he hits you to the World Series. It happened last year (with LSU)."

Highlights of Smith's incredible season include a 17-strikeout performance against Oregon State on Feb. 23, seven innings and no earned runs against Florida on April 26 and 14 strikeouts with just one earned run allowed at Kentucky on May 3.

“His average fastball was 98," South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said April 19. "He threw a slider for strikes all night, and that’s why he’s going to be the first pitcher off the board for the Major League draft. He’s done that to everybody this year, and we were no different.”

MLB Pipeline's latest mock draft has Smith projected to go No. 7 overall to the St. Louis Cardinals in this year's draft, which will begin July 14 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Everyone loves a good success story, and former Arkansas kicker Jake Bates has been on the forefront of social media recently for what he accomplished during the Michigan Panthers' season-opening win against the St. Louis Battlehawks to kick off the UFL season Saturday.

After not making a kick during his three seasons in the collegiate ranks — two years at Texas State and one at Arkansas in 2022 — Bates nailed a 64-yard game-winning field goal to hand the Panthers an 18-16 victory over the Battlehawks. The make is the second-longest across professional football, just behind Justin Tucker's 66-yarder against the Detroit Lions in 2021.

Bates' most impressive feat wasn't necessarily making the field goal, but making back-to-back after getting iced by the opposing team.

"Honestly at this moment I don't really remember what I was thinking about, I just remember that I heard the whistle and hit the ball and I kind of walked 10 or 15 yards by myself just resetting," Bates said Monday on the Pat McAfee Show. "The whole thing about being a kicker is being able to hit the same ball every time. That's what I tried to do on the second one and luckily was able to get it in."

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A kickoff specialist during his one season in a Razorback uniform, Bates earned First-Team All-SEC honors for his efforts after finishing fourth nationally with an average of 64.47 yards per kickoff and an SEC-best 64 touchbacks. Bates touched on his college career during a segment of the Pat Mcafee show on Monday.

"Well at my two schools that I played football at, it was Texas State and then Arkansas, I think at both of those places I was ready to kick field goals, but I was behind two guys that were really, really good," Bates said. "At Texas State there was Seth Keller and he holds like every record there, and then at Arkansas I was behind Cam Little, who is probably going to be the first kicker off the board this draft.

According to a report from JPAFootball, multiple NFL teams have inquired about Bates following the awe-inspiring placekick. Bates signed a deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then the Houston Texans out of college, but he never made an NFL roster.

"So, it was tough because I go to camps and kick with other guys, and I thought I deserved a chance, but it wasn't my moment," Bates said. "God had another plan for me, he was telling me to wait. I stayed patient, stayed true to myself and who I was and trusted the process, never gave up. It's hard to never give up when you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, but luckily I didn't and now I'm here."

No one knows what the future holds for Bates, but he did earn the congratulations of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after his kick — and that alone would push anyone forward.

"My brother sent that in our family group message and was just like, 'This is nuts, the Rock is tweeting at Jake!'

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FAYETTEVILLE — After a season full of concerns at the plate, it was the Arkansas Razorbacks' offense that could not come through in Sunday's 6-3 season-ending loss to 4-seed Southeast Missouri State in the Fayetteville Regional at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas scored three runs on six hits Sunday after plating 23 total runs on 29 combined hits in the first two games of the regional. The Hogs hit just 2-for-9 with runners on base and they struck out 10 times as a team in Sunday's loss.

"I was really surprised," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said postgame. "We didn't think it would go down like this. And I think it's a combination of their pitchers doing a really good job of mixing pitches and locating, and our guys might have been a tick short, maybe just a little bit tired from yesterday's ballgame.

"You can talk about it when you get home at midnight or later and you unwind, take a shower, you unwind, before you know it it it's 1:30, 2:00. We got breakfast at nine. We're having scouting report. Maybe I learned something. Maybe you just let them sleep in till 12:00 and tell them to show up and we'll do it like we did in summer league and just play. But I just felt like we were just slow."

Less than 48 hours removed from scoring three runs on three hits in a 17-9 win Friday against Redhawks' pitcher Collin Wilma, the No. 5 national seed Arkansas Razorbacks had just one baserunner via a walk against the crafty right-hander through four innings Sunday.

That all looked to change on a two-out pitch that Peyton Holt sent 422 feet to left field in the top of the fifth inning that cut the Redhawks' lead to three runs.

The swing sparked some life into the Hogs, and the home crowd, as the next three batters reached via free passes to chase Wilma and bring up catcher Hudson White with bases loaded and two outs. The Redhawks then elected to pull Wilma, who finished with the one earned run allowed on Holt's homer, plus two walks and six strikeouts in 4.2 inning pitched.

"You don’t see too many curveballs in the low to mid 60s, usually the lowest one you’ll see is 70, 71, 72," Van Horn said. "It was a true curveball, the old curveball. Then there’s the slurve, slider, that pitch is really different. Then the kid was throwing it 89-90 miles per hour with some run to the right hand side.

"You kind of try to sit on that thing a little bit, you try to guess and then he throws the fastball so you can’t swing. If you’re guessing fastball and he throws the curveball, you can still get a swing or two out of it and he did. We lined out to left field, we were running a runner on a play with two outs, we lined out to center."

In his fifth season as a native of Tinley Park, Illinois, Wilma received some high praise from SEMO head coach Andy Sawyers postgame.

"I’ve been around this young man for five years," Sawyers said. "That’s the absolute best he’s ever thrown. Certainly for a school like SEMO to come to one of the Taj Mahals of college baseball and to win a game like that in an elimination setting, it’s going to require some heroics. And I thought Collin’s outing today was heroic."

SEMO then turned from Wilma, who was making his fifth start of the year, to senior left-hander Logan Katen, who also pitched in Friday's matchup. Katen gave up one earned run on three hits and failed to record an out in the eight-run defeat against the Hogs.

As the Razorback faithful rose to their feet and a low roar of claps grew, Katen's pitch took the air right out of Baum-Walker Stadium when White hit a slow roller to second base for a routine groundout that left the bases loaded.

Third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott worked a full count before grounding out to leadoff the sixth, and then first baseman Ben McLaughlin singled to left to put one on base with one out. Back-to-back outs, one of which was shortstop Wehiwa Aloy climbing the ladder for a strikeout, stranded McLaughlin and sent even more silence over the crowd.

Down four runs and in desperate need of offensive production, the Razorbacks went down in order against Katen in the top of the seventh. Freshman catcher Ryder Helfrick and centerfielder Ty Wilmsmeyer both struck out in the frame.

Again, Arkansas looked to threaten in the top of the eighth, when Peyton Stovall hit a leadoff single and then was advanced to third on a Hudson White double.

