Razorbacks win shootout with Cowboys to win Stillwater Regional

Arkansas stood tall once the dust settled in Stillwater. They will now travel to North Carolina to meet the Tar Heels in the Super Regionals.

In a weekend fueled by long balls, marathon games, and a plethora of runs scored, the eventful Stillwater Regional has now come to an end.

Arkansas and Oklahoma State provided offensive fireworks in their previous two meetings in the Stillwater Regional, but when it came down to one final battle in the war, it was the mighty Razorbacks who stood tall when the dust settled.

All Arkansas needed was an early lead and a shutdown effort by a freshman on the mound to move on to their 4th straight Super Regional by defeating Oklahoma State, 7-3, on Monday night at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.

Monday’s winner-take-all game did not begin as swiftly as the previous two meetings between the Razorbacks and Cowboys, with neither team scoring a run through the first three innings.

Trailing 5-3 in the 8th inning, Oklahoma State threatened to take the lead before ending the frame with the bases loaded.

Freshman [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag], who lasted just 1.1 innings in Saturday’s win over the Cowboys, entered the game in relief of [autotag]Zebulon Vermillion[/autotag]. Smith struggled to find command early on, as he allowed the first three runners of his outing to reach base. However, with the bases loaded, Smith struck out the final two batters of the inning, including the thorn in the Razorbacks side this regional, Roc Riggio.

Smith would gain momentum in the top of the 9th as Michael Turner doubled home two runners to extend the lead to 7-3, and to give him a four-run cushion. Smith would use that confidence to sit down Oklahoma State in order, ending the game with two strikeouts.

In two innings of work, Smith struck out four batters while allowing one walk and hitting a batter. The outing was a breath of fresh air for Smith, as the usual Saturday starter has seen his role change over the last month.

Arkansas found its’ groove in the 4th inning by plating four runs to jump out to a comfortable lead. [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] led off the inning by hitting his 15th home run of the season to put Arkansas on the board, 1-0.

Arkansas would then get two baserunners on with two outs for [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], who then delivered a single that would be deep enough to score those runners, and to give the Razorbacks the 3-0 lead.

Battles would score one at-bat later on an RBI single by [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag].

The Stovall-Battles connection teamed up again in the 6th inning to add one more to Arkansas’ total. Stovall singled up the middle to score Battles from 2nd base to move the Arkansas lead to 5-0.

The Cowboys began chipping away at Arkansas’ lead, by scoring three runs over the next two innings. Oklahoma State’s David Mendham hit a solo home run in the 6th inning to erase the shutout. Then, in the 7th inning, Roc Riggio and Zach Ehrhard each grabbed an RBI to cut the Razorbacks lead to 5-3.

Battles and Stovall would lead the Arkansas offense with two hits and two RBI each. Turner also grabbed two RBI on his 9th inning double. [autotag]Kole Ramage[/autotag] earned the win out of the bullpen for Arkansas, where he allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out five batters in 2.2 innings of work.

Arkansas’ season will continue next weekend in the Super Regionals. Their next stop on the road to Omaha is Chapel Hill, N.C., where they will face the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina went 4-1 in the Chapel Hill Regional, defeating Virginia Commonwealth, 7-3 in Monday’s championship game.

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Razorbacks hang 20 in outstanding comeback win over Oklahoma State

The Hogs never gave up on Saturday night, and now they are one win away from moving onto the Super Regionals

In a game that lasted four hours and 53 minutes, every second of Saturday’s winner’s bracket game between Arkansas and Oklahoma State was just as exciting as it was important.

Through six innings of the game, Oklahoma State seemed to have complete control with a 10-5 lead. However, Arkansas would score 15 runs over the final three frames to grab a 20-12 win over the host Cowboys, and to move one step closer to the Super Regional round.

The Cowboys added to their comfortable lead in the bottom of the 6th inning by scoring three runs. Two on RBI singles, and one run scoring from third base on a ground out, to give them the 10-5 advantage.

Arkansas began chipping away in the top of the 7th inning. The Razorbacks began the inning with two quick outs, but a solo home run by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] would keep Arkansas in the inning, trimming down the Oklahoma State lead to 10-6. That home run was enough to give the Razorbacks a spark, as [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] would double in the next at-bat, then came home on a two-run home run by[autotag] Robert Moore[/autotag], cutting the Cowboy lead to 10-8.

