FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Matt Hall wanted nothing more than to finish what he started.
The national leader in strikeouts did just that, throwing a one-hitter to help Missouri State beat Arkansas 3-1 on Saturday to even the NCAA super regional series.
Arkansas pitcher Keaton McKinney tries to throw a runner out at first during the first inning in a super regional of the NCAA college baseball tournament game against Missouri State, in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, June 6, 2015.
Arkansas pitcher Keaton McKinney tries to throw a runner out at first during the first inning in a super regional of the NCAA college baseball tournament game against Missouri State, in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, June 6, 2015. | Danny Johnston AP Photo
Hall (12-2) threw 125 pitches in the searing heat and in front of a record crowd of 12,167 in Baum Stadium, the last 16 coming in the ninth inning as the Bears (49-11) rebounded from an 18-4 loss less than 24 hours earlier.
“I wasn’t really worried about the crowd, really,” Hall said. “I just wanted to go out there and play for my team; I wanted to play another day.”
The two teams will play a third game Sunday for a spot in the College World Series. Missouri State is seeking its second trip to Omaha — its first since 2003 — while the Razorbacks (39-23) are looking for their eighth overall and first since 2012.
Arkansas had 18 runs and 18 hits in the series opener, the third most runs in an NCAA Tournament game in school history — with eight coming against Missouri State ace Jon Harris.
The Razorbacks didn’t fare nearly as well against the second of the Bears’ aces on Saturday, with Hall allowing only a first-inning hit to Bobby Wernes before settling in to retire 16 straight batters at one point. The junior left hander finished with eight strikeouts, raising his total for the season to 171 in 125 innings.
“We had a big-game pitcher on the mound, and he delivered,” Missouri State coach Keith Guttin said.
Hall appeared to tire late in the game, walking the leadoff batter in each of the final three innings, but induced a key double play in the eighth and allowed only one unearned run — striking out Arkansas’ Tyler Spoon to end the dominating performance.
“I guess the story of the game is just we couldn’t figure out Matt Hall,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “… We had a couple of opportunities, but being the pitcher he is, he got out of it.”
Missouri State had a 19-game winning streak ended in Friday’s series opener, and it wasted little time trying to make amends for the blowout loss on Saturday. Blake Graham had the first of two RBIs in the game with a single to put the Bears up 1-0 in the second, and his fielder’s choice scored Eric Cheray to stretch the lead to 3-0 in the third.
Arkansas starter Keaton McKinney (6-2) lasted only 1 1-3 innings before being pulled after allowing three hits and three walks. Jackson Lowery pitched well in relief for the Razorbacks, striking out six in 6 2-3 innings, but Arkansas was unable to find an answer for Hall.
The Razorbacks’ lone run came when Joe Serrano scored following a two-out error in the seventh. Hall then forced a double play in the eighth and pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth to close out the win and set up Sunday’s series finale.
“Every inning, we thought, ‘This is the inning we’re going to get to him,'” Wernes said. “He just did a real good job of not letting that happen.”
— Associated Press —