After Katen gave the Redhawks 2.1 innings of scoreless ball and three strikeouts, SEMO elected to turn to right-hander Peyton Lawrence for the third day in a row and he picked up three straight outs to strand both runners.

The Razorbacks did get to Lawrence with one out in the top of the ninth, though, as catcher Parker Rowland hit his first home run of the season to cut the deficit to 6-3 and double his season RBI total (2) with one swing. SEMO then turned to the program's all-time saves leader, Kyle Miller, for a low-drama final two outs.

"You’ve got to give them credit," Van Horn said. "They pitched us good. They kept us off balance. A lot of off-speed, especially the first guy, Wilma. He threw against us the other day and he was pretty good, so we’d seen him. But he was better today obviously. He stepped it up. Congratulations to (head coach Andy Sawyers) and those guys getting a chance to move on."

Arkansas finished the 2024 season with a 44-16 overall record and a 34-5 mark at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

HOOVER, Ala. — The Arkansas Razorbacks are going back to Fayetteville following a 9-6 loss to Kentucky on Thursday at the SEC Tournament.

Junior Hagen Smith, the SEC Pitcher of the Year, started the game and threw just two innings as he was on a pitch count. Four other pitchers threw in the game for the Razorbacks, all of which have pitched in a starting role this year.

Arkansas totaled nine hits in the game compared to Kentucky's 10, and outfielder Peyton Holt had his first multi-home run game as a Hog with a pair of longballs. Third baseman Jared Sprague-Lott added a pair of knocks, including a 416-foot home run in the ninth inning.

Here's a box score, plus what Van Horn had to say about his team's loss, which set Arkansas back to a Thursday losers' bracket matchup with 3-seed Kentucky at 9:30 a.m. CT on SEC Network.

Box Score​

Thoughts on offensive production recently?​

With Arkansas' pitching staff not limiting opponents as much as they were earlier in the year, the offense is struggling to pick up the slack in order to stack up wins. Arkansas did combine to score 11 runs in two games at the SEC Tournament, but South Carolina and Kentucky scored 15 combined runs on the Hogs.

"Yeah, it was a little bit up and down. We left a lot of runners on base in the last two days. Really the biggest hit we got was that three-run homer. We got, you know, hit here or there or a sac fly yesterday. But today's game was, again -- in our big inning, we needed another hit. We've got to get better. That's what I just told 'em, we got to get more production up and down the lineup.

"It's spotty right now. I think guys are trying too hard, trying to do too much instead of just take what they give you sometimes. What I'm talking about is maybe a couple guys going out of the zone, put themselves in a bad count. We got to flip that, take the pitch, work for the next one. Yeah, we're going to have to swing the bats a lot better when we get to the regional."

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How did Thursday's pitching set you up for next weekend?​

With the NCAA Tournament regionals coming up next weekend, Arkansas threw five pitchers Thursday who have started a game this year — in order to get them some live innigns. Hagen Smith, Gage Wood, Will McEntire, Brady Tygart and Mason Molina all appeared in that order.

"I thought Molina threw really well the last two outings," Van Horn said. "I thought Tygart was really good for an inning. Had a hitter down 0-2 and just made a really big mistake and he unloaded on it."

The mistake Van Horn referred to was a lazy fielding error by Tygart on the mound, and the run came around to score directly after on a two-run homer for Kentucky.

"Just little careless things like that, you know, ball's hit off the end of the bat, spinning like a top, you don't field it with one hand, you field it with two," Van Horn said. "You don't run away from it. Ball spun right out of his glove. When you're older, you know that. Freshman, younger guy, I mean, it doesn't happen again down the road. But, you know, that inning couldn't happen right there. That was frustrating.

"Other than that, Tygart's first inning, man, he looked really good, breaking ball going, spotting his fastball down, had a little movement, a little sink. And it was good to see McEntire just threw one hitter, but he threw pretty good. So Gage Wood, couple really good hitters, didn't get behind. When you get behind 2-0, second time they see and you got to throw a fastball in there, they jumped on him pretty good. When he was ahead in the count, not a problem. So it's process every day."

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What's the message to the team?​

Arkansas has now dropped three straight games entering the NCAA Tournament. The Hogs have been on the road since May 15, so it'll be good to get back home to Fayetteville.

"They will get back and rest up just a little bit," Van Horn said. "Message out there was, this is where we wanted to be as far as we know we're going to be in a regional, a really good opportunity to host. It's time to take a step forward. We kind of went backward a couple weeks ago, sideways. We've been up and down. We need to make a move and finish this thing up the right way."

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How important is success in the SEC Tournament for the NCAA Tournament?​

It's been well-documented that the SEC Tournament probably doesn't mean that much in the grand scheme of things, but it's a good opportunity to build on some success.

"Depends on where you are," Van Horn said. "Depends on your record at the time coming in here, you know, or depending upon how you're playing. If you're not playing very well, you come in here, play really good, you can gain some momentum. Come in here, you got things locked up and you just don't want to get anybody hurt.

"You want to play, obviously, you want to win, you don't like losing, you are used to winning, that's why you're in this position that you're in. Just depends on who you are and where you're at as far as wins and losses and how you're playing. And I wouldn't say that it's not important. It's more important for some teams than it is others, like everybody knows. If you're asking me if we should have a tournament or not, I would say, yeah, we need to have a tournament."

The 5-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (44-16) were eliminated from the NCAA Tounament after dropping their first ever regional game to a 4-seed in a 6-3 loss to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (36-26) on Sunday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas never found a rhythm offensively, as the Hogs were outmatched by Redhawks starting right-hander Collin Wilma's mixture of mid-60s curveballs and low-90s fastballs. The lack of offensive production continued throughout the entire match, as bullpen lefty Logan Katen and right-handers Payton Lawrence and Kyle Miller cruised through 4.1 total innings to win the game.

As a whole, the Razorbacks finished 6-for-33 at the plate (.182), 2-for-9 with runners on (.222) and 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position (.000).

Right-handed sophomore Gage Wood made his third career start and shined for the first two innings against the Redhawks despite giving up a solo homerun to the third batter he faced. He ran into trouble in the third and ultimately exited the frame after allowing a combined three earned runs on three hits.

Relievers Jake Faherty and Will McEntire each allowed one run respectively in a combined 3.1 innings, while Stone Hewlett, Christian Foutch and Koty Frank finished out the matchup.

Top 1 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 0, SEMO 0

A bright afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium gave way to a perfect day for baseball yet again. To start off Arkansas' elimination game against the Redhawks, Peyton Stovall swung and missed at strike three but thought he foul tipped it. Instead, he was thrown out at first base. Hudson White made good contact but flew out to left center, and Jared Sprague-Lott fouled out to first base to complete the 12-pitch inning.

