FAYETTEVILLE — After sustaining injury after injury throughout the regular season, still winning the SEC and earning the No. 3 overall season, Arkansas baseball finally ran out of magic Monday afternoon.

Facing elimination, the Razorbacks led through five innings, but TCU stormed back and pulled away for a convincing 12-4 win at Baum-Walker Stadium to clinch the Fayetteville Regional.

For the Horned Frogs, it capped a dominant 3-0 showing in which they outscored their opponents by a combined 44-13 and extended their winning streak to nine games. They’ve also won 16 of their last 17 games and are considered one of the hottest teams in the country.

“I just think they’re really good at every position and they have a lot of pitching depth,” Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn said. “They’re playing really well right now and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. If they play like they did this weekend, they’re going to be hard to stop by anybody in the country. Maybe Wake Forest.”

It was a disappointing finish to what was otherwise a tremendous season for Arkansas baseball, which won 43 games overall and went 20-10 in SEC play. That latter mark was good enough to beat LSU for the SEC West title and tie Florida for the overall regular-season title.

The Razorbacks did all of that despite seeing seven position players and four pitchers miss time — some a significant amount of time — with various injuries.

“We’ve only got three of those (SEC titles) in my 21 years,” Van Horn said. “Those trophies are hard to get, so I’m super proud of the guys. With what we had in that locker room that’s not on the (injured list) all year, I think that we did all we could do, honestly.”

When asked how this year’s team would be remembered, Van Horn not only pointed out that achievement, but also the fact that Arkansas won the title despite having only one first-team All-SEC selection. For comparison’s sake, co-champion Florida had five.

Meanwhile, injuries to key players like Peyton Stovall, Jared Wegner and Tavian Josenberger forced backups like Peyton Holt and Ben McLaughlin into action — and the Razorbacks never skipped a beat.

“I don’t like to use the term ‘overachievers’ or any of that because I think they’re good players, but this is a team — and I’ve said it many times — they show up and they think they’re going to win,” Van Horn said. “They showed up and played hard for us all the time.”

Even before the season, Van Horn talked about how close this team was despite having so many newcomers. About two-thirds of the team came from JUCO, high school or the transfer portal, but hit it off immediately.

That’s why team captain Jace Bohrofen, who will likely hear his name called in this summer’s MLB Draft, had to visibly hold back his emotions when talking to reporters afterward.

“This is by far my favorite baseball season of my entire life I’ve ever played,” Bohrofen said. “This group of guys was special, coming from all over the place. You’ve got guys who really have never won in their college career, and them just coming here and getting to win is super special. It’s hard not to get emotional about it because I love every one of them. Them showing up and coming to work every day, really trying to work to that one common goal, it was special.”

Not Enough Offense

With a limited pitching staff, Dave Van Horn admitted to thinking his team needed to score somewhere around 8-10 runs to have a chance to beat TCU.

Things got off to a great start in that regard, as Tavian Josenberger was hit by a pitch to start the game and then Jace Bohrofen and Jared Wegner walked to load the bases with no outs.

TCU starter Cam Brown prevented the floodgates from opening, though, as Ben McLaughlin drove in one run with a sacrifice fly, but Kendall Diggs popped out and Caleb Cali struck out. Scoring just one run in a bases-loaded, no-out situation swung the momentum back to the Horned Frogs.

“That was very huge,” TCU’s Austin Davis said. “Going out there and limiting them to one run, that was huge. That was big momentum for us.”

The Razorbacks got a couple more free passes with two outs in the second, but it wasn’t until the fifth inning that they broke through with their first hit against Brown.

“Cam Brown gave us that inning to get him (and) we only scored one,” Van Horn said. “It wasn’t deflating because we had the next inning against him. We didn’t know he was going to come out and kind of turn it around, which he did.”

Bohrofen broke up the no-hitter with a monster two-run home run to dead center, hitting off the batter’s eye. According to TrackMan, it was a 427-foot blast that left the bat with a 107 mph exit velocity.

IBUBOHROFEN FOR WHEN YOU’RE IN PAIN pic.twitter.com/wqGjZMe3Mr

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) June 5, 2023

“Bohrofen worked his count to a 3-1 count and just did an incredible job of getting to a hitter’s count and got a pitch he could handle and he hit it right where it was pitched — out over the plate and hit it to dead center, got every bit of it,” Van Horn said.

It was Bohrofen’s team-high 16th home run of the season. Finishing right behind him was Wegner, who hit his 15th long ball immediately after his teammate. It was an opposite-field shot that hit near the top of the Hunt Center for a 379-foot home run.

HOGS AIN’T DEAD FOLKS pic.twitter.com/bx8YHlOlau

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) June 5, 2023

“Then Wegner came up and actually hit a pretty good pitch that was away, but just hit it where it was pitched and the ball was really flying to right field that last couple days,” Van Horn said. “Right when he hit it, you’re thinking, ‘I hope it gets out of here.’ Then halfway there, you’re going, ‘That’s way out of here.’”

It was the fourth time the Razorbacks had back-to-back home runs this season and it gave them a 4-2 lead, but Van Horn said he knew that likely wouldn’t be enough.

“We had a two-run lead, but we also knew we were running out of bullets, so to speak,” Van Horn said. “We needed to keep scoring and we didn’t.”

Ultimately, those home runs were two of Arkansas’ three total hits in the game. The team went a combined 3 for 28.

Hagen Smith Bounces Back

Just a day after turning in the worst start of his career, Hagen Smith was back on the mound Monday afternoon. The Razorbacks turned to him first out of the bullpen, bringing him in with runners on second and third and one out in the second inning.

For the left-hander, the moment couldn’t have come soon enough.

“I was ready as soon as I got pulled (Sunday),” Smith said. “Just go out there and try to compete. I felt like I lost the game for us yesterday, so I wanted to go back out.”

It wouldn’t be fair to pin the entire 20-5 shellacking on him, but Smith did give up eight earned runs in one-plus inning. The silver lining to getting chased that early was that he had thrown only 42 pitches.

That enabled the Razorbacks to bring him back in a must-win situation against the same TCU team that had just roughed him up. Dave Van Horn said they felt like they could get 60-70 pitches out of him and he gave them 67 — bringing his two-day total to 109.

Smith said nothing was really working Sunday afternoon and that the was missing arm side with his fastball. On Monday, it looked like the Horned Frogs might pick up where they left off when he gave up a single to the first batter he faced, Austin Davis, to drive in the runners he inherited.

After that, though, Smith was much more like the pitcher that earned first-team All-SEC and All-America honors. He struck out the next four batters and allowed only one earned run on three hits and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

“Coming off getting ready for a game mentally, pitching yesterday…he just pitched lights out,” Van Horn said. “I think he’d probably tell you he made one mistake, and that was on the 0-2 pitch on the hitter that singled up the middle. Other than that, he was awesome.

“Really talented guy, and we’ve got to take care of him. He probably could have gone another inning or two, but we didn’t feel like that would be very smart on our part.”

Smith finished with six strikeouts, giving him 109 on the season. That was just shy of cracking the UA’s all-time single-season list, but he did so in just 71 2/3 innings. That averages out to 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings — a higher rate than even Kevin Kopps in 2021 (13.1).

One of those strikeouts was against TCU’s hot-hitting third baseman, Brayden Taylor, who was 8 for 11 in his first two games against Arkansas.

“He had a really good slider I thought and commanding that fastball into our right-handers and throwing that slider underneath their barrel, kind of back-footing it a little bit, and the same thing to the lefties,” TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos said. “He threw some of the best sliders that Brayden has seen this year, especially in that first at bat. Brayden kind of chuckled on the way back to the dugout and said ‘I am not sure what I am supposed to do with that.”

That’s About It

Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, Hagen Smith was their only effective pitcher Monday afternoon.

The other four pitchers who saw the mound combined to give up 10 earned runs on nine hits and three walks with only three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Cody Adcock got the starting nod, but lasted only 1 1/3 innings because he struggled to get ahead of hitters. With him battling each batter, Van Horn opted to turn to Smith when Adcock had thrown just 36 pitches.

When Smith tapped out, left-hander Zack Morris was next out of the bullpen and that’s when the wheels fell off.

One of the two outs Morris record came on a sacrifice bunt that wasn’t really necessary, as Austin Davis followed with a go-ahead two-run home run. An error by Caleb Cali at second base would have ended the inning with that being all the damage, but instead kept things going and Cole Fontenelle made Arkansas pay with an RBI single.

Despite ending the season with an ugly 7.64 ERA, Morris had been one of the Razorbacks’ best relievers down the stretch. In his last four outings leading up to the NCAA Tournament, he had allowed only one earned run in 13 innings. Against the Horned Frogs, though, Morris gave up five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings across two outings.

It only got worse from there, as the Razorbacks were forced to use their freshmen.

Right-hander Gage Wood retired five of the first six batters he faced, with the only one he failed to get being a leadoff home run by Kurtis Byrne in the seventh. However, he ended up allowing a two-run double to Fontenelle to end his outing.

Right-hander Christian Foutch finished it out by getting the final two outs, but not before giving up back-to-back home runs to Tre Richardson and Byrne.

“Honestly, we ran out of pitching,” Van Horn said. “If we would have won the game, I don’t know who we would have thrown or how we’d have gone about it. We’ve been battling this all year.

“We knew everything had to be just right for us to get through a regional. We felt like we had a better chance to win a super regional than a regional because of our injuries and lack of pitching depth and experience. We were either going to really have to hit or our starters were going to have to give us a lot of innings, and unfortunately the teams we played didn’t give us that opportunity.”

Fayetteville Regional MVP

That last home run by Tre Richardson sealed his case as the MVP of the Fayetteville Regional.

In three games, the TCU second baseman went 9 for 15 (.600) with four home runs and 14 RBIs. The four homers were particularly impressive considering he had just two in the first 60 games of the season.

Van Horn was already aware of Richardson and even looked into him when he entered the transfer portal from Baylor last offseason. The book on him was that he could drive in runs — usually with singles or doubles — and had a lot of speed. The power was a surprise.

“When he got here, man, he was something else,” Van Horn said. “You could say, ‘Oh, he flipped a couple balls over the right field fence, the ball was carrying,’ but he hit that last ball off a 96 mph fastball over 400 feet dead center. So there’s some legit pop in there and I hope somebody signs him professionally.”

TCU took up seven of the nine spots for position players on the Fayetteville All-Regional team, with Arkansas’ Tavian Josenberger (outfield) and Santa Clara’s Eammon Lance (designated hitter) being the lone exceptions.

Arkansas also had a pair of pitchers on the team, with Brady Tygart one of two starters and Will McEntire one of two relievers.

Up Next

With the loss to TCU, the Razorbacks are officially eliminated from the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They finish the year 43-18 overall, but miss out on a fifth straight super regional appearance and return trip to the College World Series.

