Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, right fielder Heston Kjerstad and shortstop Casey Martin with the media after being eliminated from the College World Series on Monday.
Tadlock, players after beating Hogs to advance at Omaha
Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock and his players recapping the 5-4 win over Arkansas on Monday in an elimination game at the College World Series in Omaha.
Red Raiders’ long ball knocks Hogs out of College World Series
OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas fell victim to the home run ball Monday and was eliminated from the College World Series by Texas Tech, 5-4, inside TD Ameritrade Park.
The Razorbacks’ appearance in the College World Series caps the program’s 10th trip to Omaha, and its sixth under coach Dave Van Horn.
Arkansas ends the season with a 46-20 record, tying for the second-most wins in a season under Van Horn.
2019 College World Series (Day 3)
Game 1: Michigan 5, Texas Tech 3 | Box Score
Game 2: Florida State 1, Arkansas 0 | Box Score
Game 3: Vanderbilt 3, Louisville 1 | Box Score
Game 4: Mississippi State 5, Auburn 4 | Box Score
Game 5: Texas Tech 5, Arkansas 4 | Box Score
Sophomore Heston Kjerstad jumpstarted the Hog offense with a solo opposite-field home run in the second inning, giving the Razorbacks their first run of this year’s CWS.
Kjerstad now has 17 home runs this year, which ties him for 10th most in a single season in Arkansas history. Kjerstad now has 31 home runs in his two-year Razorback career, just two shy of the top-10 of the Arkansas all-time list.
Casey Martin also put together his third multi-hit performance in his last five games, going 2-for-5 with a double and a triple.
He helped put together the two-run third inning with an RBI triple, his fourth three-bagger of the year, and later scored on an RBI single by Matt Goodheart.
The Razorbacks got a solid start from Connor Noland, as he worked four innings with just four hits allowed and one walk, but the two-run home run by Warren were the only runs he allowed.
It was Noland’s fifth outing in his last six that he pitched four or more innings and 14th where he walked one or less.
What happened
After taking a 3-0 lead after three innings and starting pitcher Connor Noland rolling through his first three frames, the Red Raiders started to chip away, starting with a two-run home run by Cameron Warren in the fourth inning.
That was followed by solo home runs by Easton Murrell and Josh Jung, marking the sixth time this year the Arkansas pitching staff has given up three or more home runs in a game.
Arkansas tied the game in the top of the eighth thanks to a sacrifice fly from Jack Kenley. Dominic Fletcher worked a full-count walk, then ended up on third behind a single from Kjerstad.
After five pitches fouled off, Kenley lifted a fly ball to left field and Fletcher raced home to knot the game up at four.
Texas Tech starter Caleb Kilian seemed to handcuff the Arkansas lineup, giving up just three earned runs in seven innings and striking out nine, tying a career high.
He gave way to lefthander Dane Haveman in the eighth, who gave up the tying run.
However, in the bottom half of the inning, Tech countered with a two-out walk to Warren and a triple to the gap in right-center field from Cody Masters, pushing the Red Raiders back on top, 5-4.
The Razorbacks threatened in the ninth, as Jacob Nesbit was hit by the third pitch he saw, then a single from Christian Franklin put two on with nobody out.
Unfortunately, the Red Raiders were able to leave the duo stranded on the bases to put an end to Arkansas’ run in the College World Series.
Arkansas-Texas Tech game notes
• Saturday marked the third time Arkansas and Texas Tech had squared off in postseason play.
It was the second-straight year the two teams have faced each other in the College World Series, with the Razorbacks picking up the win, 7-4, in the 1-0 game.
• Arkansas moved to 5-3 in NCAA Tournament action this season. The Razorbacks swept the Fayetteville Regional, 3-0, and went 2-1 in the Fayetteville Super Regional.
Overall in postseason play, Arkansas is 6-5 this season.
• Arkansas is 15-20 in the College World Series and 4-10 in CWS elimination games.