Momentum stayed with Arkansas into the 8th inning, as the Razorbacks took the lead by scoring eight runs on three hits. The first three batters of the game reached, which set up four runs on three bases-loaded walks, and a hit by pitch.

Once Arkansas grabbed the lead, they would pour on four more runs with one swing of the bat. [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] stepped to the plate, and with full confidence, smashed the first pitch of the at-bat over the left field fence to blow the game open for Arkansas.

Oklahoma State grabbed two runs in the bottom of the 8th, but Arkansas never waivered. To add insurance, Arkansas added four more runs in the top of the 9th inning. With one down and two on, Lanzilli clubbed a three-run shot down the left field line.

The home run would be Lanzilli’s 50th of his career, and it would extend Arkansas’ lead to 19-12. The final run of the game came on an infield single by [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] that involved a throwing error, scoring Moore and to seal the game.

Five Razorbacks grabbed multiple hits in the game, with Chris Lanzilli, Robert Moore, Michael Turner, and Jalen Battles all sending four runs across the plate.

In a game that saw seven pitchers used, freshman [autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag] would get the win for Arkansas. Tygart allowed one hit and two earned runs in 1.2 innings of work. Starter [autotag]Hagen Smith[/autotag] went just 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, two earned runs and issuing four walks in his first start since May 14 vs. Vanderbilt at Baum-Walker Stadium.

Arkansas is just one win away from winning the Stillwater Regional. The only thing standing in their way is the winner of Oklahoma State/Missouri State game that will begin at noon CDT. The Razorbacks will meet the winner of that game on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. CDT.

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Sticks of the Game: Wallace, Turner power Hogs over Antelopes

Wallace’s two-home run day and Turner’s quality hits led Arkansas to a game one win in the Stillwater Regional on Friday.

In a game where both teams nearly matched each other in the hit column, the Arkansas Razorbacks proved that “quality over quantity” is what will ultimately win games.

The Razorbacks outhit Grand Canyon by just one hit on Friday, 9-8, but were able to add more value to their swings in a 7-1 win over the Antelopes in game one of the Stillwater Regional, hosted by Oklahoma State.

Six Razorbacks collected at least one hit in the game, while three of those batters sent at least one run across the plate in the win. Out of those players, the sticks of [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] made the most noise on Friday by teaming up to grab five hits and to score six of Arkansas’ seven runs.

Arkansas has seen its’ share of offensive struggles in their four-game losing streak, but after taking a week off of competition, it seems that they have left those days in the dust. That became apparent in the bottom of the 1st inning.

After a successful top-half of the inning by the Arkansas defense, the Razorbacks were able to get on the board first thanks to a mammoth home run by Wallace to left field, that appeared to exit the stadium completely.

That would be the first of two long balls for Wallace on the afternoon. Up 5-1 in the bottom of the 4th inning, Wallace hit another solo blast into the Razorback bullpen to add an insurance run. The longball was a response to GCU’s Tayler Aguilar hitting his 21st home run of the season in the top of the inning to put the Antelopes on the board.

After a wild week that featured a local radio host spatting off insults in his direction, Michael Turner silenced the critics by going 3-for-4 with three RBI in the win.

Turner played a key role in Arkansas breaking the game open in the 2nd inning. After two runs scored previous to his at-bat, Turner added two more runs to the total on a two-RBI single to score Braydon Webb and Brady Slavens, and to give Arkansas the 5-0 lead.

The Turner-Slavens combo would work together again to put the nail in the coffin and to solidify the Razorbacks win. Slavens reached base on a leadoff walk, and later scored on another RBI single by Turner to put Arkansas on top, 7-1.

Joining Wallace and Turner in earning hits for Arkansas were [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag], [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag], and [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag].

Arkansas moves on to the winner’s bracket to face the winner of Oklahoma State-Missouri State on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. CDT.

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Solid production at the plate lifts Arkansas over Grand Canyon

The Razorbacks silenced one of the country’s hardest-hitting teams to win game one of the Stillwater Regional

After a week away from competition, the Arkansas Razorbacks seemed to re-discover their groove at the plate, which lifted them to a much-needed opening-day win.