Dave Van Horn’s focus will now shift to the 2024 Arkansas baseball team, as he has to deal with the MLB Draft, the transfer portal and other things as he molds next year’s roster this offseason.

Be sure to check Best of Arkansas Sports throughout the week for coverage of what lies ahead for the Razorbacks.

The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, will move on to a best-of-three showdown with No. 14 overall seed Indiana State in the super regionals. Despite being a 2 seed, D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers has reported TCU will host.

Other Arkansas Baseball Tidbits

• The announced attendance for the Arkansas vs TCU finale was 10,475. That brought the six-game total of the Fayetteville Regional to 63,736 — an average of 10,623.
• By going 2-2 in the regional, the Razorbacks finished the season with a 32-6 record at Baum-Walker Stadium. Not including the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, that .842 winning percentage is their second-best ever since moving into the venue in 1996, topped only by the 2018 team going 34-4 (.895) at home.
• Tavian Josenberger swiped a pair of bases, making him 13 of 16 on stolen base attempts this year. That was the most stolen bases by an Arkansas baseball player since Trevor Ezell had 19 in 2019.
• The Razorbacks ended up hitting 92 home runs as a team this season. That tied the 2010 team for fourth on the school’s single-season list. Of the top six teams on that list, five of them have been the last five seasons.
• Arkansas also drew 321 walks, which tied the 2019 team for seventh on that single-season list, and struck out 531 times, which is the fourth-most in school history. The 77 times it was hit by a pitch also cracked a UA top-10 list, checking in at No. 7.
• On the mound, the Razorbacks finished with 552 strikeouts, which ranks eighth on the UA’s all-time list. They had broken the single-season record each of the previous two seasons.
• Even with three errors in the Fayetteville Regional, Arkansas still had a .981 fielding percentage this season. That is second in school history, behind only last year’s team that posted a .982 fielding percentage.

Arkansas vs TCU Postgame Interviews

Arkansas vs TCU Box Score (Fayetteville Regional)

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More coverage of Arkansas baseball from BoAS…

Hogs Face Uphill Battle with Dire Pitching Situation Ahead of Arkansas vs TCU

Heroics Keep Hogs Alive After Historic Beatdown + More from the Fayetteville Regional

How Arkansas Avoided the Upset, Correcting ESPN + More from Win vs Santa Clara

FAYETTEVILLE — The Razorbacks have quite the uphill battle ahead of them, needing to sweep a pair of Arkansas vs TCU games on Monday to win the Fayetteville Regional and keep their season alive.

Not only must Arkansas win twice without losing, but it must do so against a Horned Frogs team that has already beaten them twice — in the regular season and then again Sunday — by a combined score of 38-11.

The first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU. If the Razorbacks win that game, they’d force a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Fayetteville Regional at 8 p.m. CT.

History — beyond its two previous losses to TCU — is not on Arkansas’ side. Teams that start a regional 2-0, like the Horned Frogs, have advanced to the super regionals 77.5% of the time over the past five NCAA Tournaments.

However, that number drops to 62.9% when a team other than the host starts 2-0. Non-hosts also have to play the “if necessary” game 60% of the time when starting 2-0, compared to just 28.9% when its the 1 seed that’s undefeated going into the regional final.

As for the Arkansas baseball program, it has come through the loser’s bracket and advanced to the super regional just once in 10 tries since the current format began in 1999. That was in 2004, when it used heroics from Brady Toops and Charley Boyce to knock off Wichita State on its way to the College World Series.

What will make it particularly difficult for Arkansas to be part of the 37.1% of hosts to come through the loser’s bracket and win the Fayetteville Regional is its pitching situation.

“It’s not good,” Arkansas baseball coach Dave Van Horn said with a laugh when asked to assess his pitching options for Monday. “I mean, I don’t even know who we’re going to pitch. Normally I do and I just don’t tell you. I don’t know this time for sure. I don’t know who we’re going to pitch.”

It will almost certainly be an all-hands-on-deck type of day for Arkansas, which must find a way to piece together 18 innings if it hope to even have a chance to avoid the upset loss.

Van Horn said right-hander Brady Tygart, who threw a career-high 99 pitches Sunday night, definitely wouldn’t pitch and that right-hander Will McEntire, whose already pitched twice, would “have to talk us into it” to get back on the mound. He didn’t specifically mention him, but right-hander Austin Ledbetter likely wouldn’t be available either after throwing 87 pitches on Sunday.

Other than them, though, everyone else could be available for varying lengths Monday. That includes left-handed starters Hunter Hollan and Hagen Smith. However, neither is expected to start, Van Horn said.

Smith threw just 42 pitches before getting pulled from the first game Sunday, while Hollan closed out the nightcap on seven pitches after throwing only 49 pitches in a short start Friday afternoon.

Here’s a look at the pitch count situation ahead of the Arkansas vs TCU matchups on Monday:

Pitcher	Pitches Thrown	Season Stats
RHP Will McEntire	139 (82 on Friday, 57 on Sunday)	5.07 ERA in 87 IP
RHP Brady Tygart	99 (Sunday)	3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 IP
RHP Austin Ledbetter	87 (Sunday)	7.09 ERA in 33 IP
LHP Hunter Hollan	56 (49 on Friday, 7 on Sunday)	4.13 ERA in 80 2/3 IP
RHP Cody Adcock	50 (Friday)	5.68 ERA in 50 2/3 IP
LHP Hagen Smith	42 (Sunday)	3.71 ERA, 68 IP
RHP Ben Bybee	27 (Sunday)	7.24 ERA, 27 1/3 IP
LHP Zack Morris	25 (Sunday)	7.24 ERA, 32 1/3 IP
RHP Gage Wood	0	3.81 ERA, 28 1/3 IP
LHP Parker Coil	0	6.55 ERA, 22 IP
RHP Christian Foutch	0	7.71 ERA, 11 2/3 IP
RHP Ben McLaughlin	0	16.88 ERA, 2 2/3 IP

As always, Best of Arkansas Sports will be at Baum-Walker Stadium and providing live, inning-by-inning updates from the Arkansas vs TCU game(s) below…

LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs TCU

Pregame Tidbits from Fayetteville Regional

TCU will be the designated “home” team for the first game of the day.

For the second straight day, second baseman Peyton Holt is not in the lineup for Arkansas. He’s dealing with what Dave Van Horn described as back spasms. As was the case against Santa Clara, Caleb Cali is starting at second and Ben McLaughlin is at third.

Right-hander Cody Adcock is getting the nod in the first game of the day. He’s 4-2 with one save and a 5.68 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings.

Not surprisingly, TCU is going with right-hander Cam Brown. He is 3-2 with a 5.25 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 48 innings this season.

T-1st: Arkansas 1, TCU 0

Josenberger opened the game with a six-pitch at bat that ended with him getting plunked. On the first pitch to Bohrofen, Josenberger swiped second. Bohrofen followed with a walk, prompting a meeting on the mound amongst TCU’s infield. When Brown fell behind 2-0 against Wegner, the Horned Frogs sent their pitching coach to the mound and also sent some guys to the bullpen.

The meeting didn’t help, as Brown still walked Wegner to load the bases. That set the stage for McLaughlin’s sacrifice fly to left to start the scoring. It’s Arkansas’ first lead against the Horned Frogs this season. Diggs popped out to third before a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. With two outs, Cali struck out to strand the runners. It was a 28-pitch inning for Brown.

B-1st: Arkansas 1, TCU 0

Nunez worked the count full and drew an eight-pitch walk to start the home half. Bowen followed with what was essentially a swinging bunt. Adcock fielded it and threw to second, where Nunez was called out. The Razorbacks had no chance to turn two, though. Both coaches challenged, with TCU wanting the runner to be safe and Arkansas wanting interference. The review went the Horned Frogs’ way, as Nunez was called safe.

Taylor followed with a lengthy at bat that finally ended with a strikeout. He fouled off three straight 3-2 pitches before striking out on the ninth pitch of the at bat. Fontenelle struck out, as well, but TCU pulled off a double steal on the strikeout pitch. They were stranded on second and third, though, as Richardson grounded out to third.

T-2nd: Arkansas 1, TCU 0

Slavens struck out to start the inning and Rowland followed with a soft grounder back to the pitcher for an easy out. With two outs, Bolton worked the count full and was hit by a pitch. It looked like it grazed his back. Josenberger then walked on four pitches. They were stranded, though, as Bohrofen flied out to shallow center on the first pitch he saw. It was a 19-pitch inning by Brown, who is up to 47 through two innings.

B-2nd: TCU 2, Arkansas 1

Adcock got up 1-2 against Byrne, but gave up a solid single to left-center. He then plunked Silva to once again put TCU’s first two batters on base. Maxwell laid down a bunt to move them over to second and third and that’s it for Adcock. The new pitcher for Arkansas is left-hander Hagen Smith.

Smith promptly gave up a single up the middle to Davis, which drove in two runs. He took second on the throw home. Smith bounced back to strike out Nunez. With two outs, Davis swiped third. He was stranded there, as Bowen looked at strike three.

T-3rd: TCU 2, Arkansas 1

After a ground out to third by Wegner, McLaughlin hit a solid line drive to left-center, but it hung in the air long enough for the center fielder to make a nice diving catch. With two outs, Diggs popped out to third again. It’s the first time Arkansas went down 1-2-3, but the Hogs are still hitless. Brown is at 57 pitches through three innings.

B-3rd: TCU 2, Arkansas 1

Once again up 0-2, Smith ended up striking out Taylor to start the bottom of the third. He also struck out Fontenelle before getting Richardson to fly out to right. Smith is up to 30 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.

T-4th: TCU 2, Arkansas 1

On the first pitch he saw, Cali popped out to third. Slavens followed with a three-pitch strikeout. Rowland then looked at strike three. The Razorbacks are still hitless and Brown is at 66 pitches.

B-4th: TCU 2, Arkansas 1

Byrne crushed a leadoff double off the wall in left, but Smith bounced back by striking out Silva and getting Maxwell to ground out to short. After falling behind 2-0, Arkansas opted to intentionally walk Davis, the 9-hole, to get to the Horned Frogs’ leadoff man. It worked out, as Nunez looked at strike three. Smith has six strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings, but he’s thrown 52 pitches.

T-5th: Arkansas 4, TCU 2

Bolton made solid contact, but it was easily caught by the center fielder in right-center. Josenberger followed with a seven-pitch walk. He swiped second, but then got to jog home when Bohrofen crushed a two-run homer off the batter’s eye. Wegner then crushed one of his own off the Hunter Center. That’s it for Brown.

Now pitching for TCU is left-hander Ben Abeldt. He promptly struck out McLaughlin on three pitches and then got Diggs to ground out to second.

