Hagen Smith gave up six runs in the fifth inning as top-seeded Arkansas fell to third-seeded Kansas State, 7-6, at the Fayetteville Regional of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night at Baum-Walker Stadium.
Arkansas (44-15 overall) totaled 13 hits but left 13 on base as Kansas State (34-24) advanced to the regional’s championship round after beating both the Razorbacks and Louisiana Tech Saturday.
Arkansas will face Southeast Missouri State (35-26) in an elimination game Sunday at 1 p.m CDT. It’s the first of three games in a row the Razorbacks will have to win in order to survive and advance to the Super Regionals.
In the meantime, Kansas State put itself in the driver’s seat with its six-run inning off Smith.
The game seemed like a pitchers’ duel early on with both Smith and Wildcats starter Jackson Wentworth matching zeroes through four innings.
Arkansas, playing as the visiting team, broke through for the game’s first runs in the top of the fifth. Ty Wilmsmeyer scored on a wild pitch before Hudson White continued his hot hitting with an RBI single to center that gave the Diamond Hogs a 2-0 lead.
Things started to go sideways for Smith when he issued back-to-back walks to Danniel Rivera and David Bishop leading off the bottom of the fifth. One out later, Chuck Ingram and Brendan Jones hit back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game.
After Jaden Parsons’ squeeze bunt scored Ingram from third to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead, Kaelen Culpepper provided the big blast — a three-run home run to right that put Kansas State ahead 6-2. K-State finished with just five hits in the game, three of them coming in the ill-fated fifth that saw Smith throw 33 pitches.
Arkansas got a solo home run from Jared Sprague-Lott in the seventh and an RBI double from White in the eighth to pull to within two at 6-4. But the Razorbacks stranded two on base in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings and were 6-for-22 for the night with men on base.
Kansas State added a decisive insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when English went deep off Ben Bybee for a 7-4 lead.
Arkansas put together a valiant effort in the ninth against Wildcats reliever Tyson Neighbors. After Wehiwa Aloy singled to lead off the inning, Peyton Holt hit a two-run homer to pull the Razorbacks to within a run.
Wilmsmeyer drew a two-out walk before Peyton Stovall struck out swinging to end the game.
Wentworth (5-5) picked up the win, allowing two runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. Despite allowing four runs, Neighbors threw 67 pitches over the final 3 1/3 innings to pick up his ninth save.
ON DECK
Gage Wood (3-1, 3.86 ERA) will start Sunday’s game against Southeast Missouri State, coach Dave Van Horn announced. The Razorbacks defeated SEMO, 17-9, Friday. The Redhawks eliminated Louisiana Tech from the Fayetteville Regional earlier Saturday.
The winner of Sunday’s Arkansas-SEMO game will face Kansas State at 6 p.m.