FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)- The season comes down to one final game for the Arkansas Razorbacks Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Missouri State beat the Hogs 3-1 Saturday at Baum Stadium in game two of the NCAA Super Regional to force a decisive game three. The winner advances to the College World Series.
Arkansas will start James Teague (6-4 record, 3.60 ERA) on the mound. Missouri State will start Jordan Knutson (6-1 record, 3.06 ERA). Hear from players and coaches from both teams in the above interviews.
Arkansas
Head Coach Dave Van Horn
(Opening Statement) “The story of the game is that we just could not figure out Matt Hall. He pitched a great ball game. He mixed it up a lot with a breaking ball and changeup. He spotted his fastball on both sides of the plate. He did a tremendous job keeping us off balance. We had a couple opportunities but with the pitcher that he is, he got out of it. It could have gotten ugly early, I thought Jackson (Lowery) came in and did a tremendous job for us, kept us in the ball game, gave us a chance to win it. We will move on to tomorrow.”
(On Jon Harris’ performance) “We could not just say ‘hit the fastball’. He throws his breaking ball for a strike way too much; he will double it up a lot. Watching video of him, we knew what we were in for. We knew what we were going to get. You could not just sit on a pitch because he would figure it out. He is a quality pitcher who has an old school breaking ball, it has some downward action on it. You just have to tip your cap to him; he pitched extremely well. We had a couple of shots at him. We just could not get that big hit.”
(On Keaton McKinney) “What you saw is that he didn’t throw anything for a strike. He wasn’t commanding his changeup or his fastball. It got to the point where the game was getting ready to get out of hand so we had to make a move or just let it go. We thought we were still in the game.”
35 – RS SR.– RHP – Jackson Lowery
(On the heat and performance) “I feel fine. Coach Jorn has us conditioned well so I was fine. He (Matt Hall) was better than me. That’s what it comes down.”
(On his adjustments during the game) “I just had to settle down and start throwing strikes. I don’t know if there is something I did different, just settled down and focused, started throwing strikes.”
7 – Junior – 3B –Bobby Wernes
(On Missouri State’s response) “I am not surprised at all. They are a national seed with their season on the line. We are going to get their best punch and they did that today. That’s not the way this season has gone. We have not had anything easy. I think we are all ready to go tomorrow. That is how this season has gone, find a way to win tomorrow.”
(On how to put this game behind) “That is just the game of baseball. We have had that happen several times this year where we have not swung it one game. Baseball is an everyday game. Whether you do well the previous day like we did on Friday or poorly today, we just have to put it all behind us.”
Missouri State
Head Coach Keith Guttin
(Opening Statement) “From our perspective, it was a great ball game. We had a big game pitcher on the mound. He delivered. You have high school teammates up here. They’ve known each other for a long time. (Matt) Foltz has caught for him (Hall) forever. They’ve been very good for us.”
(On team performance) “I thought they did a great job. I thought they would do a great job. As I’ve said before, we have a lot of older, mature players. We have a lot of player leadership. We talked on the bus, and Coach (Nate) Thompson had some very passionate words for the team, and I think they embraced it. His message was that the winner of the series is not by cumulative score. Whatever the score was yesterday meant one game, and if we won the next two by one run we would be in good shape. ”
(On Matt Hall’s performance) “He has that same passion every game. He really thrives on having fun and he likes challenges. He likes the hot weather, and he likes wearing his camo jersey. He is not very complicated. When he gets his hot weather and his camo jersey he’s pretty good.”
21 – Junior – LHP – Matt Hall
(On pitching a complete game) “Coming in after the eighth, Coach (Paul) Evans told me it was my game and to go take it. I wanted to go back out there and give my team a chance to win. The ninth inning felt like the first inning again. The adrenaline kicked in. I wanted to go out there, win it for my team and give our school another chance.”
(On pitching in an atmosphere like Baum Stadium) “I love it. It’s a great atmosphere. Baum Stadium is a great place to play. Tip your cap to the fans; they love their Razorbacks.”
25 – Junior – C – Matt Fultz
(On what worked well today for Matt Hall) “I would say all four pitches worked well. He established all four of them. His changeup was working really well away to righties, and he was painting his sliders away to lefties. He located his fastball really well and was typical Hall.”
(On rebounding from yesterday) “It was big to get things going early, especially the way that crowd can get into it. They thrive off that energy. We wanted to keep their hits down as much as we could, and he (Hall) just did a fantastic job.”
(On ranking Matt Hall’s performance today) “There’s been a lot of big ones, but I guess with what was at stake, you have to put it at number one. They might have hit one ball hard off him all day. He’s a big game pitcher. I knew last night in the hotel room that he was going to throw well today.”