B-5th: Arkansas 4, TCU 3

Bowen hit the first pitch of the home half of the fifth down the left field line for a leadoff double. After getting up 1-2, Smith then walked Taylor, prompting a mound visit by Hobbs. Fontenelle moved the runners to second and third with what was essentially a swinging bunt, as Smith wisely opted for the sure out at first.

Smith got Richardson to ground out to second, but it scored a run to make it 4-3. The other runner was stranded on third when Byrne grounded out to short. Smith is up to 67 pitches today and 109 over the last two days.

T-6th: Arkansas 4, TCU 3

Cali popped out in foul territory, but Slavens followed with a single into center. That snapped an 0-for-18 slump for the senior. TCU had him picked off, but TCU’s throw to second sailed into the outfield, allowing him to slide in safely with a stolen base. Rowland ended up striking out, though. With two outs, Bolton grounded out back to the pitcher, stranding Slavens on second.

B-6th: TCU 6, Arkansas 4

Now pitching for Arkansas: left-hander Zack Morris. His first pitch is hit into right for a leadoff single by Silva. Maxwell moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt, but he was able to jog home when Davis homered to left. That put TCU on top 5-4.

Nunez followed with a walk and then stole second. Bowen hit a chopper to short, but Bolton was able to field it and fire to first, where Slavens made a nice pick for the second out. It looked like Morris would get out of it, as Taylor hit a chopper to second, but Cali couldn’t handle it. The E4 put runners on the corners. Fontenelle immediately made the Razorbacks pay by hitting a first-pitch RBI single.

That’s it for Morris. He turns it over to freshman right-hander Gage Wood, who promptly got out of it by getting Richardson to fly out to right.

T-7th: TCU 6, Arkansas 4

Josenberger made solid contact, but his line drive hung up long enough for the center fielder to make an easy catch. Bohrofen went down swinging. With two outs, Wegner looked at strike three. Abeldt has retired eight of the nine Razorbacks he’s faced.

B-7th: TCU 7, Arkansas 4

Byrne extended the Horned Frogs’ lead with a leadoff homer. Wood bounced back by retiring the next three guys. Silva grounded out to third, pinch hitter Luke Boyers flied out to center and Davis struck out.

T-8th: TCU 7, Arkansas 4

McLaughlin grounded out to start the inning before Diggs drew a walk. However, he was quickly erased when Cali grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.

B-8th: TCU 12, Arkansas 4

Nunez flied out to center to start the inning, but Wood gave up a double to the left field corner. A wild pitch moved him to third before Taylor was intentionally walked to set up a double play. However, he quickly stole second without a throw. With runners on second and third, Fontenelle drove them in with a double to the left field corner. That’s it for Wood.

Freshman right-hander Christian Foutch is now pitching for Arkansas. He promptly gave up back-to-back home runs to Richardson and Byrne. The first was a two-run shot. Silva flied out to center and Boyers popped out to short to end the inning.

T-9th: TCU 12, Arkansas 4

Slavens lined out to left in his final at bat in an Arkansas uniform and the fans gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. Peyton Holt pinch hit for Rowland and drew a walk. Bolton grounded out to second, but it moved Holt to second. With two outs, Josenberger grounded out to short.

FINAL: TCU 12, Arkansas 4

BOX SCORE – Arkansas vs TCU

Starting Lineups – Arkansas vs TCU

TCU Baseball	Arkansas Baseball
1. Elijah Nunez – CF	1. Tavian Josenberger – CF
2. Karson Bowen – C	2. Jace Bohrofen – RF
3. Brayden Taylor – 3B	3. Jared Wegner – LF
4. Cole Fontenelle – 1B	4. Ben McLaughlin – 3B
5. Tre Richardson – 2B	5. Kendall Diggs – DH
6. Kurtis Byrne – DH	6. Caleb Cali – 2B
7. Anthony Silva – SS	7. Brady Slavens – 1B
8. Logan Maxwell – LF	8. Parker Rowland – C
9. Austin Davis – RF	9. John Bolton – SS
Pitching: Jr. RHP Cam Brown	Pitching: Jr. RHP Cody Adcock

How to Watch the Fayetteville Regional

Friday, June 2

Game 1: Arkansas 13, Santa Clara 6
Game 2: TCU 12, Arizona 4

Saturday, June 3

Game 3: Santa Clara 9, Arizona 3 – Arizona eliminated

Sunday, June 4

Game 4 – TCU 20, Arkansas 5
Game 5 – Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 4 – Santa Clara eliminated

Monday, June 5

Game 6 – Arkansas vs TCU – 2 p.m. CT (ESPNU)
Game 7 – Arkansas vs TCU, if Arkansas wins Game 6 – 8 p.m. CT

Composite College Baseball Top 25

Unlike football and basketball, which have just the AP and Coaches Polls all year (with football adding the CFP rankings late in the season), college baseball has six major polls. Collegiate Baseball used to be included, but it was dropped due to severe inconsistencies in its rankings. Perfect Game also didn’t update its poll this week, so only four polls are used in these rankings.

To get a better feel for how teams stack up, BoAS has combined those rankings into a single top 25 by using a points system in which a No. 1 ranking = 25 points, No. 2 = 24 points and all the way to No. 25 = 1 point. We will update this each week throughout the season…

Team	Conference	Change	Points
1. Wake Forest	ACC	—	100
2. Florida	SEC	—	96
3. Vanderbilt	SEC	+4	90
4. Arkansas	SEC	—	87
5. Clemson	ACC	+1	86
t-6. LSU	SEC	-1	78.5
t-6. Stanford	Pac-12	-3	78.5
8. Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	—	70
9. Miami (Fla.)	ACC	—	69
10. Virginia	ACC	—	63
11. Campbell	Big South	+4	60
12. East Carolina	AAC	—	52
13. Oklahoma State	Big 12	+4	48
14. Dallas Baptist	C-USA	—	43
15. UConn	Big East	-4	41
16. Southern Miss	Sun Belt	+8	38
17. Oregon State	Pac-12	-1	33
18. Tennessee	SEC	-5	29
19. Alabama	SEC	+7	21
t-20. Maryland	Big Ten	+8	18
t-20. South Carolina	SEC	+2	18
22. West Virginia	Big 12	-4	15
23. Indiana State	MVC	+4	13
t-24. Texas	Big 12	-4	11
t-24. TCU	Big 12	N/A	11

MOVED IN: Alabama (19), Maryland (t-20), Indiana State (23), TCU (t-24)
MOVED OUT: Auburn (19), Boston College (21), Duke (t-22), Kentucky (25)

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• ACC: 4
• Big 12: 4
• Pac-12: 2
• Sun Belt: 2
• AAC: 1
• Big East: 1
• Big South: 1
• Big Ten: 1
• C-USA: 1
• MVC: 1

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More coverage of Arkansas baseball and the Fayetteville Regional from BoAS…

Heroics Keep Hogs Alive After Historic Beatdown + More from the Fayetteville Regional

How Arkansas Avoided the Upset, Correcting ESPN + More from Win vs Santa Clara

Horned Frogs Follow Relievers’ Lead in Desecrating Baum-Walker in Arkansas vs TCU

Santa Clara’s 26 Home Games Don’t Hold a Candle to What Arkansas Has in Store

FAYETTEVILLE — It was a long day at the ballpark, but Arkansas baseball managed to keep its season alive Sunday.

The Razorbacks took one on the chin in the winner’s bracket game of the Fayetteville Regional, getting smacked 20-5 by TCU, only to turn around and stave off elimination with a 6-4 win over Santa Clara at Baum-Walker Stadium.

“The guys had a little bit of an attitude for a team that just got it handed to them so I appreciate that,” Arkansas baseball coach Van Horn said. “We beat a good team today, that second game. Santa Clara is a solid team, veterans. They can hit and pitch and field.”

In the first game of the day, which was postponed from Saturday because of inclement weather in the area, Arkansas got rocked like never before.

It was the most runs the Razorbacks have ever allowed in a postseason game, surpassing the 19 they gave up to Texas in the 2005 Austin Regional, and it was their most lopsided loss in the postseason, topping a trio of 11-run losses — the most recent of which was to Oklahoma State in the 2007 Fayetteville Regional.

On top of that, it was the most runs Arkansas has allowed during the Dave Van Horn era and most allowed in any game since losing to Auburn 21-11 on March 19, 2000.

The team didn’t have long to lick its wounds, though, as they had to turn around about an hour and a half later and face a well-rested Santa Clara team in an elimination game.

“It was in the past and we knew that,” Diggs said. “We can’t do anything to change it. So the mindset coming in was to take this next game pitch by pitch, and I wouldn’t want to do it with a different group of guys.”

As the “road” team, the Razorbacks hit first and Tavian Josenberger set the tone by drawing a seven-pitch walk to start the game. The very next pitch was crushed to right-center by Jace Bohrofen for an RBI double, giving Arkansas a lead it wouldn’t relinquish — thanks to some heroics by several players.

Brady Tygart Shines in Nightcap

With the Razorbacks running low on pitching and getting a pair of stunningly short outings from their first two starters in the Fayetteville Regional, they really needed Brady Tygart to give them some length in the nightcap.

Starting without a pitch count for the first time, the sophomore right-hander did just that, blowing past previous career highs of four innings (against Vanderbilt this season) and 71 pitches (against Ole Miss last year).

Tygart was charged with three runs — two of which were earned — on three hits and three walks while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings. Nearly two-thirds of his 99 total pitches were strikes.

“I thought he was really good,” Van Horn said. “The first inning he was a little erratic with his fastball and then once he settled in and started throwing that for a strike, they had to respect it and made the breaking ball look that much better or tougher to hit.

“I tell ya, he just competes. He left the one breaking ball up that was hit down the line off the fence, it drove in a couple runs, but for the most part, he didn’t make too many mistakes. I’ve said it many times, he could throw the ball 95-96 mph, but tonight he pitched 90-91 most of the time and threw some 85 mph changeups to their lefties and I just thought he pitched.”

That’s a really solid line, especially given the circumstances, but it was honestly probably even better than those numbers indicate. Tygart was one strike away from getting through six scoreless innings, and he might have if a couple of calls went his way earlier in the sixth.

After an infield single by Dawson Brigman to start the sixth, he thought he had strike three against Michael O’Hara, but his 2-2 pitch was called a ball and he eventually walked him. Then, with two outs, Eamonn Lance appeared to go around on a check swing, but the first base umpire said he didn’t. He ended up hitting the aforementioned line drive off the wall to drive in two runs.

The latter of those resulted in Van Horn exchanging words with the umpire after he went to his bullpen. But even with those calls going against him, Tygart was sensational.

“I felt like I could throw anything for a strike, honestly,” Tygart said on the UA’s postgame radio show. “I think I just mixed it — mixed in the zone and tried to keep them off balance. I think they were guessing. Just tried to keep them off balance and keep them guessing.”