Arkansas jumped ahead early, and coasted the rest of the way in their regional-opener against Grand Canyon, defeating the Antelopes, 7-1 at O’Brate Stadium on the campus of Oklahoma State University.

Arkansas and Grand Canyon nearly matched each other in the hit column, with the Razorbacks holding a 9-8 advantage. But Arkansas got more production from their hits. The Razorbacks scored five runs over the first two innings on four hits to gain a comfortable advantage, while limiting Grand Canyon, who had seven players batting at .300 or better, to just one run.

The Razorbacks needed a great game to erase their recent struggles and a four-game losing skid. They got the hot start that they desperately needed in the bottom of the 1st inning on a solo moon shot by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] to give Arkansas the 1-0 lead.

Arkansas extended their lead to 5-0 by the end of the 2nd inning, headlined by a two-RBI single by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag]. With two runs across already, and the bases loaded, Turner sent a grounder up the middle to score [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] to give Arkansas the five-run cushion.

The Antelopes top hitter put his team on the board in the top of the 4th inning. GCU’s Tayler Aguliar cut the Arkansas lead to 5-1 by crushing his 21st home run of the season to right field.

But, as the old saying goes, “the best teams find ways to respond.” That is exactly what Arkansas did in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs in the inning, Wallace drilled his second home run of the game into the Arkansas bullpen to give the Razorbacks the 6-1 advantage.

The final run of the game came in the bottom of the 6th inning on a single by Turner to score Slavens, which was the second time that the duo combined to give Arkansas a run.

Turner and Wallace combined to plate six runs for Arkansas on five hits for Arkansas. Webb, [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag], [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] also collected hits for the Razorbacks.

The biggest takeaway from the game, was that Arkansas used only two pitchers in the game, which boosts their options for later games in the regional. [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] allowed just six hits and one earned run in 7.0 innings, and [autotag]Kole Ramage[/autotag] shut the door by tossing three innings of shutout baseball, grabbing three strikeouts in the meantime.

Next up for Arkansas will be the winner of the Oklahoma State-Missouri State game. The two teams will meet Saturday evening at 6 p.m. CDT.

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Big inning propels Arkansas to Game 1 win over Alabama

Peyton Stovall and Cayden Wallace each homered in Arkansas’ win over the Crimson Tide on the final weekend of the regular season.

Much like they have done for a bulk of the season, Arkansas baseball found a way.

Trailing by three runs midway through the game, the Diamond Hogs scored five in the fifth inning to dispatch Alabama in the first game of the final series of the regular season, 7-3, on the road.

Peyton Stovall hit a two-run home run and Cayden Wallace hit a three-run shot to provide the punch. The rest of the way, Arkansas’ bullpen gave up just two Crimson Tide hits to keep Alabama at bay.

The Razorbacks entered the day tied for second in the SEC with Texas A&M. The two teams held a two-game lead over Auburn and a three-game lead over LSU, Vanderbilt and Georgia. The top four teams in the SEC standings draw byes for next week’s conference tournament.

Will McEntire started his first SEC game of the season as coach Dave Van Horn shook up his weekend rotation. McEntire, who had started midweek games for most of the season, gave up three runs in four innings on eight hits and two walks.

Alabama scored two runs in the second inning and another in the fourth to chase McEntire. Kole Ramage, Evan Taylor and Brady Tygart finished things off for the Razorbacks.

Jalen Battles hit a two-run double in the ninth for a bit of insurance. He finished 2 for 4 with the two RBIs and double and a run.

Game 2 of the series is Friday at 7 p.m.

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Late rally falls shy by one run as Diamond Hogs fall to Texas A&M

The Diamond Hogs put up five runs in the eighth, but Texas A&M retired six straight to end the game.

So close.

[autotag]Arkansas baseball[/autotag] nearly had it. The Diamond Hogs plated five runs in the eighth inning of Sunday’s series finale against Texas A&M, but the Aggies held on by a lone run to clinch the three-game set, 11-10.