• The Hogs are 88-69 (.561) all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 24 tournament wins in the last six years.
• Heston Kjerstad hit a solo home run to left field in the second inning, his 17th of the season and third this postseason. His other two homers came against Central Connecticut State (May 31) and Ole Miss (June 10), both solo shots.
• Casey Martin ripped an RBI triple to left field in the third inning, his fourth of the year and first this postseason. His triple was the first by an Arkansas player at the College World Series since 1989 (Jim Calhoon vs. North Carolina).
• Connor Noland’s final line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K – the 13th time in 20 starts Noland has pitched four or more innings, including five of the last six.
• With a single in the seventh inning, Trevor Ezell extended his hitting streak to nine games, including every game of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. This postseason, he is batting 17-of-37 (.315) with eight RBIs and eight runs scored.
• Casey Martin recorded his 26th multi-hit game behind a double and triple. He finished tied for the team-lead with Dominic Fletcher.
• Heston Kjerstad also posted two hits to move up to third this season in multi-hit performances with 24.
• Christian Franklin posted his 17th multi-hit game of the season after recording a pair of singles against the Red Raiders. He ranks seventh on the team in multi-hit performances this season. He was the only Razorback to have multi-hit games in both CWS contests.
Razorback quotables
“Well, obviously it was a tough loss. Pretty well-played game by both teams. For the most part, there really wasn’t too many mistakes. Just kind of who got the big hit and who didn’t. But just some big hits. Texas Tech took advantage of a couple of things, and tough loss, two tough losses here for us. Two one-run losses that really could have gone either way.” — Coach Dave Van Horn on the 5-4 loss to Texas Tech
“You know, just really proud of the team. Told them that after the game. Told them to walk out of there with their head high. We were real close to winning two games. We ended up losing two one-run games; kind of hard to swallow. But overall it was a really good year, getting a part of the Western Division championship and getting back here, just proud of them and appreciated the effort they gave us all year. Those guys showed up every day and worked hard, smiled a lot, and it made it fun to work with them. I just appreciate the effort.” — Van Horn on putting the season in perspective
“I thought we had an outstanding year, being counted out from the beginning. We bring in some new guys, Trevor Ezell did more than outstanding for us, and he’s a competitor. Without bringing guys in like that, true leaders for this team, I guess you just could say such a young team we have, that it shows these younger guys what it takes to get here. So they’ve experienced it now, and they know what it takes. We needed that, and I think we’ll be good if we can build off that.” — Casey Martin on how the year played out for Arkansas
“We had a spectacular year getting back here for the second year in a row, but it shows a lot about the incoming guys that came in and replaced a lot of the starters and experience we had from last season, and it took everyone on our whole roster to get us here, and it was just great to be back, and we’ll look back on the season and realize how good we were for the whole season, how good of an experience we had. But for now it’s obviously a little bitter once the season is over.” — Heston Kjerstad on the 2019 season for Arkansas
???? Monday Halftime Pod — Texas Tech preview
Phil & Tye recap the loss against FSU and preview the Texas Tech game!
Bud Light Morning Rush: Monday
John & Tommy react to Game 1, Connor Noland on the bump today, interview Tom Murphy and more!
Hogs discover good pitching still needs some hits to produce a win
Nothing in sports may be more frustrating for fans than watching their team come out on the short end of a 1-0 game.
It’s downright maddening for some.
Such was the case for Arkansas fans Saturday evening when starter Isaiah Campbell struck out 10 in seven innings and didn’t allow a single run. That’s good pitching.
But no runs scored cancels that out.
For Razorback fans, this game is one that will have the “what-if” meter pegged at maximum level. Some will spend more time worrying about what didn’t happen than what DOES happen, starting Monday afternoon.
The Hogs couldn’t get the ball to go in the right places when they had scoring chances.
“That’s kinda the way the game works,” Dave Van Horn said later.