Santa Clara hitters went 3 for 20 against Tygart and were just 1 for 16 with no more than one base runner an inning through the fifth.

“He was just attacking the zone,” Santa Clara right fielder Michael O’Hara said. “His fast ball was good, attacked with it, wasn’t afraid to use it and mixed it on with stuff really well. We were just trying to make an adjustment as we go, but he was able to execute his game plan.”

If it proves to be Tygart’s final outing of the season, it was the kind of performance that should make Arkansas baseball fans excited about his potential in 2024.

Moving into the starting rotation and worked back slowly after returning from a UCL strain that kept him out nearly two months, he has been great as a starter for the Razorbacks. In six starts, Tygart has given up just five earned runs on nine hits and seven walks while striking out 21 in 19 innings. That works out to an impressive 2.37 ERA and 0.84 WHIP.

“I think I’m more comfortable as a starter,” Tygart said. “That’s what I did my whole life. I just kind of got tossed into the closing role last year. That’s where I ended up and it was working. If I hadn’t been injured at the beginning of the year I don’t think I’d be starting now, with that injury stuff.”

(Curious what Arkansas’ pitching situation looks like going into Monday? Here’s our breakdown.)

Will McEntire Empties the Tank

With Santa Clara still well within striking distance, Dave Van Horn started to recycle pitchers who had already thrown this weekend.

The first one he called upon was right-hander Will McEntire. Considering he already threw 82 pitches against them Friday, the Broncos were a bit surprised by what the redshirt junior did to them Sunday.

“I think we were trying to project what we might see out of them and did not except to see some of those guys do what they did today,” Santa Clara baseball coach Rusty Filter admitted afterward.

Filter said he thought McEntire might pitch a little bit, but definitely not for 2 2/3 innings in which he gave up just one run on two hits while striking out five.

He nearly got Arkansas to the finish line, not allowing a hit or free pass to the first nine batters he faced. However, with one out in the ninth inning, McEntire gave up back-to-back singles. The second of those hits was an RBI, as a balk and wild pitch moved the first runner to third.

That prompted Dave Van Horn to bring in left-hander Hunter Hollan, who induced a 6-4-3 double play by Ben Steck to end the game and earn his first career save. McEntire was visibly exhausted, as he walked off the field slowly and was then shown on the SEC Network broadcast sitting on the bench drenched in sweat.

“I really wanted to finish the game to save all that we have for tomorrow,” McEntire said. “I kind of just let it all out there and didn’t get it done, but Hunter came in and did a great job of finishing it for us.”

It wasn’t quite a Kevin Kopps or Charley Boyce-like performance — at least not yet — but it was still an impressive and important outing for the Razorbacks.

Asked if he had anything left in the tank for Monday, McEntire smiled and said it was up to Van Horn, who later said he probably wouldn’t pitch unless he talked talked the coaching staff into it.

“I actually felt better today than I did on Friday,” McEntire said. “I’ve just to give credit to (catcher Parker) Rowland. He did a great job of mixing up the signs for me. They were just kind of guessing, because we were mixing really well.”

Kendall Diggs Provides Vital Insurance Runs

Arkansas baseball jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the elimination game, but it wouldn’t just coast to victory. Santa Clara made it a ballgame with three runs in the sixth and it was still a one-run game entering the eighth.

After an infield single by Ben McLaughlin, the Broncos brought in flame-throwing reliever Skylar Hales. The Razorbacks roughed him up Friday, but he bounced back and retired six of the seven batters he faced Sunday.

The only one he failed to get was the first one he faced, as Kendall Diggs greeted him with a two-run home run that gave Arkansas some cushion and ultimately proved to be the difference.

“We have faced that arm in the previous game we played them — really good pitcher,” Diggs said. “He’s got a really good heater. I worked the count. I was late on a couple heaters before. I got the full count and I just said, ‘Get the (bat) head out. If it’s anywhere close I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,’ and good things happened.”

Replays showed Diggs had to go down and get it, too, as it was a low pitch that likely would have missed the zone had he not swung.

“The ball that Kendall hit out, if you go back and look at it, it was a good pitch,” Van Horn said. “It was probably a ball and it was down. He just went down and got it, shot it out of there.”

It didn’t come without controversy, though. Santa Clara baseball coach Rusty Filter thought it never should have happened because the pitch before should have been strike three. Instead, home plate umpire Joe Blumenauer called it a ball to set up the full-count homer.

“It was a great swing,” Filter said. “He hit a home run. After strike three. It’s the hardest thing to do to be an umpire. I don’t let my players talk to the umpire, I try not to talk to the umpire. They have the best seat in the house. I’m from the side. I can’t tell in or out, I have no idea. It looked like a great pitch. Obviously he saw it as a ball and the next pitch was a home run.”

It was his 12th long ball of the season and gives him 63 RBIs, but Diggs had struggled at the plate for most of the day until that hit. He was 0 for 6 with three strikeouts and a walk across the two games before the homer.

“There were times throughout today where I felt like I wasn’t getting the job done, and it was really frustrating not to help the team,” Diggs said. “So it felt amazing. It was great.”

TCU Hammers Hagen Smith

Arkansas ace Hagen Smith picked an unfortunate time to turn in the worst start of his career.

The left-hander was chased before recording an out in the second inning and gave up a career-high eight runs, topping his rough outing at Florida last season when he gave up seven — six earned — in 4 1/3 innings.

This season, Smith had been nothing short of dominant as both a starter and a closer. A first-team All-SEC selection by the coaches and a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, he entered the game with a stellar 2.69 ERA.

The most runs he had allowed this season was four in five innings at Ole Miss back on April 7. TCU matched that with one swing of the bat — courtesy of a Tre Richardson grand slam.

“It’s really hard to say,” Dave Van Horn said, when asked what happened with Smith’s poor start. “I think when they hit the grand slam it kind of got to him, obviously, and that’s maybe to be expected. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I knew that they would hit him because they’re a really good offensive team, but you just didn’t expect it to go down like that.”

He was part of six straight batters Smith failed to retire after getting Elijah Nunez to ground out to start the game. Two of the first three reached after initially falling behind 0-2, as Karson Bowen walked and Cole Fontenelle was hit by a pitch sandwiched around a Brayden Taylor single.

That set the stage for Richardson’s grand slam. Smith then walked Kurtis Byrne on four pitches and gave up a single to Anthony Silva, who was also down 0-2 at one point. They came around to score on Austin Davis’ two-out single.

His 37th pitch of the inning resulted in Parker Rowland throwing out Davis trying to steal second. Getting that out on the base paths meant the Horned Frogs went 6 for 8 with three free passes against Smith, whose last two runs came around to score with Zack Morris on the mound in the second inning.

Have a Day, Tre Richardson

TCU also got an uncharacteristic performance in Sunday’s first game — but one that will be remembered much more fondly by its fans.

Second baseman Tre Richardson came into the day hitting .310 with 44 RBIs, which are solid numbers, especially given his speed that has resulted in 24 stolen bases. Power hasn’t exactly been part of the scouting report, though, as he had just two home runs in 239 at bats over the first 60 games of the year.

He hit more than that in his first four at bats against Arkansas. Not only did he homer three times, but his first two were opposite-field grand slams in the first and second innings. His third also went the other way, but it was just a two-run shot.

“The first one I thought had a pretty good chance of getting out, just because I thought he hit it really well,” TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos said. “The next two I was a little bit surprised, in terms of the ball getting over the fence. … I guess he’s saving the best for last. Didn’t want to get all of his homers out of the way early and was able to put three good swings on it today.”

To cap his 5-for-6 performance, Richardson hit a single up the middle to drive in his 11th run of the game. The 11 RBIs matches an NCAA Tournament record previously set by Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers, who did it against Omaha at the 2019 Los Angeles Regional.

As if what he did with his bat wasn’t enough, Richardson also made a nice diving stop of a ground ball by Brady Slavens in shallow right. It seemed destined to get through for a single, but he hopped up and fired to first for the out, giving him a web gem on top of his career day at the plate.

Peyton Holt Injury Update

Second baseman Peyton Holt was not in the lineup Sunday after leaving Friday’s game following his eighth-inning at bat. He is dealing with an “upper back strain,” according to the UA’s pregame radio show.

Since replacing the injured Peyton Holt as the everyday second baseman, Holt has been arguably the hottest hitter on the team. The Greenwood native is riding a 10-game hitting streak in which he’s gone 19 for 36 (.528), not to mention his excellent defense.

When asked about his status after Sunday’s games, Dave Van Horn clarified the injury and said it was unlikely that he’d be available to play Monday.

“It’s more of a spasm,” Van Horn said. “It’s just locked up where he couldn’t hardly move. We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. They’ve got him on all kinds of medicine, so we’ll see if something kicks in. But he was moving around a lot better in the dugout. I don’t want to put him out there, and he takes a swing or two and can’t move again, and I’d pull him out of the game.”

It is yet another significant blow to Arkansas baseball, which has now seen seven different position players — plus four pitchers — miss time with injuries this season:

• LF Jared Wegner (thumb): 5 weeks
• CF Tavian Josenberger (hamstring): 2 weeks
• DH/1B/3B Ben McLaughlin (knee): 6 weeks
• C Parker Rowland (back): 1 week
• SS John Bolton (ankle): 1 week
• 2B Peyton Stovall (shoulder): out for season (last 3 weeks of regular season + postseason)
• RHP Jaxon Wiggins (Tommy John): out for entire season
• RHP Koty Frank (torn lat): out for season (all but first 3 weeks)
• RHP Brady Tygart (UCL strain): 8 weeks
• RHP Dylan Carter (Tommy John): out for season (last 3 weeks of regular season + postseason)

Giving Baum-Walker Stadium Some Love

On Thursday, Santa Clara right fielder Michael O’Hara told reporters that he couldn’t wait to play in front of sold out crowds at Baum-Walker Stadium.

He knew it would be a hostile environment, but he was also excited about the prospect of playing in games with a single-game attendance topping what the Broncos drew in all of their home games combined.

Even after the disappointment of defeat, O’Hara confirmed that it lived up to his expectations.

“It was the experience of a lifetime no doubt,” O’Hara said. “The fans here were amazing. No denying that. They kept me busy in right field with kids asking for balls, guys just chatting me up and having a good time. I think all the boys just had an amazing experience, like the guys in the bullpen. Most of the time it was nice, sometimes not so much, but you’re honestly coming down here expecting more that.”

Up Next for Arkansas Baseball

The Razorbacks are in the Fayetteville Regional final, but having come out of the loser’s bracket, they must beat TCU twice on Monday to advance to the super regional, while TCU needs to win just once.

The first game is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU. If Arkansas wins that game, a winner-take-all game would be played at 8 p.m. CT. The television information for that game has not yet been determined, but it will at least be on ESPN-Plus.

Whichever team comes out of the Fayetteville Regional will face No. 14 overall seed Indiana State, which swept through the Terre Haute Regional with a 3-0 record. If Arkansas wins, the super regional will be in Fayetteville. If TCU wins, it would presumably be in Terre Haute.

Other Arkansas Baseball Tidbits

• The announced attendance for Sunday was a season-high 11,121 for the afternoon game and 10,395 for the night game. Including the two games not involving Arkansas baseball, the Fayetteville Regional has a five-game attendance of 53,261 — an average of 10,652.
• There were a pair of lightning delays in the Arkansas vs TCU game, first in the middle of the third inning and then again in the middle of the eighth. They were 59 and 51 minutes long, respectively, meaning they lasted a combined 1 hour and 50 minutes.
• In two games against TCU this season, Arkansas has allowed 38 runs on 40 hits while losing by a combined score of 38-11.
• With four against TCU and two more against Santa Clara, Arkansas has now hit 90 home runs this season. That ranks fifth on the UA single-season list, behind the 2010 (92), 2018 (98), 2022 (106) and 2021 (109) teams.
• Thanks to a ninth-inning single against TCU and third-inning home run against Santa Clara (plus a walk in the fifth), Jared Wegner extended his on-base streak to 15 games. That is the longest active streak for Arkansas baseball.
• In the 60th game of the season, which was the nightcap against the Broncos, Dave Van Horn shuffled his lineup once again by moving Caleb Cali to second base and inserting Ben McLaughlin at third base. Neither player had started a single game at those positions this season. “I need to get McLaughlin in the lineup,” Van Horn said. “Just need to get some offense. We’re running out of options. We’re running out of middle infielders.”

Arkansas vs Santa Clara Highlights

Fayetteville Regional Postgame Interviews

Arkansas vs TCU Box Score (Fayetteville Regional)

Arkansas vs Santa Clara Box Score (Fayetteville Regional)

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More coverage of Arkansas baseball from BoAS…

Hogs Face Uphill Battle with Dire Pitching Situation Ahead of Arkansas vs TCU

Hogs Try to Save their Season in Arkansas vs Santa Clara Elimination Game

Horned Frogs Follow Relievers’ Lead in Desecrating Baum-Walker in Arkansas vs TCU

How Arkansas Avoided the Upset, Correcting ESPN + More from Win vs Santa Clara

The Razorbacks will play the first of what they hope are three straight games with their season on the line Sunday night. It starts with an Arkansas vs Santa Clara rematch for a spot in the Fayetteville Regional final.

Barely an hour removed from a 20-5 shellacking at the hands of TCU, Arkansas will have to put the loss behind it quickly for the 8 p.m. CT first pitch against the Broncos, which knocked out Arizona on Saturday. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

The winner of this game will have to beat TCU twice on Monday to advance to the super regional.

As always, Best of Arkansas Sports is at Baum-Walker Stadium and will provide live, inning-by-inning updates from Arkansas vs Santa Clara below…

LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs Santa Clara

Pregame Tidbits from Fayetteville Regional

Despite being the higher seed and having an identical record in the Fayetteville Regional, Arkansas will be the “away” team for this game. That is due to Arkansas being the home team twice and Santa Clara being the road team twice already.

Left-hander Brandon Gomez will start for Santa Clara. The junior has a 3.50 ERA with 51 strikeouts and only 10 walks in 54 innings this season. This will be his ninth start of the year. He’s also made eight relief appearances.

Arkansas has switched up its lineup once again, moving Caleb Cali to second in order to get Ben McLaughlin in the lineup at third base. Cali’s first 44 starts this season were all at third. Brady Slavens has moved all the way down to the 7 hole.

The crowd at Baum-Walker Stadium for the Arkansas vs Santa Clara elimination game is significantly smaller than the Razorbacks’ first two games, both of which drew 11,000-plus fans.

T-1st: Arkansas 2, Santa Clara 0

To start the game, Josenberger fouled off a couple of pitches before working a full-count leadoff walk. After the seven-pitch walk, Bohrofen followed with an RBI double to the right-center gap. Josenberger scored easily from first. Bohrofen tagged up to third on Wegner’s fly out to right and then scored on McLaughlin’s sacrifice fly to left. Diggs followed with a walk, but was stranded when Cali went down swinging. It was a 24-pitch inning by Gomez.

B-1st: Arkansas 2, Santa Clara 0

Berring worked the count full before drawing a leadoff walk. Then Dawson Brigman flied out to center and O’Hara flied out to left. With two outs, Berring swiped second. However, he was stranded there when Manzo took strike three. Tygart threw 17 pitches.

T-2nd: Arkansas 2, Santa Clara 0

Gomez made quick work of the Razorbacks in the second inning, getting Slavens and Bolton to ground out to second sandwiched around a strikeout by Rowland. It was a 10-pitch inning for Gomez, who is up to 34 through two.

B-2nd: Arkansas 2, Santa Clara 0

After a pop out to third by Coleman Brigman, Tygart walked Lance in a full count. He was stranded, though, as Williams lined out to center and Ferroggiaro grounded out to second. Tygart is up to 30 pitches through two innings.

T-3rd: Arkansas 3, Santa Clara 0

Josenberger went down looking to start the third inning. Bohrofen followed with a strikeout, as well, but it was swinging. With two outs, Jared Wegner crushed a solo home run to left-center to make it 3-0. McLaughlin also made really solid contact, but his line drive was caught in left for the final out. Gomez has thrown 49 pitches through three innings.

B-3rd: Arkansas 3, Santa Clara 0

Steck grounded out to third to start the home half of the inning. Berring followed with a line drive that just got over Bolton’s glove at short for Santa Clara’s first hit of the game. Tygart bounced back to strike out Dawson Brigman and get O’Hara to ground out to short. It was an 11-pitch inning, bringing his total to 41.

T-4th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 0

An error by the first baseman allowed Diggs to reach to start the bottom of the fourth. After Cali went down looking, Slavens grounded out to short, but it allowed Diggs to move to second. That set the stage for Rowland’s two-out RBI single. Bolton followed with some solid contact to left, but it was caught just in front of the warning track to end the inning. Gomez is up to 62 pitches through four innings.

B-4th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 0

Tygart struck out Manzo and Coleman Brigman to start the fourth. Then Lance hit a slow roller to the left side and McLaughlin came over and fielded it in front of Bolton. He fired to first for the out. Tygart is up to 55 pitches through four innings.

T-5th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 0

After a fly out to right by Josenberger, Bohrofen poked a singled into right for his second hit of the game. Wegner followed with a four-pitch walk. It’s the third walk of the game for Gomez, a season high. McLaughlin hit the ball hard, but it was a deep fly out to center – deep enough for Bohrofen to tag up to third. With runners on the corners and two outs, Diggs chased a pitch out of the zone to strike out. Gomez is at 81 pitches.

B-5th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 0

Williams went down looking to start the bottom of the fifth. In a full count, Ferroggiaro hit a line drive to left, but it hung in the air long enough for Wegner to catch it. With two outs, Steck was plunked on the first pitch of his at bat. Tygart fell behind 3-0 against Berring, but battled back and got him to ground out to short to end the inning. He’s up to 77 pitches.

T-6th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 0

The new pitcher for Santa Clara is right-hander August Souza. He promptly struck out Cali, who is now 0 for 3 with three strikeouts in the nightcap. Slavens then grounded out to short. Rowland went down swinging to end the inning. Souza needed just nine pitches.

B-6th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 3

Dawson Brigman opened the bottom of the sixth with a grounder up the middle that Cali got to, but had no play, so it went down as an infield single. Tygart thought he had strike three in a 2-2 count against O’Hara, but it was called a ball. He ended up walking. Tygart bounced back to get Manzo to fly out to left. Coleman Brigman then struck out swinging. In a 2-2 count, Santa Clara called a timeout and brought its batter and runners in for a meeting. When play resumed, Lance ripped a double off the wall in left to drive in two. That’s it for Tygart.

Right-hander Will McEntire is now pitching for Arkansas. He induced a grounder by Williams, but McLaughlin’s throw was wide. He reached on the E5 and a run scored. Ferroggiaro followed with a chopper up the middle, but Bolton showed great patience and fired a strike to first when the ball came down, just getting him. That saved a run.

T-7th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 3

Bolton drew a four-pitch walk to start the seventh. In a full count, Josenberger fouled off a couple of pitches before flying out to right. Bohrofen hit a grounder to the left side that the third baseman fielded and got the out at second, but couldn’t quite turn two, giving Bohrofen a fielder’s choice. Santa Clara challenged the call, but replays confirmed he was safe. With two outs, Wegner grounded into a fielder’s choice of his own to end the inning.

B-7th: Arkansas 4, Santa Clara 3

McEntire needed 12 pitches to strike out the side in the seventh. Steck and Berring went down swinging, while Dawson Brigman took strike three. McEntire is up to 22 pitches in 1 1/3 innings.

T-8th: Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 3

McLaughlin hit a chopper that got over the pitcher’s head and reached on an infield single. That’s it for Souza. The new pitcher is right-hander Skylar Hales, who got roughed up by Arkansas on Friday. He promptly gave up a two-run bomb to Diggs.

Hales bounced back to retire the next three Razorbacks. Cali went down swinging, Slavens grounded out to short and Rowland lined out back to the pitcher. Hales got a glove on it and juggled it before finally securing it for the final out.

B-8th: Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 3

O’Hara flied out to center to start the eighth. Manzo popped out to first. Coleman Brigman struck out. McEntire has retired seven straight. He’s at 36 pitches in 2 1/3 innings.

T-9th: Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 3

Bolton popped out to first. Josenberger took strike three. Bohrofen struck out swinging, giving Hales a quick 1-2-3 inning. He’s retired six straight since the Diggs home run.

B-9th: Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 4

McEntire won a nine-pitch at bat by Lance, getting him to strike out swinging. Williams also worked the count full before singling through the left side. McEntire went to pick off Williams, but Slavens wasn’t holding him on, so it’s a balk. A wild pitch then moved Williams to third. Ferroggiaro delivered an RBI single to center, bringing the tying run to the plate. That’s it for McEntire.

The new pitcher is left-hander Hunter Hollan. Steck worked the count full, but grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

FINAL: Arkansas 6, Santa Clara 4

BOX SCORE – Arkansas vs Santa Clara

Starting Lineups – Arkansas vs Santa Clara

Santa Clara Baseball	Arkansas Baseball
1. JonJon Berring – LF	1. Tavian Josenberger – CF
2. Dawson Brigman – 2B	2. Jace Bohrofen – RF
3. Michael O’Hara – RF	3. Jared Wegner – LF
4. Efrain Manzo – 1B	4. Ben McLaughlin – 3B
5. Coleman Brigman – CF	5. Kendall Diggs – DH
6. Eamonn Lance – DH	6. Caleb Cali – 2B
7. Malcolm Williams – SS	7. Brady Slavens – 1B
8. Thomas Ferroggiaro – 3B	8. Parker Rowland – C
9. Ben Steck – C	9. John Bolton – SS
Pitching: Jr. LHP Brandon Gomez	Pitching: So. RHP Brady Tygart

How to Watch the Fayetteville Regional

Friday, June 2

Game 1: Arkansas 13, Santa Clara 6
Game 2: TCU 12, Arizona 4

Saturday, June 3

Game 3: Santa Clara 9, Arizona 3 – Arizona eliminated

Sunday, June 4

Game 4 – TCU 20, Arkansas 5
Game 5 – Arkansas vs Santa Clara – 8 p.m. CT – elimination game

Monday, June 5 (If Necessary)

Game 6 – TCU vs. Game 5 Winner – TBD
Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD

Composite College Baseball Top 25

Unlike football and basketball, which have just the AP and Coaches Polls all year (with football adding the CFP rankings late in the season), college baseball has six major polls. Collegiate Baseball used to be included, but it was dropped due to severe inconsistencies in its rankings. Perfect Game also didn’t update its poll this week, so only four polls are used in these rankings.

To get a better feel for how teams stack up, BoAS has combined those rankings into a single top 25 by using a points system in which a No. 1 ranking = 25 points, No. 2 = 24 points and all the way to No. 25 = 1 point. We will update this each week throughout the season…

Team	Conference	Change	Points
1. Wake Forest	ACC	—	100
2. Florida	SEC	—	96
3. Vanderbilt	SEC	+4	90
4. Arkansas	SEC	—	87
5. Clemson	ACC	+1	86
t-6. LSU	SEC	-1	78.5
t-6. Stanford	Pac-12	-3	78.5
8. Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	—	70
9. Miami (Fla.)	ACC	—	69
10. Virginia	ACC	—	63
11. Campbell	Big South	+4	60
12. East Carolina	AAC	—	52
13. Oklahoma State	Big 12	+4	48
14. Dallas Baptist	C-USA	—	43
15. UConn	Big East	-4	41
16. Southern Miss	Sun Belt	+8	38
17. Oregon State	Pac-12	-1	33
18. Tennessee	SEC	-5	29
19. Alabama	SEC	+7	21
t-20. Maryland	Big Ten	+8	18
t-20. South Carolina	SEC	+2	18
22. West Virginia	Big 12	-4	15
23. Indiana State	MVC	+4	13
t-24. Texas	Big 12	-4	11
t-24. TCU	Big 12	N/A	11

MOVED IN: Alabama (19), Maryland (t-20), Indiana State (23), TCU (t-24)
MOVED OUT: Auburn (19), Boston College (21), Duke (t-22), Kentucky (25)

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• ACC: 4
• Big 12: 4
• Pac-12: 2
• Sun Belt: 2
• AAC: 1
• Big East: 1
• Big South: 1
• Big Ten: 1
• C-USA: 1
• MVC: 1

***

More coverage of Arkansas baseball and the Fayetteville Regional from BoAS…

Horned Frogs Follow Relievers’ Lead in Desecrating Baum-Walker in Arkansas vs TCU

How Arkansas Avoided the Upset, Correcting ESPN + More from Win vs Santa Clara

Santa Clara’s 26 Home Games Don’t Hold a Candle to What Arkansas Has in Store

UPDATE (7:36 p.m. CT, Saturday): The Arkansas vs TCU game has officially been set for 2 p.m. CT Sunday. The television designation has not yet been announced, but it will be available on ESPN-Plus at least. The Arizona-Santa Clara matchup, the first elimination game of the Fayetteville Regional, will still be played Saturday, with first pitch set for an 8:06 p.m. CT.

***

UPDATE (6:32 p.m. CT, Saturday): The Arkansas vs TCU game, which is the winner’s bracket game of the Fayetteville Regional, has been officially postponed to Sunday. The game time has yet to be determined. The Arizona-Santa Clara game is still in a weather delay.

***

No extra motivation is needed this time of year, but some Horned Frog relievers – ahem – relieving themselves during the Friday night game of the Fayetteville Regional may have provided the Razorbacks, or at least their fans, with some ahead of the Arkansas vs TCU matchup.

Some Arkansas baseball fans attending TCU’s 12-4 win over Arizona caught a pair of its pitchers, right-handers Garrett Wright and Hunter Hodges, taking a leak in the corner of their bullpen – which, as the higher seed and home team that game, was Arkansas’ usual bullpen.

I can’t wait to beat them tomorrow… VC: @Jackbaldwin25 pic.twitter.com/MNwW5vXqIM

— Josh Teeter (@joshteeter01) June 3, 2023

To be fair, TCU’s players may not have had access to the Hunt Center’s restrooms because those are Arkansas’ facilities and they are still the visitors. However, there are restrooms in the dugout they could have used.

Regardless of your take on the urination situation, Saturday’s nightcap between Arkansas and TCU promises to be the best atmosphere of the season at Baum-Walker Stadium. Just over 11,000 fans witnessed the Razorbacks’ win over Santa Clara, and that was on a Friday afternoon when a lot of people still had work.

Saturday’s game is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU. However, first pitch will almost certainly get pushed back because of inclement weather in Northwest Arkansas.

The Arizona-Santa Clara elimination game was set for a 2 p.m. start, but it has been in an indefinite delay all day and – despite announcement from the Santa Clara Twitter account, no start time has been set.

NCAA rules require 55 minutes between games and the latest the Arkansas vs TCU game could start is 11 p.m. It could then take as long as needed to finish, so there’s a chance the Razorbacks and Horned Frogs are playing past midnight, if they play at all. The game could potentially get pushed back to Sunday.

As always, Best of Arkansas Sports will be all over it and providing live, inning-by-inning updates below…

LIVE UPDATES — Arkansas vs TCU

Pregame Tidbits from Fayetteville Regional

In the first elimination game of the Fayetteville Regional, Santa Clara beat Arizona 9-3 in the only game played Saturday. The Wildcats are out of the tournament, while the Broncos will play the loser of the Arkansas vs TCU matchup in another elimination game at 8 p.m. CT Sunday.

As expected, left-hander Hagen Smith has been named the starter for Arkansas. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the coaches and named a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball after a season in which he went 8-1 with two saves and a 2.69 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 67 innings. Opponents have hit just .199 against the sophomore this year.

TCU is countering with right-hander Sam Stoutenborough, a graduate transfer who spent the first four years of his career at Cal. He is 3-0 with a 4.31 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings across 18 appearances, including seven starts, in his first season with the Horned Frogs.

This will actually be his second career outing at Baum-Walker Stadium, as he actually took the loss for Cal in an elimination game against Central Connecticut State as a freshman in the 2019 Fayetteville Regional. In that game, Stoutenborough was charged with six runs – five earned – on nine hits and no walks while striking out three in five innings.

After tweaking his back in the eighth inning of Friday’s game, Peyton Holt is not in the lineup Sunday. Harold Coll is starting in his place, playing second base and batting seventh. Holt did not go through pregame warmups, so he doesn’t appear to be available today. His injury is described as an “upper back strain,” per the UA’s pregame radio show.

T-1st: TCU 6, Arkansas 0

Nunez grounded out to third to start the game. Bowen fouled off several pitches before working the count full and drawing a walk. That put a man on base for Taylor, who ripped a single into right. Fontenelle was plunked in an 0-2 count to load the bases and prompt a mound visit from Matt Hobbs.

On the very next pitch, Richardson hit a grand slam to put TCU up 4-0. Byrne followed with a four-pitch walk. After falling behind 0-2, Silva singled through the right side in a 1-2 count. That put runners on the corners, until Silva swiped second to make it second and third. Boyers looked at strike three, but Davis was first-pitch swinging and delivered a two-run single to make it 6-0. He was eventually caught stealing during Nunez’s second plate appearance. Smith threw 37 pitches and gave up a season-high six runs.

B-1st: TCU 6, Arkansas 1

In a full count, Josenberger crushed a home run to the second level of the Hunt Center. However, Stoutenborough responded by striking out Diggs and Slavens. With two outs, Cali grounded out to short. It was a 21-pitch inning for the TCU starter.

T-2nd: TCU 11, Arkansas 1

Nunez opened the second inning with a first-pitch single through the left side. Bowen followed with a single that put runners on the corners and that’s it for Smith, who lasted just one-plus inning. The new pitcher for Arkansas is left-hander Zack Morris.

Morris got ahead 0-2 against Taylor, but he ended up hitting an RBI single into right to make it 7-1. Fontenelle also fell behind 0-2, but battled back to walk. It’s the fifth time an Arkansas pitcher has been up 0-2 and failed to retire him. Richardson followed with another grand slam. He came into the game with only two home runs, but matched that in two innings against Arkansas – and both were opposite field with the bases loaded.

B-2nd: TCU 11, Arkansas 1

Bohrofen grounded out to first on the first pitch of the inning. Wegner hit the second pitch he saw 114 mph off the bat, but the shortstop made a nice play to field it and throw him out. Coll popped out to the catcher to end the inning. It was an eight-pitch inning, bringing Stoutenborough’s total to 29.

T-3rd: TCU 14, Arkansas 1

Right-hander Austin Ledbetter is now pitching for Arkansas. His first pitch was lined right to Bolton for a one-pitch out. Nunez followed with a blooper that just got over Bolton’s head for a single. Ledbetter got up 0-2 against Bowen, but eventually plunked him in a 2-2 count after he fouled off three pitches. Taylor followed with a three-run homer to make it 14-1.

Ledbetter bounced back with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. At which point the game entered a lightning delay at 3:06 p.m. CT.

Lightning Delay: 3:06 p.m.

Play Resumes: 4:05 p.m. CT

B-3rd: TCU 14, Arkansas 1

After a 59-minute delay, Stoutenborough is still on the mound for TCU. He promptly gave up a single to Rowland, who poked it the other way through the left side. Bolton then flied out to right and Josenberger grounded into a fielder’s choice. On the latter play, TCU got the lead runner at second, but couldn’t quite turn the double play. It didn’t matter because Diggs followed with a fielder’s choice of his own. It was a 14-pitch inning for Stoutenborough, who is up to 43 pitches.

T-4th: TCU 14, Arkansas 1

Hudson Polk is now catching for Arkansas. Byrne popped out to short and Silva lined out to second for a couple of quick outs. Ledbetter then got Boyers to fly out to center. He has thrown 31 pitches in two innings.

B-4th: TCU 14, Arkansas 1

Following a ground out to first by Slavens, Cali reached with a single to right. He was stranded, though, as Bohrofen struck out and Wegner popped out to second. Stoutenborough is up to 59 pitches.

