Never count out the 2022 Razorbacks.
Arkansas mounted a furious rally, punctuated by an emphatic Jalen Battles grand slam, to pull off a 20-12 comeback win over Oklahoma State. The win sends the Hogs to the Stillwater Regional final, and moves Dave Van Horn's squad to within one win of super regionals.
Down 10-5 going into the seventh inning, Arkansas scored 11 unanswered runs, and 15 runs in the final three innings to rally for the win.
The game started with the Razorbacks getting on the board right away. Brady Slavens launched a solo shot to put the Hogs up 1-0 in the first inning, the second straight game with a first inning homer for Arkansas.
Oklahoma State responded in the bottom of the inning with a run on Zach Ehrhard single to third combined with a throwing error to first.
The Cowboys managed to load the bases, but starter Hagen Smith got out of the jam without further damage. However, his pitch count was up to 38 pitches after just the first inning.
Arkansas retook the lead via its second solo home run of the game, this one from Robert Moore in the second inning.
An Oklahoma State RBI double in the second tied the game up again, and Smith did not return for the third inning.
The Cowboys made the most of getting to the Hogs' bullpen in the third inning.
Nolan McLean put OSU in front with a towering two-run home run off of Evan Taylor that left O'Brate Stadium.
Later that inning, Roc Riggio followed with a three-run blast off Zack Morris that gave OSU a 7-2 lead.
The Arkansas bats got the the Hogs back in the game though.
Cayden Wallace launched his third home run of the regional, with his solo shot bringing the Hogs to within four in the fourth inning.
In the next inning, OSU decided to walk Wallace intentionally in a move that loaded the bases with two outs.
Michael Turner made the Cowboys pay for that, sending a bloop single into shallow center that scored two runs, and cut the deficit to 7-5.
OSU rebounded with three runs in the sixth to push their lead back to 10-5.
But that's when the Hogs turned on the jets.
A solo home run from Michael Turner and a two-run blast by Robert Moore (his second HR of the game) brought the Razorbacks to within 10-8.
Then the eighth inning was one the Hog faithful will remember for a long time.
Arkansas loaded the bases and scored four runs on three walks and a hit by pitch to take a 12-10 lead.
Then up stepped Jalen Battles to the plate, and he launched arguably the biggest home run of his career.
Battles' emphatic grand slam gave Arkansas what seemed like an improbable 16-10 lead, capping a run of 11 unanswered runs for the Razorbacks.
The Cowboys pulled two runs back in the bottom of the eighth, but Arkansas re-extended its lead with a three-run Chris Lanzilli homer in the ninth and a Peyton Stovall single to score Moore.
Arkansas will await the winner of Missouri State-Oklahoma State Sunday in the regional final. The Hogs need just one win from two tries to advance to super regionals.