It’s small consolation for some fans as frustration mounted with zero runs in Omaha in the last 18 innings they’ve played there.
Especially now that the margin for error is razor thin.
The Razorbacks play Texas Tech on Monday at 1 p.m. in a loser-goes-home game. They faced one last Monday against Ole Miss in the Super Regional and came through with a whopping 14-1 win.
Which is why Saturday’s lack of offense was puzzling to some, but really shouldn’t be.
Every time in Omaha is quite capable of beating any other team that’s there. It all depends on something nobody wants to mention by name — luck. You can almost rip the cover off the ball, but if it goes right to someone, well, it’s still an out.
That plagued the Hogs against the Seminoles.
“We hit some balls hard early at people,” Van Horn said. “Hit a couple of ball off the end of the bat that just happened to go right at them.”
Coaches say all the time, “that’s baseball.” That’s true.
This team is quite capable of putting up some big numbers against the Red Raiders. Starting pitcher Connor Noland is due for a solid outing after struggling against the Rebels last Sunday.
Part of it is he’s well-rested. Van Horn does have everybody available for this game that is, effectively, a game with the season on the line.
But he’s well aware the Greenwood freshman has responded from a bad outing with a good one this season.
Against Vanderbilt early in the season, Noland didn’t make it out of the first inning. He came back the next week against Mississippi State, not allowing a run in seven innings.
Part of it may be a hunch from Van Horn. As we’ve pointed out before, those tend to work out pretty well.
But as Hogs fans painfully discovered Saturday, you still need the good hitting when the pitching is solid.
And a little bit of luck.
Razorbacks hoping to stave off elimination against Texas Tech
OMAHA, Neb. — Arkansas looks to keep its College World Series run alive Monday against Texas Tech in the first elimination game of the week at 1 p.m. at TD Ameritrade Park.
Arkansas (46-19) is trying to bounce back from a tough 1-0 loss at the hands of Florida State on Saturday.
Right-hander Isaiah Campbell and left-hander Drew Parrish traded zeroes for eight innings before the Seminoles got one of the Razorback bullpen in the ninth.
It was Campbell’s first 10-strikeout performance of the NCAA Tournament and third-straight of seven or more innings.
ESPN will carry Monday’s game and the winner will advance to the next elimination round to face the loser of Michigan and Florida State.
Matchup: No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 8 Texas Tech
TV: ESPN >> WatchESPNApp
Talent: Tom Hart (PXP), Chris Burke (Analyst), Ben McDonald (Analyst), Mike Rooney (Reporter)
Radio: ESPN Arkansas 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs, 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home and the Razorback Sports Network from IMG
Probable Starters for Game Two: (ARK) RHP Connor Noland (3-5) vs. (TTU) RHP Caleb Kilian (8-3) or RHP Bryce Bonnin (6-1)
The Razorbacks last lost a CWS opener in 2015 when they fell to Virginia, 5-3.
The last time Arkansas lost its CWS opener and followed it up with a win was in 1989 when it lost to Wichita State, 3-2, and then defeated North Carolina, 7-3, in the elimination game.
Monday’s probable starter — RHP Connor Noland
Freshman right-hander Connor Noland will get the nod for Monday’s elimination game against Texas Tech.
Noland suffered a small hiccup last week in the NCAA Super Regional against Ole Miss, making it only one inning with four runs allowed and two home runs.
However, Noland has gone five or more innings in five of his last eight starts and has been one of Arkansas’ most efficient over that same span.
Noland has walked only two batters since May 5, amassing a 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Man on a mission — Trevor Ezell
Arkansas first baseman Trevor Ezell’s offense has been on another level since the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Over the course of seven NCAA Tournament games, Ezell is hitting .500 (16-of-32) with six doubles and two home runs along with eight RBIs.
He’s also slugging .875, which leads the team and has only struck out five times. Counting his 10 games prior to the NCAA Tournament, Ezell was only hitting .225 with 16 strikeouts.