Arkansas trailed 11-5 heading to the eighth before [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] homered to lead off the inning. [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] added another with an RBI single three batters later. [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] followed with an RBI single, as well. The Diamond Hogs had nobody out still when Dylan Leach plated two two batters after Stovall.

Jacob Palisch struck out three straight Arkansas batters, however, to end things in the inning with Jalen Battles stuck on third base. Arkansas went down 1-2-3 in the ninth to end things and give the Aggies the series win.

Thanks to Georgia’s Sunday loss to LSU, however, Arkansas (31-9, 12-6) maintained its position in second place in the SEC. The Hogs are five games back of the No. 1 team in the nation, Tennessee.

Arkansas plays a one-off game Tuesday against Central Arkansas in North Little Rock before returning to Fayetteville on Friday for a three-game set against Ole Miss.

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Tigers Weep? Tiger Sweep: Arkansas sweeps LSU for first time since 2011

Arkansas took all three games from LSU in a battle of national powerhouses and two top-15 teams.

The response [autotag]Arkansas baseball[/autotag] had to losing their first SEC series in three calendar years over the previous week was impressive.

On Saturday, the No. 6 Diamond Hogs, who were ranked No. 2 before falling in two of three in Gainesville against Florida last week, sent No. 15 LSU back to Baton Rouge winless in a three-game set in Fayetteville. A four-run fifth inning was more than enough for the Razorbacks, who stretched their winning streak to five games with a 6-2 win over the Tigers.

[autotag]Jaxon Wiggins[/autotag] kept his record perfect at 5-0 when he went 5 1/3 innings on Saturday. He gave up nine hits and walked three batters, but his nine strikeouts kept Arkansas mostly out of danger, even if he was tagged for two runs.

Down 1-0 after an RBI double from Dylan Crews in the second, Arkansas sent eight batters to the plate in the fifth. [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] knocked the Diamond Hogs’ first run on a fielder’s choice, [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] knocked in two more with a single up the middle and [autotag]Brady Slavens[/autotag] added one more with a sacrifice fly.

Slavens would add two more in the seventh on a two-run shot to right field.

The series sweep is Arkansas’ first over LSU since 2011. The sweep also guarantees the Razorbacks will hold on to second place in SEC play with five league series remaining.

Arkansas is back on the diamond Tuesday and Wednesday when it hosts Arkansas State at Baum-Walker Stadium.

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Arkansas falls to Florida in finale, ending impressive streak

Two comeback efforts from the bat of Zack Gregory weren’t enough as the Razorbacks fall to Florida on Saturday, snapping an SEC series winning streak of 13.

Amazing things must come to an end, it is inevitable.

For the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks (23-7, 8-4 SEC), their impressive streak of 13 straight SEC series wins dating back to the 2019 season came to a close on Saturday, with a 9-7 loss to Florida (21-11, 5-7 SEC), with the Gators taking two-of-three games from the Razorbacks at Florida Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla.

Down 7-4 entering the 6th inning, Arkansas cut into the lead thanks to an error and a bases-loaded walk to trim the Gator advantage to 7-6 and tied the game in the 8th inning on a solo home run by [autotag]Zack Gregory[/autotag]. However, Florida would respond by scoring two runs thanks to brothers Deric and Jud Fabian, giving the Gators the win.

After a quiet start to the game, both offenses found their groove. Florida grabbed an early lead, and Arkansas sent an equally brutal blow right back.

The Gators would begin the inning with two singles by Colby Halter and Sterlin Thompson respectively. The third single of the inning would score the first run of the game for Florida. Wyatt Langford singled up the middle to score Halter, giving Florida the 1-0 lead.

The Gators would waste no time expanding the lead, as BT Riopelle crushed his 9th home run of the season to clear the bases, and extend Florida’s lead to 4-0.

Arkansas took the four-run blow by Florida personally, as they responded by scoring four runs of their own in the top of the 4th inning. [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] hit an RBI single with two outs in the inning to put the Razorbacks on the board. Zack Gregory’s first comeback attempt would be a double down the right field line to score Battles, as well as [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag], to tie the game at 4-4.

Langford would help the Gators once more in the 5th inning with a three-run home run in the 5th to give his team another lead, 7-4. Arkansas responded by scoring two runs in the top of the 6th to drop Florida’s lead to one run.