T-5th: TCU 14, Arkansas 1

Davis flied out to center on the first pitch of the fifth inning. Nunez snapped Ledbetter’s streak of six straight retired by ripping a double down the right field line. Bowen grounded out to short, moving Nunez to third. That’s where he was stranded, a Taylor lined out to right to end the inning.

B-5th: TCU 14, Arkansas 3

Coll struck out to start the bottom of the fifth, but Polk followed with a slow roller up the middle. TCU’s second baseman got to it, but had no chance to throw him out, so it went down as an infield single. Jayson Jones pinch hit for Bolton and went down swinging. With two outs, Josenberger smacked a two-run homer to right – his second long ball of the day. Diggs grounded out to first to end the inning.

T-6th: TCU 16, Arkansas 3

Fontenelle got a blooper to left to fall for a leadoff single and then Richardson hit yet another opposite-field home run, giving him three home runs and 10 RBIs for the game. Ledbetter then tired the next three Horned Frogs. Byrne flied out to right, Silva lined out to short and Boyers flied out to center.

B-6th: TCU 16, Arkansas 4

As if the three home runs weren’t enough, Richardson made a diving stop to rob Slavens of a hit. Cali then grounded out to third. With two outs, Bohrofen hit a home run over the scoreboard to make it 16-4. Wegner popped out to first to end the inning. Stoutenborough is up to 96 pitches.

T-7th: TCU 17, Arkansas 4

Ben McLaughlin is now at third base. He handled a grounder by Davis for the first out of the inning. However, Nunez followed with a double down the right field line and then scored on Bowen’s RBI single. Taylor grounded into a fielder’s choice on which Arkansas got the out at first, but couldn’t turn the double play. Fontenelle then flied out to left. Wegner had his back on the wall when he caught it. Ledbetter is up to 64 pitches through five innings.

B-7th: TCU 17, Arkansas 5

Right-hander Hunter Hodges is now pitching for TCU. He promptly gave up a leadoff home run to Coll. Hodges then retired the next three Razorbacks, as Polk flied out to right-center, Jones flied out to left and Josenberger looked at strike three.

T-8th: TCU 17, Arkansas 5

Ledbetter kept Richardson in the park to start the eighth, but he still hit a chopper to third that McLaughlin couldn’t quite handle. It was ruled an infield single. After a fly out to center by Byrne, Silva hit a line drive to center for a single and Richardson went first to third. With runners on the corners, Boyers went down looking before Davis was plunked in a 2-2 count to load the bases. Ledbetter got out of the jam by striking out pinch hitter Logan Maxwell.

Lightning Delay: 5:24 p.m. CT

Play Resumes: 6:15 p.m. CT

B-8th: TCU 17, Arkansas 5

Right-hander Mason Speaker is now pitching for TCU. He struck out Diggs and got Reese Robinett to fly out to left on one pitch. With two outs, McLaughlin hit a line drive over the right fielder’s head for a single. He was stranded when Bohrofen struck out.

T-9th: TCU 20, Arkansas 5

Right-hander Ben Bybee is now pitching for Arkansas. He promptly gave up back-to-back singles to Bowen and Taylor. Fontenelle followed with a chopper to first that took a crazy hop over Robinett to turn it into an RBI single. With runners on the corners, Richardson singled up the middle for his 11th RBI of the game. Arkansas finally got an out by getting Byrne to ground out to second, but it scored another run. TCU stranded a runner on third, though, as Silva struck out and Boyers grounded out to first.

B-9th: TCU 20, Arkansas 5

Wegner hit a leadoff single and Polk ripped a one-out single to the right-center gap, but Coll, Jones and Neville each struck out, stranding runners on the corners.

FINAL: TCU 20, Arkansas 5

BOX SCORE – Arkansas vs TCU

Starting Lineups – Arkansas vs TCU

TCU Baseball	Arkansas Baseball
1. Elijah Nunez – CF	1. Tavian Josenberger – CF
2. Karson Bowen – C	2. Kendall Diggs – DH
3. Brayden Taylor – 3B	3. Brady Slavens – 1B
4. Cole Fontenelle – 1B	4. Caleb Cali – 3B
5. Tre Richardson – 2B	5. Jace Bohrofen – RF
6. Kurtis Byrne – DH	6. Jared Wegner – LF
7. Anthony Silva – SS	7. Harold Coll – 2B
8. Luke Boyers – LF	8. Parker Rowland – C
9. Austin Davis – RF	9. John Bolton – SS
Pitching: S-Sr. RHP Sam Stoutenborough	Pitching: So. LHP Hagen Smith

How to Watch the Fayetteville Regional

Friday, June 2

Game 1: Arkansas 13, Santa Clara 6
Game 2: TCU 12, Arizona 4

Saturday, June 3

Game 3: Santa Clara vs Arizona – 4 p.m. CT (ESPN+) – elimination game
Game 4: Arkansas vs TCU – 8 p.m. CT (ESPNU)

Sunday, June 4

Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 2 p.m. CT – elimination game
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 8 p.m. CT

Monday, June 5 (If Necessary)

Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD

Composite College Baseball Top 25

Unlike football and basketball, which have just the AP and Coaches Polls all year (with football adding the CFP rankings late in the season), college baseball has six major polls. Collegiate Baseball used to be included, but it was dropped due to severe inconsistencies in its rankings. Perfect Game also didn’t update its poll this week, so only four polls are used in these rankings.

To get a better feel for how teams stack up, BoAS has combined those rankings into a single top 25 by using a points system in which a No. 1 ranking = 25 points, No. 2 = 24 points and all the way to No. 25 = 1 point. We will update this each week throughout the season…

Team	Conference	Change	Points
1. Wake Forest	ACC	—	100
2. Florida	SEC	—	96
3. Vanderbilt	SEC	+4	90
4. Arkansas	SEC	—	87
5. Clemson	ACC	+1	86
t-6. LSU	SEC	-1	78.5
t-6. Stanford	Pac-12	-3	78.5
8. Coastal Carolina	Sun Belt	—	70
9. Miami (Fla.)	ACC	—	69
10. Virginia	ACC	—	63
11. Campbell	Big South	+4	60
12. East Carolina	AAC	—	52
13. Oklahoma State	Big 12	+4	48
14. Dallas Baptist	C-USA	—	43
15. UConn	Big East	-4	41
16. Southern Miss	Sun Belt	+8	38
17. Oregon State	Pac-12	-1	33
18. Tennessee	SEC	-5	29
19. Alabama	SEC	+7	21
t-20. Maryland	Big Ten	+8	18
t-20. South Carolina	SEC	+2	18
22. West Virginia	Big 12	-4	15
23. Indiana State	MVC	+4	13
t-24. Texas	Big 12	-4	11
t-24. TCU	Big 12	N/A	11

MOVED IN: Alabama (19), Maryland (t-20), Indiana State (23), TCU (t-24)
MOVED OUT: Auburn (19), Boston College (21), Duke (t-22), Kentucky (25)

Conference Breakdown

• SEC: 7
• ACC: 4
• Big 12: 4
• Pac-12: 2
• Sun Belt: 2
• AAC: 1
• Big East: 1
• Big South: 1
• Big Ten: 1
• C-USA: 1
• MVC: 1

***

More coverage of Arkansas baseball and the Fayetteville Regional from BoAS…

How Arkansas Avoided the Upset, Correcting ESPN + More from Win vs Santa Clara

Santa Clara’s 26 Home Games Don’t Hold a Candle to What Arkansas Has in Store

Rest Only Part of Remedy for Hogs’ Slumping Sluggers + More Tidbits on Fayetteville Regional

Economist Gives No. 3 Arkansas 15th-Best CWS Odds, But That Isn’t the Slight It Seems

“We Got a Great Draw”: TCU Fans Salivate at Prospect of Fayetteville Regional

FAYETTEVILLE — It may have been against a 4 seed, but Dave Van Horn wasn’t messing around in Arkansas baseball’s opening game at the Fayetteville Regional.

The veteran coach pulled his starter in the third inning and turned things over to Will McEntire, who gave the No. 3 Razorbacks a starter-like outing out of the bullpen in their 13-6 win over Santa Clara at a packed Baum-Walker Stadium.

McEntire inherited a two-run deficit, but by the time he walked off the mound for the last time in the eighth inning, his offense had put up 13 runs and Arkansas held a comfortable lead.

“We wouldn’t have won if he hadn’t come in there and slowed them down and gave us an opportunity to gain a little confidence and score some runs,” Van Horn said. “If you are an offense and you are just trying to chase two runs and then three, four or five, it’s tough.”

Giving up three earned runs on eight hits and one walk with only two strikeouts in five innings doesn’t exactly jump off the page, but McEntire kept the Broncos at bay by getting them to strand a runner in scoring position in each of his first four innings.

The moment that Van Horn specifically mentioned after the game came in the sixth inning, when Santa Clara had a runner on third with just one out and McEntire induced back-to-back pop ups to end the threat. Instead of cutting the lead in half, the Broncos gave up another five runs in the bottom of the inning, essentially sealing the victory for Arkansas.

“The mission was just keep it where it was and let our offense get going,” McEntire said. “Once our offense did get going and we got that lead, just eat up innings and pass it on to the next guy to finish off the game.”

Santa Clara baseball coach Rusty Filter admitted that McEntire gave his lineup fits early on because they weren’t used to seeing someone with his repertoire.

After going 2 for 9 the first time through the order, though, the Broncos at least saw the ball better and went 4 for 8 the second time seeing him — but those hits resulted in only one run.

“I think what he did is he’s got the cut fastball, throws the curveball, tries to elevate the fastball with two strikes, and his execution was really good early on,” Filter said. “We were able to get guys in position, we just couldn’t win the spot, and he was able to do that.”

With multiple guys warming up in the bullpen, it looked like McEntire might be done after the seventh inning. He had thrown just 64 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, but Arkansas extended its lead to 13-3 in the home half of the seventh.

Considering Van Horn’s desire to pitch him multiple times this weekend, it would have made sense to pull the right-hander at that point, but McEntire went back out. He threw another 18 pitches and recorded only one out while allowing a couple of runs before he was finally relieved.

Even at 82 pitches, McEntire told reporters he would “find a way” to pitch again in the Fayetteville Regional, which echoed what he had already told his coach.

“He was joking around out there with me that he would be ready for Saturday,” Van Horn said. “I told him that tomorrow’s Saturday. He said, ‘Yeah, I know.’ Maybe Sunday, maybe Monday. We’ll see how it goes. He likes throwing and he doesn’t use a lot of energy. He doesn’t try to throw 95. He can throw hard, but he just pitches in the upper 80s, 90, 91 and move it around a little bit.”

