Well, that wasn’t ideal.
Arkansas’ inaugural game in the College World Series was a pitcher’s duel that did not go its way. While the arms were solid overall for the Hogs, the bats that had been alive for the entirety of the season fell silent at the absolute worst moment. As such, the Razorbacks will now have to trek their way through the loser’s bracket if they want to win their first national title in school history.
We all knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. The Arkansas baseball program has seemingly been snakebitten for its entire existence, so getting over the hump and achieving the ultimate goal was always going to take an otherworldly effort. It’s safe to say that that didn’t happen last night in Omaha.
Here are my thoughts from LSU 4, Arkansas 1.
The Root Cause
Zach Root just didn’t have his best stuff yesterday evening. While his first inning was a breeze as he got through the top of the LSU order without any damage, it was the second frame that ultimately was his demise.
It started off innocently enough with a dominant strikeout of the Tigers’ cleanup hitter Steven Milam. A walk to Luis Hernandez on four pitches then opened the door for disaster, with another free pass to Derek Curiel, which came after he started the at-bat with two consecutive strikes, further complicating the situation. Not everything was lost at that point, but when Daniel Dickinson laid down a perfect bunt down the third base side for a single to load the bases, it was officially time to be alarmed.
The next three batters all drove in runs for LSU. Chris Stanfield laced a single to left field to score the Tigers’ first run. Michael Braswell III was hit on his back foot with the bases loaded to make it 2-0, and then Josh Pearson beat out a potential double play ball to keep the inning alive and also plate another run. The score was 3-0, and Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn had seen enough. Root had only thrown 38 pitches, but he was done, as Van Horn turned to the bullpen to try and get out of the jam.
To say that Root’s performance was disappointing would be an understatement. There were a lot of superlatives thrown around describing this game in the last week, with the pitching matchup between Root and LSU ace and potential number one overall pick Kade Anderson being the top among them. Only half of that equation lived up to their potential, with Anderson throwing seven innings of one-run baseball against an Arkansas lineup that led all power conferences in runs per game.
While Root didn’t need to be perfect, he definitely needed to be on his A-game. The second Van Horn realized he wasn’t, he called an audible, which, admittedly, ended up being the correct call due to what his replacement ended up accomplishing.
Magnificent Gaeckle
If there’s any silver lining to last night’s effort, it’s Gabe Gaeckle. After Root exited, Gaeckle got out of the trouble he was thrown into and proceeded to provide the Hogs with six innings of excellent pitching out of the ‘pen. He struck out 10 — at one point he fanned five Tigers hitters in a row — and landed 60 of his 90 pitches for strikes. Only one run crossed the plate while he was on the hill as he did an excellent job of keeping Arkansas in the game.
Gaeckle’s journey this season has truly been tumultuous. From starting the year in the weekend rotation to being bumped out of it after several disappointing performances in April, he’s overcome a ton of adversity. Ever since that transition to the bullpen, which occurred after a start against Georgia on April 12 that saw him give up five runs through just two innings, Gaeckle’s been fantastic. Including last night against LSU, he’s only allowed six runs since that fateful game in April. Outstanding stuff.
It’s a shame that his efforts couldn’t be rewarded with a comeback victory. It’s the least that the rest of the team could’ve done.
Offensive Malpractice
Of all the times for the Arkansas bats to fall silent, last night might’ve been the absolute worst moment.
The Razorbacks recorded just four hits against LSU pitching, with Charles Davalan, Wehiwa Aloy, Cam Kozeal, and Reese Robinett all delivering one base knock apiece. Robinett’s lone hit of the night resulted in Arkansas’ lone run of the evening, when he smashed a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Other than that, there was nothing. The pitching trio of Anderson, Chase Shores, and Casan Evans had Arkansas off balance and uncomfortable all night. Any adjustments that the hitters attempted to make fell flat over and over again as the Tigers continued to pour quality strikes into the zone. To see a potent offense completely fall on its face for three hours was certainly not a pleasant sight for any Arkansas fan.
Last night’s lackluster effort at the plate continued a trend for the Razorbacks’ bats in Omaha. Dating back to 2022, the most recent instance that the team made it to the College World Series, the Hogs have scored just four runs over their last 27 innings at Charles Schwab Stadium. In the words of Josh Teeter on X, “That’s rough.”
Six of the hitters in Arkansas’ lineup last night have a batting average of at least .300, with three of those players having one that’s .345 or higher. If last night’s game was the first Arkansas baseball game you’ve watched all season, then you’d have no idea that that was the case and that this offense was as awesome as it actually is. And frankly, that’s a real shame.
Backs Against the Wall
Only 12 teams have ever gone on to win the College World Series after losing their first game in Omaha, with one of those schools being the Oregon State squad that beat the Razorbacks in the CWS Final in 2018. There’s no doubt that the odds are against them, but that’s how it’s always been for Arkansas baseball. Now would be as good a time as ever to buck the trends and come out on the other side victorious.
A date with Murray State, the Cinderella of this year’s tournament, awaits on Monday afternoon. Win that, and Arkansas lives another day to face LSU or UCLA. Lose, and the questions about whether this program can actually win it all will persist at least another year.
Getting out of the loser’s bracket shouldn’t be that difficult of a task, all things considered. Murray State’s a great story, sure, but Arkansas is far and away the more complete team. From there, my confidence in the Hogs either beating UCLA or getting revenge over LSU is honestly fairly high. This offense can’t be kept quiet for the entirety of their stay in Omaha. There’s just no way. Right?
Getting to the College World Series Final is an entirely different story. Triumphing over whoever comes out of the winner’s bracket twice will be tough and is improbable. But that’s what happens when you start off arguably the biggest College World Series in your school’s history on the back foot.