Bottom 1 (SEMO) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

Batesville native Gage Wood made his third career start against SEMO, and his outing started with a groundout from Brooks Kettering, who walked five times against the Hogs on Friday. A one-pitch foul out to the next Redhawk had the Hogs ready to head to the dugout, but Ty Stauss smoked one to left field for a solo homerun. Wood capped the frame off with a strikeout looking.

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Top 2 (Arkansas) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

With the pressure on down a run, Ben McLaughlin flew out to center field to begin the second. Wehiwa Aloy nearly went yard to left field, but the wind carried it foul. He eventually grounded out in a full-count back to SEMO RHP Collin Wilma. Kendall Diggs drew a much-needed walk, but he was stranded following a well-struck line out by Peyton Holt to center field.

Bottom 2 (SEMO) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

Wood shook off a few pitches and delivered a fastball across the plate, but SEMO's Michael Mugan tapped it into the infield past Wood for an infield single to leadoff the inning. Bryce Cannon struck out swinging on a beautiful fastball from Wood, and then a groundball double play got the Hogs out of the inning on only 10 pitches.

Top 3 (Arkansas) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

Wilma continued pumping in 90 MPH heaters and low-60's curveballs, and it was too much for Ryder Helfrick who struck out swinging to start the third. Ty Wilmsmeyer grounded out in his first at-bat of the day, and Stovall grounded out to second base for the final out of the frame.

Bottom 3 (SEMO) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

SEMO's Ian Riley worked a full-count to leadoff the bottom of the third, but he struck out swinging on a Wood fastball. Arkansas' righty followed that up with another swinging strikeout on a high fastball and a grounder to complete the 1-2-3 inning.

Top 4 (Arkansas) - SEMO 1, Arkansas 0

White opened the fourth frame with a three-pitch swinging strikeout, and Sprague-Lott matched him with a swing and a miss on a low breaking ball. McLaughllin flew out to left field on two pitches to end the inning.

Bottom 4 (SEMO) - SEMO 4, Arkansas 0

The Redhawks doubled to left field to leadoff the latter half of the fourth against Wood, who then walked Ty Stauss to give SEMO two baserunners with no outs. After a long at-bat, Josh Cameron singled through the right side to score another run and Wood's day was done.

RHP Jake Faherty entered with no outs and runners on first and third, and immediately allowed a run to cross home plate on a groundball that he picked up and tossed wide of home plate. A sac-bunt moved both runners to second and third. The next Redhawk hit a ball to Sprague-Lott at third, but he threw the runner out at home for the second out of the inning. With two men on, a single tacked on another run and put two more Redhawks in scoring position.

Faherty finally escaped the inning on a strikeout looking.

Top 5 (Arkansas) - SEMO 4, Arkansas 1

Aloy swung and missed at a low-60s curveball in the dirt to start the fifth, followed by a strikeout looking by Diggs. Holt breathed some life into the Arkansas bullpen with a 400+ foot solo homer to left field, and Helfrick reached first after a hit-by-pitch. Wilmsmeyer worked a quality at-bat to walk to set up Stovall, who got hit by the first pitch he saw to load the bases.

With the red-hot White coming to the plate, SEMO made a pitching change to LHP Logan Katen. After getting ahead 3-0 in the count, White grounded out to second base spoil a massive opportunity.

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Bottom 5 (SEMO) - SEMO 5, Arkansas 1

With some newfound momentum, Faherty gave up a leadoff solo homerun to Brooks Kettering to give the Redhawks a four-run advantage again. Faherty battled back and struck out the next three batters to hand the reigns back over to the offense.

Top 6 (Arkansas) - SEMO 5, Arkansas 1

Sprague-Lott grounded out in a full-count to leadoff the sixth. McLaughlin poked a one-out single into left field to give the Hogs a man on base, but Aloy struck out swinging at a head-level ball for the second out of the frame. Diggs grounded up the middle to bring the top of the sixth to a close.

Bottom 6 (SEMO) - SEMO 5, Arkansas 1

Senior right-hander Will McEntire took the mound in the sixth for the Hogs, and he struck out his first batter of the game on four pitches. It was a good inning for McEntire, who drew a fly out and strike out from the final two batters to move to the seventh.

Top 7 (Arkansas) - SEMO 5, Arkansas 1

With nine outs left in Arkansas' season, Holt flew out to right field to being the seventh. Helfrick and Wilmsmeyer struck out swinging to end a 1-2-3 frame for the Hogs.

Bottom 7 (SEMO) - SEMO 6, Arkansas 1

McEntire returned to the mound again in the seventh and promptly allowed a leadoff single to right field. That runner made his way to second after a sac-bunt and eventually scored after a Brooks Kettering right-field single. For potentially the last time in a Razorback uniform, McEntire struck out a Redhawk looking before exiting the game.

Dave Van Horn handed the ball off to LHP Stone Hewlett out of the bullpen, and he ended the frame with a strike out looking.

Top 8 (Arkansas) - SEMO 6, Arkansas 1

In potentially his last at-bat in a Hog uniform, Stovall led off the eighth with a single to right field. White slapped a double down the right field line to give the Razorbacks two runners in scoring position and no outs.

SEMO brought in RHP Payton Lawrence from the bullpen, and he goes groundball to Sprague-Lott, one-pitch foul out to McLaughlin and groundball to Aloy to escape the jam on only five pitches.

Bottom 8 (SEMO) - SEMO 6, Arkansas 1

SEMO right fielder Josh Cameron led the bottom of the eighth off with a single to bring RHP Christian Foutch out of the bullpen. Fouth picked up his first out on a bunt before hitting Bryce Cannon with a pitch. Aloy nearly made a SportsCenter Top-10 play at short stop to throw a runner out at first, and Van Horn called upon RHP Koty Frank for the final out.

Top 9 (Arkansas) - SEMO 6, Arkansas 3

With its season on the line and only three more outs, Diggs grounded out into the shift to start the ninth. Holt kept the season alive with a seeing-eye-single to right, and Parker Rowland tanked a right-field homer to draw the score within three runs. Pinch-hitter Nolan Souza struck out on four pitches and Stovall flew out to left field to end the game.

The Razorbacks' 2024 baseball season has come to a close. Be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for the best offseason coverage.

Box Score​

Ryan Bright, who had a five-year run on staff at Wisconsin before spending the 2023 as a defensive analyst in the PAC-12 at Stanford, is joining Sam Pittman's Arkansas staff, per FootballScoop.

"Bright has agreed to become a defensive analyst for the Razorbacks, whose defense is headed by aggressive defensive coordinator Travis Williams."