We meet again
Monday’s game between the Razorbacks and Red Raiders will be the fourth meeting between the two teams in the last four seasons and second-straight in the College World Series.
Arkansas met Texas Tech once in the regular season last year, winning 5-1, and later in Omaha in a winner’s bracket game with the Hogs winning, 7-4.
In those two games against Texas Tech, Dominic Fletcher was 6-for-9 (.667) with a double, a home run and six RBIs.
Sports has been a family bond for four generations of Olson men
My wife, Sheena, insists my boys would have loved sports even if I hadn’t been around to raise them initially.
That J.D. (10) would know Jack Youngblood played a game on a broken leg and appreciate Roberto Clemente as much for his humanitarian efforts as his Hall of Fame baseball career. That Luke (7) would know the football rule book inside and out and want his grandmothers to do play-by-play while he shoots baskets in the driveway.
She could be right. They come by it naturally after falling in the fourth generation of a family of sports nuts. Sports have been a part of the Olson family for decades and J.D. and Luke are the latest members of the club.
My Grandpa John, a World War II veteran, grew up in Iowa with Swedish immigrant parents. I’m not sure what his exposure was to sports as a boy, but he raised his two boys to love sports.
My dad, Dave, grew up playing baseball and football and adored the New York Yankees after taking summer trips to visit his grandparents’ Swedish family members who had settled in New York. He saw his first Yankees game at 5 and saw all of the New York teams play at their respective ballparks.
Grandpa John was a steadfast Iowa fan and drove his boys more than three hours to Iowa City to see the Hawkeyes play football. The family also took family vacations where National Parks and ballparks were the main attraction. My dad once caught a batting practice foul ball of the bat of his hero Mickey Mantle before a Yankees/Twins game at old Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis.
In 1969, Dad enrolled at Iowa State, which flipped Grandpa John’s allegiance to the Cyclones. Ames was much closer to his home in Webster City, and he held football and basketball season tickets for many years.
When I came along in 1974, I didn’t have a chance. I was swinging a plastic bat when I could walk and attending Iowa State games not long after. My brother, Andy, was born three years later, and we spent many hours playing catch, watching sports on TV and going to our local high school and Iowa State games with Dad and Grandpa John.
We also made a few trips to Kansas City to see the Royals and Minneapolis to the see the Twins. We made at least one trip a summer to Des Moines to see the Chicago Cubs AAA team, the Iowa Cubs, in action.
Those trips and my good friend Brayton Sehnert influenced me in becoming a Cubs fan along with a passion for the Yankees like Dad and Grandpa John. On one trip to Des Moines, our family car broke down in the parking lot.
Dad and I had to ride in the tow truck for more than two hours in the middle of the night. It’s a story we laugh about often.
After all of those games and conversations with Dad, I realized by fifth grade I wanted to be in the sports media. My love for writing came from my mom, Connie, a longtime elementary school teacher, so that made a great combination for the beginnings of a fulfilling career.
After I married a sweet Southern Belle named Sheena, I dreamed of having two boys I could pass on the Olson family sports passion to. The Good Lord answered my prayers, and we had J.D. and Luke with nearly the same age difference as Andy and I.
Sheena, also a big sports fan, and I didn’t lug the boys to games as infants, but it wasn’t long, and they were with us. Luke had seen a Hogs game, MLB game, NFL game and NBA game all before the age of 5.
Their NFL debut was special as Santa Claus brought Dallas Cowboys/Detroit Lions Monday Night Football tickets in 2016. If that wasn’t special enough, the next day, they got to meet former Hogs star Darren McFadden.
JD skipped kindergarten one Monday to meet former Chicago Bears linebacker Mike Singletary at the Little Rock Touchdown Club. He became fascinated with linebackers since his older cousin played college linebacker and spent time surfing YouTube watching the greats. Meeting Steelers legend Jack Lambert is on his Bucket List, but he has met Lambert’s former Steelers teammate, Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris.
