OMAHA, Neb. — After losing to Ole Miss 13-3 on Monday, Arkansas knew it needed three straight wins to reach the Men's College World Series championship series.
Two down, one to go.
The Razorbacks stayed alive and earned revenge over the Rebels, earning a 3-2 win Wednesday night at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
It marks the second consecutive win in an elimination game for the Razorbacks, and sets up a winner-take-all game against the Rebels on Thursday (3 pm, ESPN2). The winner of that game will advance to the MCWS Finals.
Arkansas again received excellent pitching from start to finish, with Hagen Smith, Evan Taylor combining to shut down Ole Miss through eight innings. The Rebels loaded the bases in ninth after a walk from Taylor and hit-by-pitch from Brady Tygart.
However, Zack Morris came in and extinguished the flames, getting Arkansas out of the jam to end the game.
Smith got the start on the mound for the Hogs, and the freshman delivered.
Smith allowed only one run in five innings, striking out eight batters while giving up just two hits and four walks. Smith tossed 90 pitches in his outing, and had a stretch where he recording eight of nine outs via strikeout.
As for Taylor, he took charge in the sixth inning, and threw three scoreless, one-hit innings while striking out four Rebels.
Tygart then arrived in the ninth and finished the job for the Hogs.
After a scoreless first inning, the Razorbacks struck first in the second inning.
Already with two home runs in Omaha, Chris Lanzilli launched his third of the MCWS, a solo shot to left field to put Arkansas up 1-0.
It marked the 53rd home run of Lanzilli's collegiate career.
However, Arkansas' lead didn't make it to the end of the inning.
In the bottom of the second, Ole Miss immediately tied the game up with a leadoff home run by Kemp Alderman.
After that though, Hagen Smith settled into a little bit of a grove recording five of his next six outs via strikeotus.
The freshman lefty was at 53 pitches through three innings.
The third and fourth innings passed by scoreless, but the Razorbacks retook the lead in the fitth.
A slumping Brady Slavens, moved down to No. 8 in the lineup, stepped up to leadoff the inning.
Slavens proceeded to belt the longest home run of the MCWS so far, a 436-foot moonshot to dead center field.
The Razorbacks were able to add a crucial insurance run in the eighth inning.
Cayden Wallace led off the inning with a rocket line drive that snuck past third base and into shallow left field. Wallace hustled to second, sliding just underneath the tag to be called safe for the double.
In the following at-bat, Michael Turner brought Wallace home on an RBI-single that made it a 3-1 Arkansas advantage.
Arkansas had a chance to add to the two-run lead as it had bases loaded with only one out, but Slavens and pinch-hitter Kendall Diggs struck out to end the inning.
