Fans were nervous when Arkansas fell behind the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday afternoon but Christian Franklin’s diving catch jump-started a 13-8 win.
“He made made an incredible play,” Dave Van Horn said later. “He was stretched out as far as he could go.”
As so often happens in baseball, Franklin came up to bat shortly after that and hammered a homer and the Razorbacks proceeded to have a parade around the diamond the rest of the way.
“Bottom line, this time of year, find a way to win and hopefully we’ll do a little better tomorrow,” Van Horn said.
Now they have to get past a Nebraska team that downed Northeastern, who was eliminated by NJIT on Saturday afternoon.
No. 1 Arkansas, hosting a regional for the fourth consecutive postseason and for the ninth time overall, embarks on its journey to the College World Series against the New Jersey Institute of Technology at 2 p.m.
Arkansas GameDay with Tye Richardson at Walk-On’s in Fort Smith starts at 7 p.m. leading up to the Razorback pregame with Phil Elson and Bubba Carpenter at 7:30.
You can hear all the action online HERE or on ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
Hawg Reaction will start approximately 30 minutes after the game with and will be available on ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in addition to the other stations.
The Razorbacks, the SEC regular-season and tournament champion, earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Arkansas is a top-eight national seed for the fifth time, also receiving a top-eight seed in 2004, 2007, 2018 and 2019.
The winner of tonight’s game will advance to play at 8 p.m. Sunday night with a chance to get one more win and secure an expected trip to Omaha for the College World Series.
But first things first and that’s the Huskers.
NCAA Fayetteville Regional Schedule
Friday, June 4
Game 1 – Arkansas 13, NJIT 8
Game 2 – Nebraska 8, Northeastern 6
Saturday, June 5
Game 3 – NJIT 3, Northeastern 2
Game 4 – Nebraska vs. Arkansas, 8:00 pm
Sunday, June 6
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 2:00 pm
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 8:00 pm
Monday, June 7 (If Necessary)
Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – 6:00 pm (time subject to change)
On TV
Saturday’s game between Arkansas and Nebraska will stream nationally on ESPN3 with Steve Lenox (play-by-play) and Lance Cormier (analyst) on the call. Fans can watch via WatchESPN or through the ESPN app.
Statewide Radio Affiliates
Conway – KASR-FM 92.7
El Dorado – KELD-AM 107.1 (FM Translator)
Fayetteville – KQSM-FM 92.1
Forrest City – KXJK-AM 950
Forrest City – KXJK-FM 106.5
Fort Smith – KERX-FM 95.3
Little Rock – KABZ-FM 103.7
Marshall – KBCN-FM 104.3
Mena – KTTG-FM 96.3
Rogers – KURM-AM 790
Rogers – KURM-FM 100.3
Stuttgart – KWAK-FM 105.5
Texarkana, TX – KKTK-AM 1400
