Brady Tygart, bullpen set program record, but Hogs come up short against OSU

ARLINGTON, Texas — No. 2 Arkansas roke a single-game program record for strikeouts for the second night in a row but lost, 2-1, in an extra-inning heartbreaker against Oklahoma State (4-2) Saturday night at Globe Life Field.

In front of a crowd of 16,271, the Razorbacks and Cowboys battled it out for 14 innings, marking the longest game ever played — collegiate or professional — at the home of the Texas Rangers, which opened in 2020.

The Arkansas pitching staff, which racked up 23 strikeouts in last night’s win against No. 7 Oregon State to break the previous program record of 18, tallied 25 strikeouts in Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma State to eclipse Friday’s record.

Right-hander Brady Tygart struck out six in his quality start, while relievers Koty Frank (5), Stone Hewlett (1), Jake Faherty (1), Gabe Gaeckle (6) and Colin Fisher (6) combined for the Razorbacks’ next 19 strikeouts of the ballgame.

Tygart fanned six over six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and two walks in his strong start on the mound. Frank took over for Tygart in the seventh and worked 1.2 innings in relief, recording all five of his outs via strikeout.

Koty Frank (Gunnar Rathbun / Arkansas Communications)

A pair of true freshmen in Gaeckle and Fisher also displayed dominant stuff on the mound. Gaeckle punched out six in his 2.2 shutout relief innings, while Fisher, who took the hard-luck loss, struck out six in his 2.1 innings of relief work.

Oklahoma State, however, would outlast Arkansas’ historic pitching performance. Nine-hole hitter Lane Forsythe laid down a suicide squeeze bunt on an 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the 14th inning to bring home the game-winning run from third.

The Razorbacks stranded 15 base runners, including Ty Wilmsmeyer at third in the ninth inning and Jayson Jones at third in the 13th. Arkansas finished the ballgame 2-for-24 with runners on base and 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

Jared Sprague-Lott had three of Arkansas’ eight hits, including a pair of doubles, while Kendall Diggs had two base knocks and the team’s lone RBI of the game. Diggs’ RBI single to right in the top of the fifth scored Sprague-Lott from third, giving Arkansas its only run and lead of the night. The Hogs led, 1-0, until the bottom of the ninth when the Cowboys scored one to send the game to extra innings.

Arkansas closes out the Kubota College Baseball Series tomorrow afternoon against Michigan. First pitch between the Razorbacks and Wolverines is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, on FloBaseball.