Arkansas knocked out of College World Series in messy, heartbreaking fashion

Arkansas knocked out of College World Series in messy, heartbreaking fashion
The Arkansas Razorbacks were a steamroller in college baseball this spring. The Louisiana State Tigers were one of just a few teams they'd been able to leave in their wake, beating their SEC rival three times in four opportunities.
So when they met for a fifth time in the College World Series, it was equally likely we'd see fireworks or heartbreak. Unfortunately for the Razorbacks, they served up both.
Arkansas battled back from an early deficit to take a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. A win would force a rubber match between conference foes in Omaha. A loss would send the Tigers to the College World Series final and the Razorbacks back to Fayetteville. After a strikeout, single and walk put the winning run at the plate with one out, a grounder to shortstop could have been a game-ending double play. Instead Wehiwa Aloy made the safe choice and opted to force out the lead runner at third.
That brought up LSU catch Luis Hernandez. He lined a 1-0 pitch to left field, well-hit but within Razorback Charles Davalan's range. But a misstep upped the degree of difficulty. By virtue of two misplaced inches of a glove, the game was tied.
Arkansas could have recovered from a double that could have easily been a game-saving catch. One more out would send the game to extra innings. Instead, well, game of inches.
Jared Jones, who homered in the eighth inning to tie the game at three-all, lined a ball up the middle and just off the tip of second baseman Cam Koziel's glove. With that, Arkansas was done.
This was a program that went 50-15 this season. The Razorbacks won 20 games against SEC competition, shredding some of the best baseball teams the NCAA had to offer. They only lost to one team once the NCAA Tournament began.
Unfortunately, that one team was LSU. The Tigers were tailor made for the moment. Arkansas met the end of its season in one of the most college baseball ways possible -- via a brutally timed deflection off the tip of a glove.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

San Francisco Chronicle​

an hour ago

• San Francisco Chronicle​

Bay Area sports calendar, June 20-22

BASEBALL BOXING GOLF MOTOR SPORTS WNBA SATURDAY BASEBALL 9a Detroit at Tampa Bay MLB Net 1p Boston at Giants NBCSBA (680, 104.5) 1p Texas at Pittsburgh FS1 4p N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia Channel 2 Channel 40 4:35p Minors: Glacier Ridge at Ballers (860) 7p Washington at L.A. Dodgers MLB Net 7p Cleveland at A's NBCSCA (960) COLLEGE BASEBALL College World Series 4p Finals, Game 1: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU ESPN ESPNU FOOTBALL Noon Women's NFC Championship: Washington at Texas ESPN2 1p CFL: Ottawa at Calgary CBSSN 4p CFL: Winnipeg at British Columbia CBSSN GOLF HORSE RACING 6a Royal Ascot Channel 11 Channel 3 Channel 8 9:30a America's Day At the Races FS1 MOTOR SPORTS MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE 1p New York at Philadelphia ESPN 4p Boston at Maryland FS1 SOCCER 4p CONCACAF Gold Cup: Curaçao vs. Canada FS1 4:30p NWSL: Bay FC at NJ/NY Gotham Ion 5p USL: Oakland Roots at Birmingham Channel 36 6p FIFA Club World Cup: River Plate vs. Monterrey TBS TruTV 7p CONCACAF Gold Cup: Honduras vs. El Salvador FS1 SOFTBALL VOLLEYBALL WNBA 10a Phoenix at Chicago Channel 7 Channel 10 5p Los Angeles at Minnesota NBA TV SUNDAY BASEBALL 8:30a Baltimore at N.Y. Yankees Roku 10:30a Texas at Pittsburgh MLB Net 1p Boston at Giants NBCSBA (680, 104.5) 1p Cleveland at A's NBCSCA (960) 1:05p Minors: Glacier Ridge at Ballers (860) 1:30p Kansas City at San Diego, joined in progress MLB Net 4p N.Y. Mets at Philadelphia ESPN ESPN2 BASKETBALL 10a BIG3: Baltimore Channel 5 Channel 13 Channel 46 12:30p BIG3: Baltimore Vice COLLEGE WORLD SERIES 11:30a Finals, Game 2: Coastal Carolina vs. LSU Channel 7 Channel 10 ESPNU FOOTBALL 2:30p AF1 playoffs: SW Kansas at Nasville Vice 5p IFL: Arizona at Bay Area Panthers NBCSCA (1050) GOLF HORSE RACING 9:30a America's Day at the Races FS1 11a America's Day at the Races FS2 1p America's Day at the Races FS1 MOTOR SPORTS NBA FINALS 5p Game 7: Indiana at Oklahoma City (if necessary) Channel 7 Channel 10 (1050) PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE 9a Utah at Denver Channel 7 Channel 10 SOCCER SOFTBALL VOLLEYBALL WNBA Noon Indiana at Las Vegas ESPN 4p New York at Seattle NBA TV 5:30p Connecticut at Valkyries Channel 44 (95.7)

USA Today

an hour ago

• USA Today

Ohio State men's hockey releases 2025-2026 nonconference schedule

The Ohio State men's hockey team surprised a lot of people with their unexpectedly high level of play this past season. The Buckeyes lost a lot of key players but found a way to plug in more talent and shock a lot of people by making it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game en route to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Things didn't end all that well on the national scale in the postseason, but it was still an overachieving year in which OSU went 24-12-2 overall and finished third in the League with a 14-9-1 record. It was a fun season, one that it hopes it can build momentum off of and take it into this upcoming season. And while we won't know the Big Ten schedule until a future date, the program did announce its nonconference schedule this past week, so if you are an ice hockey fan, and one that loves to watch the Scarlet and Gray, you've got something to look forward to. All told, the Buckeyes will host five nonconference games and go on the road for another five. Here's how it all plays out prior to hitting the conference for Big Ten play: 2025-26 Ohio State Men's Hockey Oct. 10-11 – Northern MichiganOct. 17-18 – at UConnOct. 24-25 – Sacred Heart UniversityNov. 28-29 – at Arizona State UniversityJan. 2 – Bowling GreenJan. 3 – at Bowling Green It won't be an easy road for Ohio State -- it never is in the Big Ten -- but hopefully, the Buckeyes can win their fair share of these nonconference games to prepare for what's to come in conference and beyond. And while we are at it, the deadline to renew season tickets is 4 p.m. ET June 30, and new season ticket packages are available now. For more information or to view available seating options, go online or contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office by calling 1-800-GOBUCKS or by emailing Other ticket options including groups, miniplans, and single games, will be available for purchase later this summer. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Yahoo

2 hours ago

• Yahoo

Alec Burleson's sacrifice fly

Why Arkansas's elimination from College World Series is 'heartbreaking' | Baseball Bar-B-Cast Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and senior MLB analyst Jordan Shusterman react to Arkansas blowing a 5-3 lead in the 9th inning of their second game against LSU in the College World Series semifinal. Hear the full conversation on the 'Baseball Bar-B-Cast' podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen. 2:38 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing