Nearly one year ago in late June, a group of newspaper folks from all around the state were gathered inside the Conference Center at the Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs. We were there for the Early Bird of the Arkansas Press Association's annual superconvention, but on that Wednesday night in particular, we were all watching the Arkansas Razorbacks play Oregon State in game two of the 2018 College World Series championship round.
The game moved to the top of the ninth inning with the Razorbacks on top 3-2 and just one out away from winning the national championship.
Me being an LSU fan -- but also appreciative of fans getting the opportunity to celebrate -- I decided I wanted to document the championship-clinching out with a bit of video. So I moved to the side of the room where I could film the newspaper folks' reaction to Arkansas getting the final out.
And as everybody knows, the final out never came.
The Razorbacks let a pop foul ball drop harmlessly, which would have been the third out, and Oregon State eventually rallied for three runs to win game two 5-3. The next night, I was attending the famous Passion Play for the first time while the Beavers shut out Arkansas 5-0 to win the national title.
It was an unbelievably tough ending to the season for the Razorbacks and their great fan base, which I'm here to tell you is as good as any in college baseball. Having attended several college baseball games at Baum-Walker Stadium, I can say with confidence that the Hogs' fans are a loyal passionate bunch, and my heart wrenched for them that night.
That was nearly a year ago and so far it looks like there hasn't been a hangover for coach Dave Van Horn and the Razorbacks.
Arkansas defeated Texas Christian 6-0 last Sunday to win the Fayetteville Regional and will now host Ole Miss this upcoming weekend in one of eight NCAA Super Regionals. The winner of each Super Regional will advance to the College World Series in Omaha.
By the way, of the 16 teams to make it to the Super Regionals, six of them are from the Southeastern Conference: Arkansas, Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn and Vanderbilt. What a league!
Ole Miss took two out of three from the Razorbacks on the last three days of March during the regular season, but you can throw those results out the window. This has all the makings for a great series and it's a chance for redemption for the Razorbacks.
Getting back to Omaha would be a big, big deal and they have as great a shot as any to get there.
-- Graham Thomas is the managing editor for the Herald-Leader. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Sports on 06/05/2019