Sunday started badly for the Arkansas baseball team. Monday is another day.
The Razorbacks fought off elimination in the Fayetteville Regional on Sunday night to advance to the championship Monday against TCU. Arkansas beat Santa Clara, the team it beat in the regional opener, 6-4, to make it happen just hours after TCU sent the Diamond Hogs to the loser’s bracket.
Santa Clara brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the ninth when Thomas Ferraggiaro hit a looping RBI single to center to pull the Broncos within two. Hunter Hollan replaced Will McEntire after the hit and the left-hander induced a double-play to end the game.
Brady Tygart was the biggest reason why the Hogs hung tough. The team’s top healthy pro prospect, Tygart gave up just three hits and two earned runs while striking out six in his 5 2/3 innings. He was one strike away from six innings of two-hit ball with a shutout before Eamonn Lance hit a two-run double to trim Arkansas’ lead at the time to two runs. Santa Clara made it just a one-run Hogs lead on the next at-bat as a throwing error to the dugout allowed Lance to score.
Kendall Diggs hit a two-run home run, though, in the eighth to boost it back to a three-run game to set up the final nail-biting.
Arkansas and TCU will play for the third time this season – and second in the regional – Monday afternoon. If the Horned Frogs win, they will advance to play Indiana State in the Terre Haute Super Regional. If Arkansas wins, the teams will play again later Monday night.
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