It’s also worth noting that right-hander Brady Tygart was warming up at one point before the score got out of hand in favor of Arkansas. He could start the Razorbacks’ third game this weekend, but Van Horn said that with him being 100% healed from a UCL strain that caused him to miss two months of the season, he could also close a game, if needed.

Left-hander Zack Morris was up and down in the bullpen all game, too, and he’s been one of Arkansas’ top relievers the last couple of weeks. Even right-hander Cody Adcock, who threw the final 1 2/3 innings, leads the team in total appearances this season.

It was abundantly clear that Van Horn respected Santa Clara and carried his one-game-at-a-time attitude from SEC play into the postseason.

Fourth-Inning Breakthrough

Even though it loaded the bases in the third inning, Arkansas was still looking for its first hit entering the fourth inning — but that’s not to say it hadn’t had any hard contact up to that point.

That bases-loaded jam ended when Brady Slavens hit a sharp grounder that left the bat with a 106 mph exit velocity, but right to the first baseman. In the fourth, things started to fall.

“I think even though we didn’t have any hits through three, we still stayed confident,” Tavian Josenberger said. “We did hit a lot of balls hard right at people, so we stayed with the approach and finally got some big hits.”

A leadoff walk by Caleb Cali chased Santa Clara starter Cole Kitchen and reliever Skylar Hales — who has touched 100 mph on the radar gun — took over. He struck out Jace Bohrofen start his outing, but then Jared Wegner muscled a single the other way to break up the no-hitter.

Parker Rowland — he of the .176 batting average entering the day — followed with a blooper that found grass in right field, driving in the Razorbacks’ first run of the day, and John Bolton tied it up with a sacrifice fly. Both of those guys added another RBI later in the game, despite having by far the fewest RBIs of any Arkansas regular.

After a Josenberger single and Peyton Holt walk to load the bases, Kendall Diggs hit a blooper of his own toward left-center with two outs. However, center fielder Coleman Brigman didn’t get a great read on it and couldn’t make the diving catch.

“That’s just a tough play in a new ballpark — a big swing and not much contact,” Santa Clara baseball coach Rusty Filter said. “Coleman Brigman has been a great defensive player for us all year. He came in and had to dive for it, and he almost caught it. He did break back, and then broke in to make the play. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to get there.”

Diggs is now 8 for 17 (.471) with 27 RBIs when batting in bases-loaded situations this season, as his hit cleared the bases to give Arkansas a 5-2 lead. He also leads the team with 61 RBIs this season.

“Every time he comes up in a big situation like that, it seems like he comes through,” Josenberger said. “It wasn’t a big surprise. It wasn’t the usual liner in the gap or ball over the wall but got the job done.”

Roughing Up Santa Clara’s Bullpen

Looking over Santa Clara’s statistics before the Fayetteville Regional, it appeared that one of the Broncos’ strengths was their bullpen. After all, they landed two relievers on the All-WCC second team and a third earned honorable mention accolades.

Chasing starter Cole Kitchen in the fourth meant the Razorbacks got an early look at those guys and the first out of the pen was Skylar Hales and his triple-digit velocity. Despite touching 97-98 mph, he was on the mound for the aforementioned breakthrough inning by the Razorbacks.

He was charged with four earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out just one in two innings.

“When they brought in Hales, we knew exactly what we were getting, but we get that in the SEC every weekend,” Van Horn said. “We’re used to it. He’s got a really good arm. He’s going to pitch in the big leagues if he stays healthy.”

The Razorbacks also racked up four runs against left-hander Nick Sando, with the first two of those coming on a Tavian Josenberger opposite-field home run.

It was Josenberger’s eighth long ball of the season, but just his second while hitting from the right side of the plate. It came just a couple of pitches after he fouled off a bunt attempt, as Van Horn had given him the sign to try to bunt for a hit because they wanted to put some pressure on Santa Clara’s defense. Needless to say, the coach was okay with the result.

“Coach gave me bunt and I didn’t get the bunt down,” Josenberger said. “I mean, looking back, it’s a good thing now. I got a fastball middle-away and put a pretty good swing on it and put it in the bullpen.”

The other two runs charged to Sando actually came around to score with right-hander Blake Hammond on the mound. One of the two second-team all-conference selections, along with Hales, he plunked the first batter he faced and later issued three straight bases-loaded walks to put the game out of reach for Arkansas.

In all, the Broncos’ pitching staff issued a season-high 10 walks and hit another three batters, leading to Rusty Filter describing it as a “very uncharacteristic” outing for his pitchers.

“We knew going in that Arkansas was probably the only team we’ve played all year that sees more pitches per plate appearance than we do,” Filter said. “Really good job being patient and getting their pitch. We were unable to get the count into our favor and stay ahead in the count and they made us pay for it.”

Hunter Hollan’s Short Outing

The reason Arkansas needed such a long outing from Will McEntire is because Hunter Hollan turned in his shortest start of the season.

The left-hander was in trouble from the jump, giving up three straight one-out hits in the first inning. The last of those was a two-run single by Efrain Manzo that put Santa Clara up 2-0.

He also had to work around a one-out walk in the second inning and he issued a leadoff walk in the third. It was after a groundout following that last walk that Van Horn pulled Hollan and turned the game over to McEntire.

“I felt like they were on Hunter Hollan pretty good,” Van Horn said. “He was mixing, throwing strikes, but they just fouled a lot of pitches off and did a great job and got his pitch count up. We just felt like we needed to go right-handed against them.”

It was the fewest innings (2 1/3) and pitches (49) Hollan had thrown all season, with his previous lows coming in his last start — 2 2/3 innings and 55 pitches at Vanderbilt int he regular-season finale.

Santa Clara had a right-handed heavy lineup, plus came into the game hitting 15 points higher against lefties than righties, but the move may have been twofold. Not only did it get a right-hander in the game, but Hollan might be able to pitch again this weekend.

Van Horn told reporters that one reason Hollan made his first relief appearance of the season at the SEC Tournament was because he might throw twice in the regional, as he has the ability to bounce back — especially if the Razorbacks have to play the “if necessary” game on Monday.

Tyler, er, Peyton Holt Injury Update

One of the best stories with the Arkansas baseball team down the stretch of the season has been the play of Peyton Holt, an in-state product who was inserted into the lineup when preseason All-American Peyton Stovall was shut down with a season-ending injury.

He turned in another solid game Friday, reaching base four times in a 1-for-3 performance that extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Over that stretch, he’s slashed .528/.614/.722 with seven RBIs and 12 runs — leading to Van Horn moving him up into the 2-hole against Santa Clara.

In the field, Holt made a leaping grab to rob JonJon Berring of an RBI single and end the fourth inning. It proved to be a huge play, as it kept the score 2-0 and Arkansas immediately followed with five runs.

HOLT GOT HOPS! pic.twitter.com/iMPXbp718t

— Arkansas Baseball (@RazorbackBSB) June 2, 2023

“Peyton Holt got up pretty good and robbed that base hit there with two outs,” Van Horn said. “It kept them off the board again and we slowly started flipping the momentum.”

Despite his incredibly high level of play over the last several weeks, the crew calling the game on the ESPN-Plus broadcast apparently had a hard time remembering his name, repeatedly calling him “Tyler.”

That got Arkansas baseball fans up in arms, but they eventually had bigger things to worry about, as Holt had to leave the game half an inning early because of an injury.

Replays showed him in obvious discomfort after rounding first base on his line out to left that ended the eighth inning, so Harold Coll played second base in the top of the ninth. Van Horn sounded optimistic that he’d be able to play Saturday, though, when asked about Holt afterward.

“I think he’s got something with a lower back or something going on, so we just got him out,” Van Horn said. “He wanted to stay in, but I just took him out.”

Up Next in the Fayetteville Regional

With the win, the Razorbacks move into the winner’s bracket. They’ll face TCU, which beat Arizona 12-4 in Friday’s nightcap, with a chance to get in the driver’s seat of the Fayetteville Regional with the coveted 2-0 start.

Including their win over the Wildcats, the Horned Frogs are 38-22 this season. They are one of the hottest teams in the country, winning seven straight and 13 of their last 14.

Left-hander Hagen Smith expected to get the ball for Arkansas. A first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, the sophomore is 8-1 with two saves and a 2.69 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 67 innings this season. Opponents are hitting just .199 against him.

“It’s a dominant left-handed fastball with some attitude to go with it, in a good way,” TCU baseball coach Kirk Saarloos said about Smith. “He’s very confident in the fastball. We’re going to have our work cut out for us and we know that.”

Saarloos declined to announce his starter during his postgame press conference.

First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and it will be televised on ESPNU and streamed on ESPN-Plus. The elimination game between Arizona and Santa Clara is set for 2 p.m. and will also be streamed on ESPN-Plus.

Other Arkansas Baseball Tidbits

• The announced attendance of the Arkansas vs Santa Clara game was 11,078. That is the largest crowd of the year at Baum-Walker Stadium, just topping the 11,076 that were at Game 2 of the Tennessee series on April 15. “I would say the atmosphere here was awesome,” Santa Clara right fielder Michael O’Hara said. “It’s one-of-a-kind. It’s a special thing for sure.”
• Officially, John Bolton was just 1 for 2 on Friday. However, he did a little bit of everything at the plate, as he also walked, was hit by a pitch and notched a sacrifice fly. He also made a great play in the hole at shortstop, making a strong throw despite falling down as he did it.
• After hinting he might do it at the SEC Tournament, Dave Van Horn did shuffle his lineup some for the Fayetteville Regional. Peyton Holt was moved up from the 7-hole to the 2-hole, while Jace Bohrofen and Jared Wegner slid down into the 6- and 7-hole, respectively.
• In addition to his 10-game hitting streak, Peyton Holt has now reached safely in 12 straight games. That’s actually the second-longest active streak on the team behind Jared Wegner, who went 2 for 4 and walk to extend his on-base streak to 13 games.
• With two long balls Friday, Arkansas baseball now has 84 home runs as a team this season. That moved them past the 2017 team and and into a tie with the 1999 team for the sixth-most on the UA’s all-time single-season chart.
• Home plate umpire Billy Van Raaphorst had to be replaced following Caleb Cali’s seventh-inning home run because the heat got to him. Linus Baker, one of the umpires for the nightcap, filled in for the last couple of innings.
• Santa Clara baseball coach Rusty Filter has actually made several trips to Arkansas in the past because his parents have lived in Harrison. His father passed away about three years ago, but his mother is still there and made the trip to Fayetteville for the game. “Obviously she is a Rusty Filter fan first, (but) she loves her Hogs, man,” Filter said. “She loves football, she loves baseball. She’s all about it. So I think it was nice for her — wanted us to win, but just a great experience and…a special moment for me.”

Arkansas vs Santa Clara Highlights (Fayetteville Regional)

Arkansas vs Santa Clara Postgame Interviews

Arkansas vs Santa Clara Box Score (Fayetteville Regional)

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