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Good stuff here from stewhog. I'll add some cliffs below.

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- The Hogs' 6.8 runs per game ranks 146th nationally.

- As of May 6th in their respective seasons, former national champs rankings in scoring: 2017 Florida (225th), 2015 Virginia (153rd), 2013 UCLA (205th).

- Those Florida and UCLA teams ranked 14th in ERA as of May 6 in their respective seasons. Arkansas currently ranks 2nd.

- Arkansas currently ranks 15th nationally in average run differential, which is better than 6 of the last 10 national champs.

- Worst season in run production since 2014 for Arkansas so far.

- Run production improved in each of Nate Thompson's first three seasons, but the same can't be said for the last three.

- Since Tony Vitello left Arkansas as hitting coach ahead of the 2018 season, he's helped Tennessee to lead the SEC in runs per game.

- Runs scored by Arkansas in the five season-ending postseason losses since Thompson took over as hitting coach: 0, 4, 2, 0, 4

- Since Vitello got to Tennessee, the Vols have averaged 6.27 runs/game in the NCAA Tournament. In the same span, Arkansas has averaged 7.31 runs/game in the NCAAT. To take it further, Arkansas is averaging 7.26 runs/game in the regular season during that span, compared to 7.69 for the Vols — so the the Hogs are actually scoring more in the NCAAT than regular season (smaller sample size).

Come check us out.

Good evening from Baum-Walker Stadium, where the No. 5 national seed Razorbacks will continue regional play today against Kansas State. We will have live coverage in the thread, plus plenty of postgame coverage to follow as always.

Live stats

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STARTING LINEUPS:

ARK Line Up

KSU Line Up

I have two tickets for the game today. Section 104 3rd row behind the dugout. Free to first response that is a Yes.

From @masonchoate


FAYETTEVILLE — Saturday night featured yet another Big 12 team sporting purple jerseys teeing off on Arkansas left-handed star pitcher Hagen Smith in an NCAA Tournament regional game.

One year removed from giving up eight earned runs on six hits in just one inning of a start in a 20-5 Fayetteville Regional loss to TCU in 2023, Smith was tagged for six earned runs — all in one inning — on four hits across five total innings Saturday in a 7-6 loss to 3-seed Kansas State at Baum-Walker Stadium in a winner's bracket matchup of the Fayetteville Regional.

ALSO READ: Kansas State outlasts Arkansas 7-6, sends Hogs to elimination game

The Arkansas battled with six runs scored on 13 hits, although the Hogs did leave 12 men on base, and the effort proved to not be enough to overcome the Wildcats' six-run bottom of the sixth.

"Thirteen hits, six runs, no errors is usually going to be enough to get you a W, especially when Hagen is on the mound," head coach Dave Van Horn said postgame. "Hats off to K-State for putting together a really good inning against him."

WATCH: Dave Van Horn, players postgame - Kansas State 7, Arkansas 6

A First Team All-SEC selection, Smith threw 92 pitches, walked four and struck out seven in what was his 16th start of the year. His season earned run average (ERA) now sits at 2.04 after Saturday after it dropped to 1.41 after Smith's first four innings of work.

"They had a really good approach against him," Arkansas catcher Hudson White said. "Hats off to them. They competed well at the plate. They got a few infield hits. But they did an awesome job."

Saturday was the first time all season that Smith allowed more than three earned runs in an outing, and it was just his fourth time to have at least four walks.

Smith tied the single season strikeout record at Arkansas with a punchout against the first batter he faced Saturday. A native of Bullard, Texas, Smith added his name to the top of another list with strikeout No. 156 on the year — the new single season program record — to leadoff the bottom of the second inning.

The 2024 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Smith began the bottom of the fourth with two quick strikeouts before he gave up his first hit of the game — a two-out single to center. Arkansas' ace left-hander responded with his sixth strikeout of the game to strand the runner.

Things got rocky for Smith when he walked the first two batters he faced in the bottom half of the fourth inning. After a sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, the Wildcats put together back-to-back RBI knocks to tie the game at 2-2.

Kansas State took a one-run lead via an RBI sacrifice bunt and shortstop Kaelen Culpepper then crushed a three-run homer to right-center to give the Wildcats a 6-2 advantage. Culpepper also hit for the cycle in Kansas State's first game of the regional against Louisiana Tech.

Senior outfielder Peyton Holt said postgame that the Hogs had no reaction when returning to the dugout after that six-run frame from K-State.

"It's baseball," Holt said. "You can't throw a shutout every time you go out. You see it in the Big Leagues. You've got all those good arms and they can't have a good outing every time. It's part of it."

While Arkansas managed to string together some hits and make it interesting with a two-run ninth inning homer from Holt to make it a one-run game, a solo homer from K-State outfielder Nick English in the bottom of the eighth off Hogs' reliever Ben Bybee proved to be a critical swing.

Up next, the Razorbacks will play 4-seed Southeast Missouri State in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The Razorbacks beat the Redhawks, 17-9, to open regional play Friday afternoon.

Kansas State will play the winner of Arkansas and SEMO at 6 p.m. CT, and if necessary, a fifth game of the regional will be played Monday at a time to be determined later.

Head coach Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks have added another piece to their 2025 high school recruiting class, as 2025 three-star Parkview athlete Quentin Murphy announced his commitment to the Hogs on Saturday.

A 6-foot, 200-pound senior out of Little Rock, Murphy chose Arkansas over programs like Syracuse, Oregon, Colorado, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Auburn, Alabama and others.

Murphy was previously committed to Ole Miss and Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin back in June last year, but he rescinded his pledge shortly after.

The 5.6 Rivals three-star prospect will likely play the quarterback position for the Patriots after transferring in from Joe T. Robinson, but a position change in college is probable as Arkansas already has an in-state signal caller commitment for the class of 2025 in four-star Grayson Wilson.

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As a junior for the Senators, Murphy racked up 892 passing yards and 697 yards on the ground despite dealing with injuries. He passed for 1,388 yards and ran for 569 yards during his sophomore campaign.

Murphy is the first of four Parkview athletes in the class of 2025 that Arkansas is recruiting alongside running back Cameron Settles, four-star safety Omarion Robinson and athlete Monterrio Elston all reporting offers from the Hogs. Both Murphy and Robinson are expected to visit Fayetteville on June 7, while Elston will make the trip up a week later on June 14.

Following Murphy's commitment, the Razorbacks are now at seven total pledges in the class of 2025. Be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for updates on all of Arkansas' high school recruiting action.

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From @jacksoncollier


Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman and his squad have a last-chance effort to earn an automatic bid to the Big Dance by winning the SEC Tournament. Despite that, recruiting never stops and Musselman and his staff are still sending out scholarship offers to members of the 2025 recruiting class.