Unlike the house I grew up in, this one is divided. Sheena and Luke love the Cardinals and Cowboys. JD and I like the Cubs and Chiefs. JD loves the Hogs but has been bitten by the Cyclones bug which caused Luke to — GASP — root for the Hawks.
The Hogs, though, bind us. Together, we cheer the wins and lament the losses. Half of Dad’s wardrobe is Cyclones, the other half is Hogs. He’s accompanied us to several games. We had a great time in 2017 (see the picture) when we all piled in the van and watched Arkansas play Florida A&M at War Memorial Stadium. That was Luke’s first Arkansas football game.
We’ve seen Razorback basketball at The Bud and baseball games from a Baum-Walker suite. Luke is a big fan of former Hogs tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and JD likes former UA QB Tyler Wilson, who he met the other night. They both consider McFadden and fellow Bryant native and former Hogs pitcher Blaine Knight personal friends.
Speaking of Knight, my favorite memory so far was taking them to see the fellow Bryant native play in the final regular-season game against Texas A&M last season. Thanks to a friend, we sat in the front row on the first base line.
Arkansas beat the Aggies, and the boys enjoyed fireworks, autographs and meeting Knight, whose mother Karen worked at the boys’ school, following the game.
We left The Hill at 10:30 p.m. and arrived in Bryant at 1:15 a.m. after a stop at Braum’s in Alma. I couldn’t have driven another block, but it was so worth it.
I was an average (at best) athlete. JD and Luke already have me beat. JD has played soccer since he was four and has become a solid keeper. He has a promising career as a defensive lineman waiting when his parents give him permission to play football.
Luke’s favorite sport is baseball, and he’s way more advanced than his dad at this age playing up in the pitching machine league at 7 while seeing time at four different positions this season. He also plays basketball and is working on beating me in one-on-one.
I know many of you have similar stories and experiences with your grandfathers, dads and sons. Sports were made to share with family. It’s always more fun when you are enjoying games with those you care about most.
I hope you are able to spend some time with family on Sunday celebrating Father’s Day. Fittingly, we will all be at a ballpark in Benton watching Luke and the Bryant 7-year-old All-Stars playing in a tournament.
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Florida State knocks off Razorbacks in opener at College World Series
OMAHA — Arkansas dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Florida State on Saturday in its first game of the 2019 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha.
After eight scoreless innings, Florida State edged out a run in the top of the ninth to take a 1-0 lead. FSU put two men on to open the frame via a hit-by-pitch and fielder’s choice with nobody out.
Matt Cronin took over on the mound for Cody Scroggins, who relieved starter Isaiah Campbell in the eighth, and the Seminoles moved the duo into scoring position with a successful sacrifice bunt from Matheu Nelson.
With one away, a pinch-hitting Cooper Swanson lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to push Florida State ahead 1-0.
Isaiah Campbell put on another masterful performance in his third College World Series game of his career on Saturday night. He totaled seven innings of shutout ball, allowing five hits and two walks, while striking out 10.
The double-digit punch out total broke his own school record for strikeouts in a CWS game, set last year against Florida (eight) on June 22.
It was the first loss to Florida State by the Razorbacks, as the two squads have met six in two school’s histories, all coming during postseason play.
The Razorbacks will take on Texas Tech on Monday at 1 p.m. on ESPN from TD Ameritrade Park in an elimination game.
Van Horn, Campbell, Ezell after falling in first game in Omaha
Razorbacks coach Dave Van Horn, starting pitcher Isaiah Campbell and first baseman Trevor Ezell recapping Saturday’s pitching duel in a 1-0 loss to Seminoles.
Van Horn with FSU’s Martin, Michigan’s Bakich, Tech’s Tadlock
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn previews the College World Series on Friday with Florida State’s Mike Martin, Michigan coach Erik Bakich and Texas Tech’s Tim Tadlock.
