Razorbacks almost invent way to unbelievable loss Saturday

(Zoom connection for press conference video was not very stable, but was all that was available.)

This is a loss that will sting for awhile.

Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, Arkansas had an 8-4 lead over Georgia and still managed to find a way to lose the game, 9-8. The Razorbacks completely collapsed at the end that somehow probably shouldn’t be that surprising in this series.

“It’s one of the tougher (losses) because of where we are,” Hogs coach Dave Van Horn said later. “We fought like crazy. We got issues and still almost won the game.”

This one really came down to pitching at the end. Hagen Smith started and pitched five innings and had the lead. He gave up three hits, a pair of runs, but struck out eight.

Gage Wood was next and he simply walked seven of the 10 batters he faced and gave up three earned runs on just two hits in his 1.2 innings of work. That ended up being costly because they brought in Christian Foutch and he lasted just 1.1 innings.

And Ben Bybee came on to finish the game, faced two hitters and gave up a grand slam in the ninth, then a solo home run that walked off that ninth as the Bulldogs walked off a sweep over the Hogs.

“That threw us in a bind there,” Van Horn said about Wood needing to last a lot longer than 1.2 innings. “It put a lot of pressure on Christian because Gage threw 52 pitches and got just four outs. It made it a lot tougher.”

It was a crazy game. Van Horn got thrown out in the seventh inning after questioning a pitch that struck out Jace Bohrofen that replay showed was clearly low. They were already without starting catcher Parker Rowland or outfielder Jared Wegner, who was one of the biggest clutch hitters. Then they lost center fielder Tavian Josenberger with a hamstring injury in this game.

“We didn’t finish,” Van Horn said. “You gotta be able to finish the game.”

He wasn’t around for that finish after home plate umpire Christopher Griffith had already admitted he made a bad call on a pitch that struck out Ben McLaughlin earlier and ran Van Horn quickly on the Bohrofen strikeout.

“There was a lot of frustration in the dugout,” Van Horn said.

Now the fans are frustrated, too, which is understandable, but maybe a little inevitable. The injuries made it a little predictable. They are just trying to make it to the postseason.

“We’re just trying to patch this thing together until we can get all our guys back,” Van Horn said. “We’re just trying to win enough games to get to a regional. There’s going to be a lot of conference games played without our guys.

“We’ve gotta find a way to win.”

That will start Tuesday night with a non-conference game in Springfield, Mo., against Missouri State. That game will be televised on SEC Network+.

Texas A&M will be in town next weekend for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series.