The high school ranks have been good to the Razorbacks under Musselman, who has produced six NBA draft picks during his tenure in Fayetteville. Churning out professional talent has continued helping him in the recruiting game, as he has two four-star recruits signed in the 2024 class in Jalen Shelley and Isaiah Elohim.

With the end of the season on the horizon and recruiting steam picking up, HawgBeat goes in-depth on a list of noteworthy offers in the 2025 high school recruiting class:

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Arkansas offer date: July 26, 2023

Other offers: Alabama, Baylor, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, and Ohio State, among others

Total offers: 26

Archetype: Scorer/Playmaker

Scouting Report: Great court vision, willing passer and can throw lobs from multiple angles in transition. Can create for himself and his teammates. Above average perimeter shot. Can beat defenders off the bounce and finish at the rim. Crafty around the basket. Three-level scorer. Can shoot off the dribble or off the catch. Moves well without the ball.

Recruitment: Arkansas has been involved from the beginning with Peterson, as it's made both of his initial list cuts. He initially narrowed his schools down to 16, and then to eight. The latter was announced in January of this year, but there has been little to no reports of his recruitment since then. Peterson planned to visit Fayetteville at some point, but that has not materialized. He scheduled visits to Ohio State and Kentucky, the first of which was canceled when head coach Chris Holtman was fired. He will be in Lexington on March 6th.

Teams to watch: Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Baylor

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Arkansas offer date: June 24, 2023

Other offers: Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, USC, and Xavier, among others

Total offers: 32

Archetype: Playmaker

Scouting Report: Dynamic playmaker with the ability to score at all three levels and in multiple different ways. Strong ballhandler and can create his own shot and displays deep range off the dribble or off the catch. Finishes very well through contact with good size to be a primary or secondary ballhandler at the next level.

Recruitment: The only information coming out between Arkansas and McKenney in recent weeks is that the Razorbacks are one of the schools contacting him the most. All signs point towards Arkansas not being a major player for his services at this point in the process, but with McKenney holding an Arkansas offer, Musselman's ability to make up ground, the fact that the Razorbacks are still in constant contact and other factors, he still makes an appearance on the big board.

Teams to watch: Michigan State, Illinois, Alabama.

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The 5-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (44-15) dropped their second NCAA Tournament Regional matchup 7-6 to the Kansas State Wildcats (34-24) on Saturday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium to fall to the loser's bracket.

After pummeling the baseball in its regional-opening 17-9 win over SEMO on Friday, the Diamond Hogs came back down to Earth against the Wildcats. Despite totaling 13 hits, Arkansas finished 13-for-41 at the plate (.317), 6-for-22 with runners on (.273) and 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position (.222).

Hudson White, Jared Sprague-Lott, Wehiwa Aloy, Peyton Holt and Ty Wilmsmeyer all recorded two hits with Sprague-Lott and Holt delivering home runs against the Wildcats. Peyton Stovall reached base twice (hit, walk) and Ben McLaughlin just once (hit-by-pitch).

Lefty ace Hagen Smith started the game like he has many times, as he held the Kansas State offense at bay through the first four frames.The fifth inning was disastrous, however, as the Wildcats struck the southpaw with six earned runs. In potentially his final outing as a Razorback, Smith broke the single-season program strikeout record after retiring seven batters on strikes.

Head coach Dave Van Horn turned to right-hander Ben Bybee in relief, and the Kansas native proved vital in Arkansas saving its bullpen as he threw three innings of one-run ball with four punchouts and zero walks to close the game.

Top 1 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

To start a picture-perfect night at an electric Baum-Walker Stadium, Peyton Stovall pulled a grounder straight into a right-field shift for the first out of the game. Hudson White saw five pitches and made his way to first base for a walk. Jared Sprague-Lott took some Herculean hacks in his at-bat, which ultimately resulted in a looking strikeout. Ben McLaughlin — who homered twice against SEMO on Friday — nearly did it again to center field but the ball came up just short on the wall.

Bottom 1 (KSU) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

Ace left-hander Hagen Smith walked on to the mound to right the wrongs of last season's regional performance against TCU, and things went smoothly in the first. He retired the first Wildcat batter on a wipeout slider before forcing a groundout on only two pitches. Against former Team USA teammate Kaelen Culpepper, Smith worked fast and finished a 10-pitch frame after another groundout.

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Top 2 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

Kansas State right Jackson Wentworth was dialing his fastball up to 94-95 MPH, and he got Wehiwa Aloy to pull a ground ball over to third base for a quick first out in the second. After a strong multi-hit game on Friday, Kendall Diggs got his day started with a swinging strikeout on a low breaking ball. Wentworth put the exclamation mark on a strong 1-2-3 frame with a strikeout looking to Peyton Holt.

Bottom 2 (KSU) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

The single-season program strikeout record for Arkansas was broken in the bottom of the second, as Smith's first out came swinging. It was Smith's 156th of the year, passing David Walling (1999). Arkansas' southpaw had to quickly dial in, though, as a walk gave the Wildcats some life. That runner was replaced with another at first base after a fielder's choice groundout, but he too was wiped off by Hudson White on a caught-stealing attempt.

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Top 3 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

In Jack Wagner's first start since April 30, he popped up right behind the plate to get the third inning started. A good play by Kansas State infielder Brady Day retired Ty Wilmsmeyer at first base, and Stovall picked up Arkansas' first hit of the day on a shift-beater. A check-me swing by White resulted in a two-foot groundout for an anticlimactic end to the inning.

Bottom 3 (KSU) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

Smith's low-pitch count day continued in the third, as he quickly set down the first two Kansas State batters with a grounder and a strikeout on only four pitches. Naturally, Smith walked the next Wildcat in a full-count but forced another groundball on the first pitch to end the inning.

Top 4 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

Despite their being no obviously apparent reason for it, Sprague-Lott attempted to bunt to start the fourth but was thrown out at first. McLaughlin followed up with a grounder into the shift. Aloy broke up the 1-2-3 bid on a single up the middle, and Diggs kept the train chuggin with an oppo-single to left field. With runners on first and third, Holt popped up to first base in foul territory to strand both baserunners.

Bottom 4 (KSU) - Arkansas 0, Kansas State 0

The Hagen Smith show continued in his fourth inning, as he picked up two quick strikeouts on the Wildcats' 2 and 3-hole hitters to start things off. Kansas State did end the no-hitter on a single up the middle, but Smith fought back to strike out another Wildcat to end the frame.

