FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Great teams tend to respond after blowouts with a fierce desire to win, and that is exactly what Missouri State did Saturday afternoon. Fans at the Fayetteville Super Regional found themselves watching a different ball club from the one they saw Friday.

Unlike on Friday, Missouri State’s pitching was spectacular throughout the entire game, not just the first three innings. Starter Matt Hall handled the Arkansas batters with ease, throwing a complete-game one-hitter in a 3-1 win that forced a winner-take-all game Sunday for the right to go to the College World Series. The NCAA strikeout leader thrived under the pressure of an elimination game with a superb performance. Hall said earlier this week that the Baum crowd “wouldn’t be a factor” and it didn’t seem to be for him.

“That is the great thing about baseball, you can go out there and it is a new day,” Hall said. “Yesterday is history, and we went out there and played well as a team.”

A factor that did help him was the presence of catcher Matt Fultz. They have been together since T-ball. Their dads even coached them together during their T-ball days.

“There have been a lot of big ones [games], but just because of what was at stake with this one, you have to put this at No. 1,” Fultz said. “They might have hit one hard ball of him all day.”

Fultz knew Hall was going to pitch well even before the game started.

“Even last night I knew he was going to throw well today,” Fultz said. “He was very poised.”

Much to the chagrin of the Razorback-dominated crowd, Hall dominated in the heat. His complete game included only one hit, no earned runs and four walks. He also totaled eight strikeouts. Unlike against pitcher Jon Harris, the Razorbacks never figured out Hall’s velocity or his location.

“The story of the game is we just couldn’t figure out Matt Hall,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “We had a couple of opportunities, but being the pitcher that he is, he got out of it.”

Hall was confident with his arm and had no problem showing it. He often skipped to the mound and was smiling after a number of pitches. In the fourth inning Arkansas center fielder Andrew Benintendi exchanged words with Hall in what didn’t look like a friendly conversation.

“Benintendi is a great hitter, and he laid some good hacks on it [the ball,]” Hall said. “I didn’t pay attention, I just walked off the field.”

The Arkansas center fielder hit a home run and was walked three times Friday but only got on base once against Hall with a walk.

“He [Benintendi] had some words to say to the umpire as he [Hall] was just throwing great pitches,” Fultz said “Being a lefty hitter myself, I know it’s not fun when left-handed pitchers paint pitches low and away.”

The beginning of Game 2 looked similar to the start of Game 1. The Bears scored first and the Hogs couldn’t get anything going. Blake Graham had an RBI single in the second and added an RBI ground out in a two-run third inning for the Bears (48-11).

Arkansas (39-22) didn’t get a lot of help from their pitching early. Starter Keaton McKinney was pulled before the third inning began, only pitching 1.1 innings. The freshman looked out of sync, allowing three hits, three walks and one earned run. Pitcher Jackson Lowery came in and relieved McKinney. The redshirt senior got Arkansas out of a bases-loaded jam.

If Arkansas would have won the game, Lowery would have deserved the MVP. His pitching wasn’t flashy, but it got the job done. He threw 6.2 innings, giving up three hits, four walks and two earned runs. Arkansas pitcher Zach Jackson also saw time in the ninth inning.

For most of the game the Razorback crowd was quiet. Hall’s deadly pitching didn’t give Hogs fans a lot to cheer about. The stadium got loud in the seventh inning when first baseman Clark Eagan hit a ball to Missouri State shortstop Joey Hawkins, which he misjudged, bringing Joe Serrano home. Other than that error, the Bears didn’t make a mistake all game.

Game 2 is set for Sunday at 2:05 p.m. CT.

Notes

·    Baum Stadium’s attendance record was broken again with 12,167 fans in attendance, 298 more than Friday.

·    After an 18-hit display on Friday, the Razorbacks only managed one hit against Matt Hall. The same thing happened in 1993, with Arkansas following an 18-hit game with one hit.

·    After a coin flip after the game, the Razorbacks will be the visiting team Sunday.

·    In the sixth inning Tucker Pennell hit a foul ball that would have been a home run with 5 more feet.

·    Eric Cheray had the best day hitting for the Bears with two hits and a walk.

·    Missouri State left 11 on base while Arkansas left three.

·        Quotables

o   “Jackson [Lowery] came in and did a tremendous job for us, kept us in the ball game, gave us a chance to win it,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn.

o   “Tip your cap to the fans; they love their Razorbacks,” Missouri State pitcher Matt Hall.

o   “He [Matt Hall] was better than me,” Arkansas pitcher Jackson Lowery.

o   “We had a big-game pitcher on the mound, he delivered,” Missouri State coach Keith Guttin.

o   “We are going to get their best punch and they did that today,” Arkansas third baseman Bobby Wernes.

o   “It was big to get things going early, especially the way that crowd can get into it,” Missouri State catcher Matt Fultz.