The hero of the game for Arkansas at the plate was Zack Gregory. Despite not grabbing the win, Gregory put the team on his back twice, erasing two Gators leads in key moments of the game. He, along with Battles, had multiple hits for Arkansas.

[autotag]Brady Tygart[/autotag] took the loss for Arkansas out of the bullpen. In 2.2 innings of work, the freshman struck out four batters while allowing two runs on two hits. Starter [autotag]Jaxon Wiggins[/autotag] allowed nine hits and seven runs in 4.0 innings, striking out five batters.

Arkansas will look to begin a new streak next weekend at home against LSU. The previous streak dated back to May 16-18, 2019, when Arkansas lost two-of-three games to Texas A&M in College Station. That season was the last time that the Razorbacks participated in the College World Series.

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Sticks of the Game: Arkansas bats silence Gators’ bark

After a quiet start to the game, Arkansas would go on to outhit Florida, 12-3 in their series-opening win over the Gators on Thursday night.

The series opener between the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks and the No. 22 Florida Gators began as expected, with both teams getting the most out of their aces.

Arkansas’s [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag] matched with Florida’s Hunter Barco almost evenly through the first three innings, with Barco facing the minimum and Noland allowing just one hit.

Barco felt good about his performance through the first three innings, in which he had allowed zero baserunners and had three strikeouts. He could be seen on the SEC Network broadcast saying choice words following one of those strikeouts.

Once the lineup began its second rotation, it was very apparent that the Razorbacks had taken notes on how to attack Barco. After sending just three batters to the plate in each of the first three innings, Arkansas would score their first run of the game in the 4th inning on an RBI single to short by [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] as part of a seven-plate appearance inning.

Barco would continue to feel pressure, as he would hit his second batter in as many innings to begin the 4th, sending [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] to the base paths. He would later score on a single by [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] to extend the Arkansas lead to 2-0. The final run that Barco would surrender would come in the 5th inning, when [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag] led off the inning by crushing his 4th home run as a Razorback, and 46th of his collegiate career, over the left field wall to move Arkansas’ lead to 3-0. After a single by Turner, and a walk issued to Jalen Battles, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan had seen enough, pulling Barco in favor of Tyler Nesbitt.

Arkansas’ bats would silence until the top of the 9th, when they exploded to score five runs headlined by back-to-back solo home runs by Cayden Wallace and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag].

All-in-all, Arkansas outhit the Gators 12-3 in the win, with five Razorbacks recording multiple hits. Wallace and Turner paced Arkansas in the run-producing department with two RBI each.

Florida no match for Arkansas series opener

Connor Noland pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in Arkansas’ 8-1 win over Florida.

The SEC has long been the best college baseball conference in the country. Arkansas is making mincemeat of its fellow members in 2022, though.

The Razorbacks, the second-ranked team in the country, dispatched perennial power Florida in Gainesville on Thursday night, 8-1, in the teams’ series opener. The win lifted the Hogs to 23-5 and 8-2 in the SEC. Only Tennessee, the No. 1 team in the nation, has a better record at 28-1 and 9-0. Those two aren’t scheduled to play this year during the regular season.

As for Thursday, it was all Arkansas, even if it started a bit late.

The Diamond Hogs dropped five runs in the ninth for plenty of insurance. [autotag]Cayden Wallace[/autotag] and [autotag]Braydon Webb[/autotag] homered in back-to-back at-bats to start the inning as Arkansas batted around. [autotag]Michael Turner[/autotag] hit an RBI double, [autotag]Jalen Battles[/autotag] plated a run with a sacrifice fly and [autotag]Peyton Stovall[/autotag] singled home a run to complete the scoring in the inning.

Arkansas opened with Turner’s RBI single in the fourth. It was followed in the fifth by a Wallace RBI single and then in the sixth with a solo shot from [autotag]Chris Lanzilli[/autotag].

Florida managed just three hits for the game and didn’t score until the ninth. Arkansas starter [autotag]Connor Noland[/autotag], who was named to the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Trophy earlier in the week, worked seven innings, giving up just a single hit and one walk while striking out seven.

Game 2 in the series is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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