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Top 5 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 2, Kansas State 0

Wagner popped up to start the fifth, but the bad vibes quickly flipped after hitting-machine Wilmsmeyer poked one through the right side of the infield. He stole second and Stovall walked to give the Hogs two men on base. Wilmsmeyer forced the issue on a steal attempt and he came around to score after Kansas State's catcher threw the ball into foul territory. Stovall advanced to third on the play and crossed home plate following a single by White to center field.

Sprague-Lott kept the station-to-station baseball churning with a single over the third baseman. McLaughlin picked up the second out of the frame on a fly ball to left field, and Aloy matched with a popup to right on the first pitch of his at-bat.

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Bottom 5 (KSU) - Kansas State 6, Arkansas 2

Kansas State earned its first leadoff man of an inning in the fifth after Smith walked a batter in a full-count. Smith's lack of control followed him to the next Wildcat, who also walked in a full-count to put the pressure on the Razorback ace. A good sac-bunt moved both runners over into scoring position, and a run came in to score after a single. Another single tied the game, and a sac-bunt gave the Wildcats the lead. Smith wasn't out of trouble yet, as he gave up a three-run bomb to hand Kansas State a 6-2 advantage. Smith picked up a much-needed strikeout and groundout to end the unideal frame.

Riley brought up a similar topic about two weeks ago, but if DVH gave you the lineup card, what would it look like? Pretty clear that the lineup needs a shakeup with some guys just not performing at all or in a slump. Im assuming Wagner is still out or else he would be in the LF/DH spot for me.

Stovall - 2B - L
White - C - R
McLaughlin - 1B - L
Aloy - SS - R
JSL - 3B - R
Diggs - RF - L (Would swap with McLaughlin if he can have another solid weekend. The LOB numbers were bad but he went 4/12 with a walk against Kentucky)
Holt - CF - R
Souza - LF - L (His defense cant be worse than Lovich)
Lovich/Helfrick - L/R - DH

The Arkansas baseball team will start junior left-hander Mason Molina on the mound against 4-seed Southeast Missouri State to open the NCAA Tournament, the team announced Thursday.

After being a usual starter for the majority of the season, Molina was relegated to the bullpen in the Razorbacks' final series against Texas A&M and in the SEC Tournament. He shined in two appearances, as he tossed a combined five shutout frames with five strikeouts, zero walks and only one hit.

A former transfer from Texas Tech, Molina earned the starting role back thanks to his recent performances and will look to give the Diamond Hogs a 1-0 start to the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

“Molina throwing good those last two outings was like ‘Hey, that’s the guy we brought in here,’” head coach Dave Van Horn said Thursday.

Through 14 appearances on the mound, Molina has racked up a 4.04 ERA in 55.2 innings pitched with 77 strikeouts, 32 walks, 37 hits and 25 earned runs.

The decision to "pitch off" in Game 1 rather than throw lefty ace Hagen Smith is probably the right call for Van Horn, who usually likes to play things by the book. Now, the Razorbacks will be turning to Smith either to take a 2-0 lead in the regional or to avoid an 0-2 elimination against 2-seed Louisiana Tech or 3-seed Kansas State.

“I feel like we’re in a good place mentally,” Van Horn said. “That can be shut down by another team’s pitcher or just maybe their team, but we’re in a good place right now if you take away a few injuries. I’m not complaining. Compared to last year, this team is healthy as can be.”

Arkansas and Southeast Missouri State will face off in the Fayetteville Regional on Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and it will stream on ESPN+.

The Arkansas Razorbacks (43-14) are set to host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 5 national seed in the 2024 NCAA Baseball Tournament this weekend at Baum-Walker Stadium.

While the first squad the Diamond Hogs will face is the 4-seed Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, the Fayetteville Regional also features the 3-seed Kansas State, which will begin regional play against 2-seed Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Led by sixth-year head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats enter the regional with a 32-24 overall record and they posted a 15-15 record in Big 12 play this season.

Kansas State's key resume series win came over Oklahoma State in April, plus they took trips to Tennessee and Clemson for midweek games to earn the No. 30 toughest schedule nationally and a No. 45 RPI ranking.

"It was definitely a tough schedule for us," junior infielder Kaelen Culpepper said Tuesday. "It definitely prepared us for what we're about to face going into the postseason. I think Coach Hughes and the rest of the coaching staff did a really good job of helping us prepare for really good baseball we're about to play in a couple of days here."

Graduate senior ace Owen Boerma (6-3, 4.91 ERA) will get the start on the mound Friday against Louisiana Tech for the Wildcats, and Jackson Wentworth (4-5, 4.18 ERA) in the Saturday game, according to Hughes.

Fayetteville Regional Preview: Louisiana Tech

Boerma threw a complete game against West Virginia (4 earned runs allowed, 10 strikeouts, 2 walks) his last time out on May 22. Wentworth gave up six earned runs on seven hits the next day in an elimination loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament.
Junior righty Tyson Neighbors leads the team with eight saves and he has 15 walks and 55 strikeouts across 20 relief appearances. Sophomore left-hander Cole Wisenbaker has also been a reliable bullpen arm with a team-best 2.83 earned run average in 28.2 innings pitched.

Redshirt junior second baseman Brady Day was a 12th round selection by the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 MLB Draft, but he elected to return to Kansas State and he paces the team with a .332 batting average and 53 runs batted in.

While the Wildcats have just three batters hitting over .300 on the year, Kansas State does rank 10th nationally with 127 stolen bases. Center fielder Brendan Jones leads the team and ranks 6th in the country with 37 stolen bags.

Kansas State will begin regional play Friday evening at 7 p.m. CT against the 2-seed Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Arkansas and Southeast Missouri State will play the first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. CT and the game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
Fayetteville Regional Preview: Southeast Missouri State

Below is a comparison of the Arkansas and Kansas State's metrics and stats, as well as a look at the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Wildcats...

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Team Metrics Comparison


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Team Stats Comparison


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Kansas State Projected Starting Lineup (not official)​

1. CF Brendan Jones — Senior, R/R, 6'0", 210 pounds

2024 stats: 215 AB, 61 R, 64 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 52 BB, 49 K, 37 SB, .298/.439/.484

2. DH Kyan Lodice — Senior, L/L, 6'1", 210 pounds

2024 stats: 99 AB, 15 R, 22 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 14 BB, 43 K, 7 SB, .222/.322/.364

3. SS Kaelen Culpepper — Senior, R/R, 6'2", 215 pounds

2024 stats: 225 AB, 45 R, 71 H, 12 2B, 5 3B, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 33 BB, 37 K, 16 SB, .316/.410/.533

4. 2B Brady Day — Senior, L/R, 6'0", 185 pounds

2024 stats: 214 AB, 46 R, 71 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 53 RBI, 43 BB, 34 K, 16 SB, .332/.444/.533

5. 1B David Bishop — Senior, R/R, 5'9", 178 pounds

2024 stats: 166 AB, 26 R, 43 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 14 BB, 29 K, 13 SB, .259/.314/.361

6. RF Nick English — Senior, R/R, 6'0", 195 pounds

2024 stats: 201 AB, 27 R, 51 H, 17 2B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, 24 BB, 47 K, 9 SB, .254/.341/.368

7. 3B Jaden Parsons — Redshirt Senior, R/R, 5'9", 171 pounds

2024 stats: 105 AB, 17 R, 32 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 17 BB, 22 K, 9 SB, .305/.416/.362

8. C Raphael Pelletier — Redshirt Junior, L/R, 5'8", 173 pounds

2024 stats: 166 AB, 28 R, 35 H, 6 2B, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 39 BB, 51 K, .211/.371/.410

9. LF Chuck Ingram — Redshirt Freshman, R/R, 5'10", 175 pounds

2024 stats: 225 AB, 44 R, 60 H, 10 2B, 3 2B, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 22 BB, 73 K, .267/.337/.458
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Kansas State Noteworthy Pitchers​

LHP Owen Boerema — Graduate Senior, 6'5", 225 pounds

2024 stats: 17 APP, 17 GS, 4.91 ERA, 6-3 W/L, 88.0 IP, 81 H, 52 R, 48 ER, 39 BB, 99 K

RHP Jackson Wentworth — Redshirt Sophomore, 6'1", 210 pounds

2024 stats: 26 APP, 6 GS, 4.18 ERA, 4-5 W/L, 6 SV, 75.1 IP, 60 H, 40 R, 35 ER, 22 BB, 107 K

RHP Blake Dean — Freshman, 6'1", 190 pounds

2024 stats: 26 APP, 3 GS, 4.40 ERA, 4-3 W/L, 1 SV, 57.1 IP, 56 H, 40 R, 28 ER, 24 BB, 61 K

RHP Josh Wintroub — Graduate Senior, 6'3", 230 pounds

2024 stats: 15 APP, 13 GS, 6.15 ERA, 2-4 W/L, 52.2 IP, 70 H, 42 R, 36 ER, 13 BB, 54 K

RHP Tyson Neighbors — Junior, 6'2", 220 pounds

2024 stats: 20 APP, 0 GS, 3.24 ERA, 1-2 W/L, 8 SV, 33.1 IP, 23 H, 14 R, 12 ER, 15 BB, 55 K

LHP Cole Wisenbaker — Sophomore, 6'3", 180 pounds

2024 stats: 19 APP, 0 GS, 2.83 ERA, 2-0 W/L, 28.2 IP, 24 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 13 BB, 26 K

LHP Jacob Frost — Junior, 6'2", 220 pounds

2024 stats: 14 APP, 8 GS, 7.49 ERA, 3-1 W/L, 45.2 IP, 52 H, 45 R, 38 ER, 23 BB, 40 K

LHP JJ Slack — Graduate Senior, 5'10", 185 pounds

2024 stats: 13 APP, 0 GS, 4.50 ERA, 2-1 W/L, 24.0 IP, 23 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 13 BB, 27 K

RHP Andrew Evans — Sophomore, 6'5", 245 pounds

2024 stats: 11 APP, 2 GS, 10.08 ERA, 4-2 W/L, 25.0 IP, 35 H, 29 R, 28 ER, 9 BB, 19 K

Four-star DT Andrew Maddox has NFL bloodlines and is being courted by some of the top defensive line coaches around the country.

The 6-foot-4, 285-pound mauler in the middle of Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove High's defensive front was back in Auburn to start the spring. He's also made a handful of stops to Oxford to see older brother AJ Maddox, now a freshman QB for the Rebels, as well as to LSU The Rivals250 DL also collected an offer from Ohio State this spring, adding another wrinkle to his recruitment.

"Everything is going well and recruiting is a lot -- talking to coaches and making visits, but I'm enjoying it and appreciate all the coaches who have come by the school," Maddox told Rivals. "It's been a process, but I love it. Not everyone gets the opportunity to do this."

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Maddox has visit locked in for Arkansas next month​

Maddox is set to his Fayetteville for a June 7 visit.

The Razorbacks were present at Oak Grove this spring. Now, the four-star DL is set to get to the Hill.

"I wanted to see how it is, I wanted to see how they run everything and how things are on campus academics-wise and I want to see how the players work," Maddox said. "We've been communicating, talking and texting, and they came down to see me a couple of times this spring. I know I'm one of their top guys and they're pushing hard to get me up there. I want to see how Arkansas does things because I've heard good things ... great things ... and they've been pushing hard to get me to show me things."

The 5-seed Arkansas Razorbacks (44-14) opened up NCAA Tournament play with a 17-9 win over the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks (34-26) on Friday afternoon at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Rain clouds and overcast weather weren't enough to stop the Diamond Hogs from scoring, as Arkansas racked up six home runs and three doubles to score 17 runs against the Redhawks. The Razorbacks finished 16-for-40 at the plate (.400), 9-for-19 with runners on base (.474) and 6-for-16 with runners in scoring position (.375).

Ben McLaughlin and Hudson White led the offensive outburst with two home runs each and a combined 11 RBIs. Wehiwa Aloy and Peyton Holt each collected two hits while Aloy and Kendall Diggs also added home runs. The unexpected hero was Ty Wilmsmeyer, who reached base all five times he came to the plate.

Left-handed starter Mason Molina only made his way through 2.2 innings pitched and allowed four earned runs off of four hits in that span. He also struck out four batters and walked four Redhawks.

Head coach Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks likely used more reliable pitching that they would have liked, as right-handers Will McEntire, Christian Foutch, Gabe Gaeckle and Jake Faherty all made appeances from the bullpen.

Top 1 (SEMO) - Arkansas 0, SEMO 0

Arkansas left-handed starting pitcher Mason Molina started the game with a 4-0 walk with several high misses to give the Redhawks a leadoff baserunner. His next at-bat went the complete opposite direction, as he tossed three pitches for a swinging strikeout. The southpaw continued to dominate with another swing and a miss before retiring the final Redhawk via fly out.

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Bottom 1 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 1, SEMO 0

Second baseman Peyton Stovall led off the bottom half of the first with a ground out to second base after getting ahead 3-0 in the count. Red-hot catcher Hudson White blasted a solo home run to right field for a 1-0 lead before Jared Sprague-Lott fouled out down the left field line. Ben McLaughlin appeared to drop a right field basehit down the line but it was called foul. He eventually ended the inning on a groundout to first base.

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Top 2 (SEMO) - Arkansas 1, SEMO 0

Molina drew a first-pitch infield popup to start the second before collecting his second out on a shallow fly ball to left center. He capped off quick frame with a full-count strikeout to bring the Hogs back to the dish.

Bottom 2 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 0

Designated hitter Ryder Helfrick worked to a full-count in his first at-bat of the game but was sent back to the dugout after striking out. Wehiwa Aloy smoked a ground ball straight past the shortstop and ended up at second base after hustling around first. Kendall Diggs found himself down 1-2 but was hit by a pitch to give the Hogs two runners on base.

Peyton Holt extended Arkansas' lead to 2-0 after hitting a single through the right side, and that lead jumped to 3-0 after a should-be double play ground ball by Ty Wilmsmeyer resulted in an error. Stovall flew out to shallow center field but White drew a walk to load the bases. SEMO turned to RHP Collin Wilma out of the bullpen to escape the jam, but he allowed a left-field single by Sprague-Lott to hand the Hogs a 5-0 advantage. Benny "Boomstick" McLaughlin pounded one to right field for a 8-0 lead and Helfrick struck out looking to end the damage.

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Top 3 (SEMO) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 4

After an offensive onpour by the Razorbacks, Molina started his third frame with a nine-pitch walk to SEMO's Bryce Cannon. He responded with a strikeout looking before walking another batter on four pitches to give SEMO two baserunners. The Redhawks make Molina pay after a three-run blast to left center claws SEMO back into the game. Molina follows up with another walk before allowing a double to right field. A Josh Cameron sac-fly tacks on another run for SEMO, and Dave Van Horn turned to RHP Will McEntire out of the bullpen, who retired the final batter via popup.

Bottom 3 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 4

Aloy grounded out to short stop to start the latter half of the third, and Diggs hit a sharp liner straight to second base for two quick outs. Holt finished the seven-pitch frame with a fly out to center field.

Top 4 (SEMO) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 4

McEntire's second pitch of the fourth is hit right to Stovall at second for an out. McEntire draws a popup to shortstop and finishes off an impressive inning with a strike out swinging.

Bottom 4 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 4

Wilmsmeyer reached first base via error and then advanced to second after a wild pitch to set up Stovall, who struck out swinging. White reached and poked one into shallow right field for the second out, and Sprague-Lott ended the inning on a groundout to second base.

Top 5 (SEMO) - Arkansas 8, SEMO 8

SEMO drew a full-count walk to start the fifth off McEntire, and the Redhawks quickly had something going after a single to left field. A swinging bunt went into nomansland in the infield to load the bases, and Mugan hit an RBI-fielder's choice to bring it within 8-5. With two runners on base, Josh Cameron tied the game with a three-run shot to right field. RHP Christian Foutch was called upon out of the bullpen, and he struck out his first batter of the game. He walked the next Redhawk, who stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Another Foutch walk gave SEMO runners on first and third, but a sweet play by Stovall got the Razorbacks out of the frame.

Bottom 5 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 10, SEMO 8

In need of some offensive momentum, McLaughlin grounded out to second base for a quick out. Helfrick failed to get anything going either, as he grounded out to third for out No. 2. With a 1-2-3 frame on the horizon, Aloy decided to flip the switch with a left-field bomb to give the Hogs a 9-8 lead. SEMO brought in LHP Logan Katen out of the pen in relief, who was touched for a left-field oppo-taco blast by Diggs. Holt hit a first-pitch single by the shortstop for another Razorback baserunner, and he made his way to third base after a blooper by Wilmsmeyer finds grass in center. Stovall loads the bases with a walk to bring White to the plate, who struck out swinging to end the threat.

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Top 6 (SEMO) - Arkansas 10, SEMO 8

Right-handed freshman closer Gabe Gaeckle was called upon in the sixth, and he started his outing with a four-pitch walk. Gaecke fought back for a high-swinging strikeout but a single up the middle gave the Redhawks two baserunners. Both Redhawks moved up a base on a passed ball, but Gaeckle escaped the frame after a lineout to right field.

Bottom 6 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 10, SEMO 8

Sprague-Lott led off the bottom of the sixth with a full-count walk, and McLaughlin pushed him to third with a rocket to right field for a double. Ross Lovich came on to pinch hit for Helfrick, but the lefty swung and missed on a high heater. Aloy followed that up with a one-pitch popup to first base to set up Diggs. The Arkansas RF worked a beautiful at-bat and loaded the bases on a walk, but Holt struckout swinging to strand the Hogs on base.

Top 7 (SEMO) - Arkansas 10, SEMO 9

Will Edmunson replaced Holt in left field for an apparent cramp injury. Gaeckle drew a groundout from the first Redhawk before allowing a double down the left field line. That runner came around to score after another double. Gaeckle collects a strikeout on a pinch hitter for SEMO and gets ahead on the next batter before walking him in a full-count. Gaeckle retires the final batter on a foulout to first base.

Bottom 7 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 14, SEMO 9

Wilmsmeyer reached base thanks to an error, and Stovall backed him up with a smokeshow single through the right side to give the Hogs runners on first and third and no outs. SEMO turned to RHP Kyler Miller from the pen, and White hit a sac-fly to right field for another run. Sprague-Lott worked a walk to give Arkansas two baserunners, and McLaughlin blasted his second bomb of the game off the scoreboard in right for a 14-9 lead. Lovich stingled to first base but was caught stealing on a steal attempt to second, and Aloy grounded out to end the frame.

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Top 8 (SEMO) - Arkansas 14, SEMO 9

Gaeckle began the eighth with a five-pitch walk, but responded with three straight strikeouts to halt any Redhawk momentum.

Bottom 8 (Arkansas) - Arkansas 17, SEMO 9

Bullpen lefty Alex Hayes attacked the Razorback lineup in the eighth, but failed to retire Arkansas' leadoff man as Diggs stroked a single into right field. Edmunson planted a picture-perfect bunt down the right field line to move Diggs over to second base. Wilmsmeyer smacked a left-field double to give the Hogs two runners in scoring position, but Stovall struckout on a low and away pitch for the second out of the frame. For the second time of the day, White crushed a three-run homer to left field to extend Arkansas' lead to 17-9.

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Top 9 (SEMO) - Arkansas 17, SEMO 9

Righy flamethrower Jake Faherty relieved Gaeckle in the ninth, and he struck out his first batter in a full-count. Pinch-hitter Baldwin singled and advanced to second, but a fly out and a dandy play by Stovall ended the game for the Razorbacks.

Up next, the Razorbacks will face the winner of 2-seed Louisiana Tech and 3-seed Kansas State in the Fayetteville Regional on Saturday at Baum-Walker Stadium.

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